I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 773

To reform the concession policies of the National Park Service, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 1, 1995

Mrs. MEYERS (for herself, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr.

ROHRABACHER, Ms. MOLINARI, Ms. DANNER, Mr. ACKERMAN, Ms.

ESHOO, Mr. OLVER, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. MANTON, Mr. JOHNSTON, Mr.

WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. ZIMMER, Mr. SAWYER, Mr. YATES, Mr.

BRYANT, Mr. VENTO, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, and Mr. PORTER) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To reform the concession policies of the National Park

Service, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Park Service

5 Concession Policy Reform Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—In furtherance of the Act of August

8 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1, 2–
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1 4), which directs the Secretary of the Interior to admin2 ister areas of the National Park System in accordance

3 with the fundamental purpose of preserving their scenery,

4 wildlife, natural and historic objects, and providing for

5 their enjoyment in a manner that will leave them

6 unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations, the

7 Congress finds that the preservation and conservation of

8 park resources and values requires that such public ac9 commodations, facilities, and services as the Secretary de10 termines are necessary and appropriate in accordance with

11 this Act—

12 (1) should be provided only under carefully con13 trolled safeguards against unregulated and indis14 criminate use so that visitation will not unduly im15 pair these values; and

16 (2) should be limited to locations and designs

17 consistent to the highest practicable degree with the

18 preservation and conservation of park resources and

19 values.

20 (b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the Congress that—

21 (1) development on Federal lands within a park

22 shall be limited to those facilities and services that

23 the Secretary determines are necessary and appro24 priate for public use and enjoyment of the park in

25 which such facilities and services are located;
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1 (2) development of such facilities and services

2 within a park should be consistent to the highest

3 practicable degree with the preservation and con4 servation of the park’s resources and values;

5 (3) such facilities and services should be pro6 vided by private persons, corporations, or other enti7 ties, except when no private interest is qualified and

8 willing to provide such facilities and services;

9 (4) if the Secretary determines that develop10 ment should be provided within a park, such devel11 opment shall be designed, located, and operated in

12 a manner that is consistent with the purposes for

13 which such park was established;

14 (5) the right to provide such services and to de15 velop or utilize such facilities should be awarded to

16 the person, corporation, or entity submitting the

17 best proposal through a competitive selection proc18 ess; and

19 (6) such facilities or services should be provided

20 to the public at reasonable rates.

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

22 As used in this Act, the term—

23 (1) ‘‘concessioner’’ means a person, corporation,

24 or other entity to whom a concession contract has

25 been awarded;
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1 (2) ‘‘concession contract’’ means a contract or

2 permit (but not a commercial use authorization is3 sued pursuant to section (6) to provide facilities or

4 services, or both, at a park;

5 (3) ‘‘facilities’’ means improvements to real

6 property within parks used to provide accommoda7 tions, facilities, or services to park visitors;

8 (4) ‘‘fund’’ means the Park Improvement Fund

9 established pursuant to section 9(b);

10 (5) ‘‘park’’ means a unit of the National Park

11 System;

12 (6) ‘‘disposal’’ means the complete proposal for

13 a concession contract offered by a potential or exist14 ing concessioner in response to the minimum re15 quirements for the contract established by the Sec16 retary; and

17 (7) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the

18 Interior.

19 SEC. 4. REPEAL OF CONCESSION POLICY ACT OF 1965.

20 (a) REPEAL.—The Act of October 9, 1965, Public

21 Law 89–249 (79 Stat. 969, 16 U.S.C. 20–20g), entitled

22 ‘‘An Act relating to the establishment of concession poli23 cies administered in the areas administered by the Na24 tional Park Service and for other purposes’’, is hereby re25 pealed. The repeal of such Act shall not affect the validity
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1 of any contract entered into under such Act, but the provi2 sions of this Act shall apply to any such contract except

3 to the extent such provisions are inconsistent with the ex4 press terms and conditions of the contract.

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The fourth sen6 tence of section 3 of the Act of August 25, 1916 (16

7 U.S.C. 3; 39 Stat. 535) is amended by striking all through

8 ‘‘no natural’’ and inserting in lieu thereof, ‘‘No natural’’.

