I

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 489

To amend the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 as regards

the National Park Service, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 21, 1997

Mr. RICHARDSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To amend the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of

1965 as regards 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 ‘‘Park Renewal Fund

5 Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FEES.

7 (a) ADMISSION FEES.—Section 4(a) of the Land and

8 Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–

9 6a(a)) is amended as follows:
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1 (1) Delete ‘‘fee-free travel areas’’ and ‘‘lifetime

2 admission permit’’ from the title of this section.

3 (2) In paragraph (a)(1)(A)(i) by striking the

4 first and second sentences and inserting in lieu

5 thereof, ‘‘For admission into any such designated

6 area, an annual admission permit (to be known as

7 the Golden Eagle Passport) shall be available for a

8 fee and under such conditions as to be determined

9 by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary

10 of Agriculture.’’.

11 (3) In paragraph (a)(1)(B) by striking the sec12 ond sentence.

13 (4) Delete paragraph (a)(2) in its entirety and

14 insert in lieu thereof: ‘‘Reasonable admission fees for

15 a single visit to any designated unit shall be estab16 lished by the administering Secretary for persons

17 who choose not to purchase the annual permit. A

18 ‘single visit’ means a continuous stay within a des19 ignated unit. Payment of a single visit admission fee

20 shall authorize exits from and reentries to a des21 ignated unit for a period to be defined for each des22 ignated unit by the administering Secretary based

23 upon a determination of the period of time reason24 ably and ordinarily necessary for such a single

25 visit.’’.
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1 (5) In paragraph (a)(3) by inserting the word

2 ‘‘Great’’ in the third sentence before ‘‘Smoky’’.

3 (6) In paragraph (a)(3) delete the last sentence.

4 (7) Delete paragraph (a)(4) in its entirety and

5 insert in lieu thereof: ‘‘The Secretary of the Interior

6 and the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish pro7 cedures for discounted admission fees to any citizen

8 of, or person legally domiciled in, the United States

9 sixty-two years of age or older, such discount to be

10 received upon proof of age. Any such discount will

11 be nontransferable, applied only to the individual

12 qualifying on the basis of age, and given notwith13 standing the method of travel. No fees of any kind

14 shall be collected from any persons who have a right

15 of access for hunting or fishing privileges under a

16 specific provision of law or treaty or who are en17 gaged in the conduct of official Federal, State, or

18 local government business.’’.

19 (8) Delete paragraph (a)(5) in its entirety and

20 insert in lieu thereof: ‘‘The Secretary of the Interior

21 and the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish pro22 cedures providing for the issuance of a lifetime ad23 mission permit to any citizen of, or person legally

24 domiciled in, the United States, if such citizen or

25 person applies for such permit and is permanently
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1 disabled. Such procedures shall assure that such

2 permit shall be issued only to persons who have been

3 medically determined to be permanently disabled.

4 Such permit shall be nontransferable, shall be issued

5 without charge, and shall entitle the permittee and

6 one accompanying individual to general admission

7 into any area designated pursuant to this subsection,

8 notwithstanding the method of travel.’’.

9 (9) In paragraph (a)(6)(A) by striking ‘‘No

10 later than 60 days after December 22, 1987’’ and

11 inserting ‘‘No later than six months after enact12 ment’’ and striking ‘‘Interior and Insular Affairs’’

13 and inserting ‘‘Resources’’.

14 (10) Delete paragraphs (a)(9) and (a)(11) in

15 their entirety. Renumber current paragraph ‘‘(10)’’

16 as ‘‘(9)’’ and current paragraph ‘‘(12)’’ as ‘‘(10)’’.

17 (b) RECREATION FEES.—Section 4(b) of the Land

18 and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C.

19 460l–6a(b)) is amended as follows:

20 (1) Delete ‘‘FEES FOR GOLDEN AGE PASSPORT

21 PERMITTEE’’ from section title.

22 (2) Delete the following: ‘‘personal collection of

23 the fee by an employee or agent of the Federal agen24 cy operating the facility’’.
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1 (3) Delete ‘‘Any Golden Age Passport permit2 tee, or’’ and insert in lieu thereof ‘‘Any’’.

3 (c) CRITERIA, POSTING AND UNIFORMITY OF

4 FEES.—Section 4(d) of the Land and Water Conservation

5 Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–6a(d)) is amended by

6 deleting from the first sentence ‘‘recreation fees charged

7 by non-Federal public agencies,’’ and inserting in lieu

8 thereof ‘‘fees