9 SEC. 5. CONCESSION POLICY.

10 Subject to the findings and policy stated in section

11 2, and upon a determination by the Secretary that facili12 ties or services are necessary and appropriate for the ac13 commodation of visitors at a park, the Secretary shall,

14 consistent with the provisions of this Act, laws relating

15 generally to the administration and management of units

16 of the National Park System, and the park’s general man17 agement plan, concession plan, and other applicable plans,

18 authorize private persons, corporations, or other entities

19 to provide and operate such facilities or services as the

20 Secretary deems necessary and appropriate.

21 SEC. 6. COMMERCIAL USE AUTHORIZATIONS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent specified in this sec23 tion, the Secretary, upon request, may authorize a private

24 person, corporation, or other entity to provide services to
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1 park visitors otherwise than by award of a concession con2 tract or permit.

3 (b) CRITERIA FOR ISSUANCE OF AUTHORIZATION.—

4 (1) The authority of this section may be used only to au5 thorize provision of services to park visitors that the Sec6 retary determines will have minimal impact on park re7 sources and values and which are consistent with the pur8 poses for which the park was established and with all ap9 plicable management plans for such park.

10 (2) The Secretary—

11 (A) shall require payment of a reasonable fee

12 for issuance of an authorization under this section,

13 such fees to remain available without further appro14 priation to be used to recover the costs of managing

15 and administering this section;

16 (B) shall require that the provision of services

17 under such an authorization be accomplished in a

18 manner consistent to the highest practicable degree

19 with the preservation and conservation of park re20 sources and values;

21 (C) shall take appropriate steps to limit the li22 ability of the United States arising from the provi23 sion of services under such an authorization; and

24 (D) shall have no authority under this section

25 to issue more authorizations than are consistent
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1 with the preservation and proper management of

2 park resources and values, and shall establish such

3 other conditions for issuance of such an authoriza4 tion as the Secretary determines appropriate for the

5 protection of visitors, provision of adequate and ap6 propriate visitor services, and protection and proper

7 management of the resources and values of the park.

8 (c) LIMITATIONS.—Any authorization issued under

9 this section shall be limited to—

10 (1) commercial operations with annual gross

11 revenues of not more than $25,000 resulting from

12 services originating and provided solely within a

13 park pursuant to such authorization; or

14 (2) the incidental use of park resources by com15 mercial operations which provide services originating

16 outside of the park’s boundaries: Provided, That

17 such authorization shall not provide for the con18 struction of any structure, fixture, or improvement

19 on Federal lands within the park.

20 (d) DURATION.—The term of any authorization is21 sued under this section shall not exceed two years.

22 (e) A person, corporation, or other entity seeking or

23 obtaining an authorization pursuant to this section shall

24 not be precluded from also submitting proposals for con25 cession contracts.
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1 SEC. 7. COMPETITIVE SELECTION PROCESS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Except as provided in sub3 section (b), and consistent with the provisions of sub4 section (g), any concession contract entered into pursuant

5 to this Act shall be awarded to the person, corporation,

6 or other entity submitting the best proposal as determined

7 by the Secretary, through a competitive selection process,

8 as provided in this section.

9 (2) Within one hundred and eighty days after the

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promul11 gate appropriate regulations establishing such process.

12 The regulations shall include provisions for establishing a

13 method or procedure for the resolution of disputes between

14 the Secretary and a concessioner in those instances where

15 the Secretary has been unable to meet conditions or re16 quirements or provide such services, if any, as set forth

17 in a prospectus pursuant to sections 7(c)(2) (D) and (E).

18 (b) TEMPORARY CONTRACT.—Notwithstanding the

19 provisions of subsection (a), the Secretary may award a

20 temporary concession contract in order to avoid interrup21 tion of services to the public at a park except that prior

22 to making such a determination, the Secretary shall take

23 all reasonable and appropriate steps to consider alter24 natives to avoid such an interruption.

25 (c) PROSPECTUS.—(1) Prior to soliciting proposals

26 for a concession contract at a park, the Secretary shall
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1 prepare a prospectus soliciting proposals, and shall publish

2 a notice of its availability at least once in local or national

3 newspapers or trade publications, as appropriate, and

4 shall make such prospectus available upon request to all

5 interested parties.

6 (2) The prospectus shall include, but need not be lim7 ited to, the following information—

8 (A) the minimum requirements for such con9 tract, as set forth in subsection (d);

10 (B) the terms and conditions of the existing

11 concession contract awarded for such park, if any,

12 including all fees and other forms of compensation

13 provided to the United States by the concessioner;

14 (C) other authorized facilities or services which

15 may be provided in a proposal;

16 (D) facilities and services to be provided by the

17 Secretary to the concessioner, if any, including but

18 not limited to, public access, utilities, and buildings;

19 (E) minimum public services to be offered with20 in a park by the Secretary, including but not limited

21 to, interpretive programs, campsites, and visitor cen22 ters; and

23 (F) such other information related to the pro24 posed concession operation as is provided to the Sec25 retary pursuant to a concession contract or is other-
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1 wise available to the Secretary, as the Secretary de2 termines is necessary to allow for the submission of

3 competitive proposals.

4 (d) MINIMUM PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS.—(1) No

5 proposal shall be considered which fails to meet the mini6 mum requirements as determined by the Secretary. Such

7 minimum requirements shall include, but need not be lim8 ited to—

9 (A) the minimum acceptable franchise fee;

10 (B) the duration of the contract;

11 (C) any facilities, services, or capital investment

12 required to be provided by the concessioner; and

13 (D) measures necessary to ensure the protec14 tion and preservation of park resources.

15 (2) The Secretary may reject any proposal, notwith16 standing the amount of franchise fee offered, if the Sec17 retary determines that the person, corporation, or entity

18 is not qualified, is likely to provide unsatisfactory service,

19 or that the proposal is not responsive to the objectives of

20 protecting and preserving park resources and of providing

21 necessary and appropriate facilities or services to the pub22 lic at reasonable rates.

23 (3) If all proposals submitted to the Secretary either

24 fail to meet the minimum requirements or are rejected by

25 the Secretary, the Secretary shall establish new minimum
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1 contract requirements and re-initiate the competitive se2 lection process pursuant to this section.

3 (e) SELECTION OF BEST PROPOSAL.—(1) In select4 ing the best proposal, the Secretary shall consider the fol5 lowing principal factors:

6 (A) The responsiveness of the proposal to the

7 objectives of protecting and preserving park re8 sources and of providing necessary and appropriate

9 facilities and services to the public at reasonable

10 rates.

11 (B) The experience and related background of

12 the person, corporation, or entity submitting the

13 proposal, including but not limited to, the past per14 formance and expertise of such person, corporation,

15 or entity in providing the same or similar facilities

16 or services.

17 (C) The financial capability of the person, cor18 poration, or entity submitting the proposal.

19 (D) The proposed franchise fee: Provided, That

20 consideration of revenue to the United States shall

21 be subordinate to the objectives of protecting and

22 preserving park resources and of providing necessary

23 and appropriate facilities or services to the public at

24 reasonable rates.
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1 (2) The Secretary may also consider such secondary

2 factors as the Secretary deems appropriate.

3 (3) In developing regulations to implement this Act,

4 the Secretary shall consider the extent to which plans for

5 employment of Indians (including Native Alaskans) and

6 involvement of businesses owned by Indians, Indian tribes,

7 or Native Alaskans in the operation of concession con8 tracts should be identified as a factor in the selection of

9 a best proposal under this section.

10 (f) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—(1) The Sec11 retary shall submit any proposed concession contract with

12 anticipated annual gross receipts in excess of $5,000,000

13 (indexed to 1995 constant dollars) or a duration of ten

14 or more years to the Committee on Energy and Natural

15 Resources of the United States Senate and the Committee

16 on Resources of the United States House of Representa17 tives.

18 (2) The Secretary shall not award any such proposed

19 contract until at least sixty days subsequent to the notifi20 cation of both Committees.

21 (g) NO PREFERENTIAL RIGHT OF RENEWAL.—(1)

22 Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall

23 not grant a preferential right to a concessioner to renew

24 a concession contract entered into pursuant to this Act.
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1 (2) The Secretary shall grant a preferential right of

2 renewal with respect to a concession contract covered by

3 subsections (h) and (i), subject to the requirements of sub4 sections (h) or (i), as appropriate.

5 (3) As used in this subsection, and subsections (h)

6 and (i), the term ‘‘preferential right of renewal’’ means

7 that the Secretary shall allow a concessioner satisfying the

8 requirements of this subsection (and subsections (h) and

9 (i), as appropriate) the opportunity to match the terms

10 and conditions of any competing proposal which the Sec11 retary determines to be the best proposal.

12 (4) A concessioner who exercises a preferential right

13 of renewal in accordance with the requirements of this

14 paragraph shall be entitled to award of the new concession

15 contract with respect to which such right is exercised.

16 (h) OUTFITTING AND GUIDE CONTRACTS.—(1) Ex17 cept as provided in subsection (i), the provisions of para18 graph (g)(2) shall apply only—

19 (A) to a concession contract—

20 (i) which solely authorizes a concessioner

21 to provide outfitting, guide, river running, or

22 other substantially similar services within a

23 park; and
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1 (ii) which does not grant such concessioner

2 any interest in any structure, fixture, or im3 provement pursuant to section 12; and

4 (B) where the Secretary determines that the

5 concessioner has operated satisfactorily during the

6 term of the contract (including any extensions there7 of); and

8 (C) where the Secretary determines that the

9 concessioner has submitted a responsive proposal for

10 a new contract which satisfies the minimum require11 ments established by the Secretary pursuant to sec12 tion 7.

13 (2) With respect to a concession contract (or exten14 sion thereof) covered by this subsection which is in effect

15 on the date of enactment of this Act, the provisions of

16 this paragraph shall apply if the holder of such contract,

17 under the laws and policies in effect on the day before

18 the date of enactment of this Act, would have been entitled

19 to a preferential right to renew such contract upon its ex20 piration.

21 (i) CONTRACTS WITH ANNUAL GROSS RECEIPTS

22 UNDER $500,000.—(1) The provisions of paragraph

23 (g)(2) shall also apply to a concession contract—

24 (A) which the Secretary estimates will result in

25 annual gross receipts of less than $500,000;
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1 (B) where the Secretary has determined that

2 the concessioner has operated satisfactorily during

3 the term of the contract (including any extensions

4 thereof); and

5 (C) that the concessioner has submitted a re6 sponsive proposal for a new concession contract

7 which satisfies the minimum requirements estab8 lished by the Secretary pursuant to section 7.

9 (2) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply

10 to a concession contract which solely authorizes a conces11 sioner to provide outfitting, guide, river running, or other

12 substantially similar services within a park pursuant to

13 subsection (h).

14 (3) Notwithstanding the limitations set forth in para15 graph (1)(A), the provisions of this subsection shall also

16 apply to any concession contract authorizing cruise ship

17 entries into Glacier Bay National Park.

18 (j) NO PREFERENTIAL RIGHT TO ADDITIONAL SERV19 ICES.—The Secretary shall not grant a preferential right

20 to a concessioner to provide new or additional services at

21 a park.

22 SEC. 8. FRANCHISE FEES.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Franchise fees, however, stated,

24 shall not be less than the minimum fee established by the

25 Secretary for each contract. The minimum fee shall be de-
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1 termined in a manner that will provide the concessioner

2 with a reasonable opportunity to realize a profit on the

3 operation as a whole, commensurate with the capital in4 vested and the obligations assumed under the contract.

5 (b) MULTIPLE CONTRACTS WITHIN A PARK.—If

6 multiple concession contracts are awarded to authorize

7 concessioners to provide the same or similar outfitting,

8 guide, river running, or other similar services at the same

9 approximate location or resource within a specific park,

10 the Secretary shall establish an identical franchise fee for

11 all such contracts, subject to periodic review and revision

12 by the Secretary. Such fee shall reflect fair market value.

13 SEC. 9. USE OF FRANCHISE FEES.

14 (a) SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—Except as provided in sub15 section (b), all receipts collected pursuant to this Act shall

16 be covered into a special account established in the Treas17 ury of the United States. Amounts covered into such ac18 count in a fiscal year shall be available for expenditure,

19 subject to appropriation, solely as follows:

20 (1) Fifty percent shall be allocated among the

21 units of the National Park System in the same pro22 portion as franchise fees collected from a specific

23 unit bears to the total amount covered into the ac24 count for each fiscal year, to be used for resource
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1 management and protection, maintenance activities,

2 interpretation, and research.

3 (2) Fifty percent shall be allocated among the

4 units of the National Park System on the basis of

5 need, in a manner to be determined by the Sec6 retary, to be used for resource management and pro7 tection, maintenance activities, interpretation, and

8 research.

9 (b) PARK IMPROVEMENT FUND.—(1) In lieu of col10 lecting all or a portion of the franchise fees that would

11 otherwise be collected pursuant to the concession contract,

12 the Secretary shall, where the Secretary determines it to

13 be practicable, require a concessioner to establish a Park

14 Improvement Fund in which the concessioner shall deposit

15 the franchise fees that would otherwise be required by the

16 contract.

17 (2) The fund shall be maintained by the concessioner

18 in an interest bearing account in a federally-insured finan19 cial institution. The concessioner shall maintain the fund

20 separately from any other funds or accounts and shall not

21 co-mingle the monies in the fund with any other monies.

22 The Secretary may establish such other terms, conditions,

23 or requirements as the Secretary determines to be nec24 essary to ensure the financial integrity of such fund.
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1 (3) Monies from the fund, including interest, shall be

2 expended by the concessioner solely as directed by the Sec3 retary for activities and projects within the park which

4 are consistent with the park’s general management plan,

5 concession plan, and other applicable plans, and which the

6 Secretary determines will enhance public use, safety, and

7 enjoyment of the park, including but not limited to

8 projects which directly or indirectly support concession fa9 cilities or services required by the concession contract.

10 Projects paid for from the fund shall not include routine,

11 operational maintenance of facilities. A concessioner shall

12 not be allowed to make any advances or credits to the

13 fund.

14 (4) A concessioner shall not be granted any interest

15 in improvements made from fund expenditures, including

16 any interest granted pursuant to section 12.

17 (5) Nothing in this subsection shall affect the obliga18 tion of a concessioner to insure, maintain, and repair any

19 structure, fixture, or improvement assigned to such con20 cessioner and to insure that such structure, fixture, or im21 provement fully complies with applicable safety and health

22 laws and regulations.

23 (6) The concessioner shall maintain proper records

24 for all expenditures made from the fund. Such records

25 shall include, but not be limited to invoices, bank state-
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1 ments, canceled checks, and such other information as the

2 Secretary determines to be necessary.

3 (7) The concessioner shall annually submit to the

4 Secretary a statement reflecting total activity in the fund

5 for the preceding financial year. The statement shall re6 flect monthly deposits, expenditures by project, interest

7 earned, and such other information as the Secretary re8 quires.

9 (8) Proceeds from the fund shall not be used for any

10 capital expenditure exceeding $2,500,000 in any fiscal

11 year unless such expenditure has been approved in ad12 vance by Act of Congress.

13 (9) The Secretary shall annually report to the Com14 mittees on Appropriations and Energy and Natural Re15 sources of the United States Senate and the Committees

16 on Appropriations and Resources of the United States

17 House of Representatives concerning the actual and pro18 jected expenditures for each fund established pursuant to

19 this section.

20 (10) Upon the termination of a concession contract,

21 or upon the sale or transfer of such contract, any remain22 ing balance in the fund shall be transferred by the conces23 sioner to the successor concessioner, to be used solely as

24 set forth in this subsection. In the event there is not a
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1 successor concessioner, the fund balance shall be deposited

2 into the special account established in subsection (a).

3 SEC. 10. DURATION OF CONTRACT.

4 (a) MAXIMUM TERM.—A concession contract entered

5 into pursuant to this Act shall be awarded for a term not

6 to exceed ten years: Provided, however, That the Secretary

7 may award a contract for a term not to exceed twenty

8 years if the Secretary determines that the contract terms

9 and conditions necessitate a longer term.

10 (b) TEMPORARY CONTRACT.—A temporary conces11 sion contract awarded on a non-competitive basis pursuant

12 to section 7(b) shall be for a term not to exceed two years.

13 SEC. 11. TRANSFER OF CONTRACT.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) No concession contract may

15 be transferred, assigned, sold, or otherwise conveyed by

16 a concessioner without prior written notification to, and

17 approval of the Secretary.

18 (2) The Secretary shall not unreasonably withhold

19 approval of a transfer, assignment, sale, or conveyance of

20 a concession contract, but shall not approve the transfer,

21 assignment, sale, or conveyance of a concession contract

22 to any individual, corporation or other entity if the Sec23 retary determines that—
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1 (A) such individual, corporation or entity is, or

2 is likely to be, unable to completely satisfy all of the

3 requirements, terms, and conditions of the contract;

4 (B) such transfer, assignment, sale or convey5 ance is not consistent with the objectives of protect6 ing and preserving park resources, and of providing

7 necessary and appropriate facilities or services to the

8 public at reasonable rates;

9 (C) such transfer, assignment, sale, or convey10 ance relates to a concession contract which does not

11 provide to the United States consideration commen12 surate with the probable value of the privileges

13 granted by the contract; or

14 (D) the terms of such transfer, assignment,

15 sale, or conveyance directly or indirectly attribute a

16 significant value to intangible assets or otherwise

17 may so reduce the opportunity for a reasonable prof18 it over the remaining term of the contract that the

19 United States may be required to make substantial

20 additional expenditures in order to avoid interrup21 tion of services to park visitors.

22 (b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Within thirty

23 days after receiving a completed proposal to transfer, as24 sign, sell, or otherwise convey a concession contract, the

25 Secretary shall notify the Committee on Energy and Natu-
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1 ral Resources of the United States Senate and the Com2 mittee on Resources of the United States House of Rep3 resentatives of such proposal. Approval of such proposal,

4 if granted by the Secretary, shall not take effect until sixty

5 days after the date of notification of both Committees.

6 SEC. 12. PROTECTION OF CONCESSIONER INVESTMENT.

7 (a) CURRENT CONTRACT.—(1) A concessioner who

8 before the date of the enactment of this Act has acquired

9 or constructed, or is required under an existing concession

10 contract to commence acquisition or construction of any

11 structure, fixture, or improvement upon land owned by the

12 United States within a park, pursuant to such contract,

13 shall have a possessory interest therein, to the extent pro14 vided by such contract.

15 (2) Unless otherwise provided in such contract, said

16 possessory interest shall not be extinguished by the expira17 tion or termination of the contract and may not be taken

18 for public use without just compensation. Such possessory

19 interest may be assigned, transferred, encumbered, or re20 linquished.

21 (3) Upon the termination of a concession contract in

22 effect before the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec23 retary shall determine the value of any outstanding

24 possessory interest applicable to the contract, such value

25 to be determined for all purposes on the basis of applicable
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1 laws and contracts in effect on the day before the date

2 of enactment of this Act.

3 (4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to

4 grant a possessory interest to a concessioner whose con5 tract in effect on the date of enactment of this Act does

6 not include recognition of a possessory interest.

7 (b) NEW CONTRACTS.—(1)(A) With respect to a con8 cession contract entered into on or after the date of enact9 ment of this Act, the value of any outstanding possessory

10 interest associated with such contract shall be set at the

11 value determined by the Secretary pursuant to subsection

12 (a)(3).

13 (B) As a condition of entering into a concession con14 tract, the value of any outstanding possessory interest

15 shall be reduced on an annual basis, in equal portions,

16 over the same number of years as the time period associ17 ated with the straight line depreciation of the structure,

18 fixture, or improvement associated with such possessory

19 interest, as provided by applicable Federal income tax laws

20 and regulations in effect on the day before the date of

21 enactment of this Act.

22 (C) In the event that the contract expires or is termi23 nated prior to the elimination of any outstanding

24 possessory interest,the concessioner shall be entitled to re25 ceive from the United States or the successor concessioner
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1 payment equal to the remaining value of the possessory

2 interest.

3 (D) A successor concessioner may not revalue any

4 outstanding possessory interest, nor the period of time

5 over which such interest is reduced.

6 (E) Title to any structure, fixture, or improvement

7 associated with any outstanding possessory interest shall

8 be vested in the United States.

9 (2)(A) If the Secretary determines during the com10 petitive selection process that all proposals submitted ei11 ther fail to meet the minimum requirements or are re12 jected (as provided in section 7), the Secretary may, solely

13 with respect to any outstanding possessory interest associ14 ated with the contract and established pursuant to a con15 cession contract entered into prior to the date of enact16 ment of this Act, suspend the reduction provisions of sub17 section (b)(1)(B) for the duration of the contract, and

18 reinitiate the competitive selection process as provided in

19 section 7.

20 (B) The Secretary may suspend such reduction provi21 sions only if the Secretary determines that the establish22 ment of other new minimum contract requirements is not

23 likely to result in the submission of satisfactory proposals,

24 and that the suspension of the reduction provisions is like25 ly to result in the submission of satisfactory proposals:
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1 Provided, however, That nothing in this paragraph shall

2 be construed to require the Secretary to establish a mini3 mum franchise fee at a level below the franchise fee in

4 effect for such contract on the day before the expiration

5 date of the previous contract.

6 (c) NEW STRUCTURES.—(1) On or after the date of

7 enactment of this Act, a concessioner who constructs or

8 acquires a new, additional, or replacement structure, fix9 ture, or improvement upon land owned by the United

10 States within a park, pursuant to a concession contract,

11 shall have an interest in such structure, fixture, or im12 provement equivalent to the actual original cost of acquir13 ing or constructing such structure, fixture, or improve14 ment, less straight line depreciation over the estimated

15 useful life of the asset according to Generally Accepted

16 Accounting Principles: Provided, That in no event shall

17 the estimated useful life of such asset exceed the deprecia18 tion period used for such asset for Federal income tax pur19 poses.

20 (2) In the event that the contract expires or is termi21 nated prior to the recovery of such costs, the concessioner

22 shall be entitled to receive from the United States or the

23 successor concessioner payment equal to the value of the

24 concessioner’s interest in such structure, fixture, or im25 provement. A successor concessioner may not revalue the
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1 interest in such structure, fixture, or improvement, the

2 method of depreciation, or the estimated useful life of the

3 asset.

4 (3) Title to any such structure, fixture, or improve5 ment shall be vested in the United States.

6 (d) INSURANCE, MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR.—

7 Nothing in this section shall affect the obligation of a con8 cessioner to insure, maintain, and repair any structure,

9 fixture, or improvement assigned to such concessioner and

10 to insure that such structure, fixture, or improvement

11 fully complies with applicable safety and health laws and

12 regulations.

13 SEC. 13. RATES AND CHARGES TO PUBLIC.

14 The reasonableness of a concessioner’s rates and

15 charges to the public shall, unless otherwise provided in

16 the bid specifications and contract, be judged primarily

17 by comparison with those rates and charges for facilities

18 and services of comparable character under similar condi19 tions, with due consideration for length of season, seasonal

20 variance, average percentage of occupancy, accessibility,

21 availability and costs of labor and materials, type of pa22 tronage, and other factors deemed significant by the Sec23 retary.
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1 SEC. 14. CONCESSIONER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.

2 (a) REGULATIONS.—Within one hundred and eighty

3 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary

4 shall publish, after an appropriate period for public com5 ment, regulations establishing standards and criteria for

6 evaluating the performance of concessions operating with7 in parks.

8 (b) PERIODIC EVALUATION.—(1) The Secretary shall

9 periodically conduct an evaluation of each concessioner op10 erating under a concession contract pursuant to this Act,

11 as appropriate, to determine whether such concessioner

12 has performed satisfactorily. In evaluating a conces13 sioner’s performance, the Secretary shall seek and con14 sider applicable reports and comments from appropriate

15 Federal, State, and local regulatory agencies, and shall

16 seek and consider the applicable views of park visitors and

17 concession customers. If the Secretary’s performance eval18 uation results in an unsatisfactory rating of the conces19 sioner’s overall operation, the Secretary shall provide the

20 concessioner with a list of the minimum requirements nec21 essary for the operation to be rated satisfactory, and shall

22 so notify the concessioner in writing.

23 (2) The Secretary may terminate a concession con24 tract if the concessioner fails to meet the minimum oper25 ational requirements identified by the Secretary within the

26 time limitations established by the Secretary at the time
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1 notice of the unsatisfactory rating is provided to the con2 cessioner.

3 (3) If the Secretary terminates a concession contract

4 pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall solicit propos5 als for a new contract consistent with the provisions of

6 this Act.

7 (c) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary

8 shall notify the Committee on Energy and Natural Re9 sources of the United States Senate and the Committee

10 on Resources of the United States House of Representa11 tives of each unsatisfactory rating and of each concession

12 contract terminated pursuant to this section.

13 SEC. 15. RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each concessioner shall keep such

15 records as the Secretary may prescribe to enable the Sec16 retary to determine that all terms of the concessioner’s

17 contract have been, and are being faithfully performed,

18 and the Secretary or any of the Secretary’s duly author19 ized representatives shall, for the purpose of audit and ex20 amination, have access to such records and to other books,

21 documents and papers of the concessioner pertinent to the

22 contract and all the terms and conditions thereof as the

23 Secretary deems necessary.

24 (b) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE REVIEW.—The

25 Comptroller General of the United States or any of his
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1 or her duly authorized representatives shall, until the expi2 ration of five calendar years after the close of the business

3 year for each concessioner, have access to and the right

4 to examine any pertinent books, documents, papers, and

5 records of the concessioner related to the contracts or con6 tracts involved.

7 SEC. 16. EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN LEASE REQUIRE8 MENTS.

9 The provisions of section 321 of the Act of June 30,

10 1932 (47 Stat. 412; 40 U.S.C. 303b), relating to the leas11 ing of buildings and properties of the United States, shall

12 not apply to contracts awarded by the Secretary pursuant

13 to this Act.

14 SEC. 17. NO EFFECT ON ANILCA PROVISIONS.

15 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to amend, su16 persede, or otherwise affect any provision of the Alaska

17 National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C.

18 3101 et seq.).

19 SEC. 18. IMPLEMENTATION REPORTS.

20 Beginning on June 1, 1997, and biennially thereafter,

21 the Inspector General of the Department of the Interior

22 shall submit a report to the Committee on Energy and

23 Natural Resources of the United States Senate and the

24 Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives

25 on the implementation of this Act and the effect of such
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1 implementation on facilities operated pursuant to conces2 sion contracts and on visitor services. Each report shall—

3 (1) identify any concession contracts which have

4 been renewed, renegotiated, terminated, or trans5 ferred during the year prior to the submission of the

6 report and identify any significant changes in the

7 terms of the new contract;

8 (2) state the amount of franchise fees the rates

9 which would be charged for services, and the level of

10 other services required to be provided by the conces11 sioner in comparison to that required in the previous

12 contract;

13 (3) assess the degree to which concession facili14 ties are being maintained using the condition of such

15 facilities on the date of enactment of this Act as a

16 baseline;

17 (4) determine whether competition has been in18 creased or decreased with respect to the awarding of

19 each contract; and

20 (5) set forth the amount of revenues received

21 and financial obligations incurred or reduced by the

22 Federal Government as a result of the comparison of

23 the Act for the reporting period and in comparison

24 with previous reporting periods and the baseline year
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1 of 1995, including the costs, if any, associated with

2 the acquisition of possessory interests.

3 SEC. 19. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as

5 may be necessary to carry out this Act.

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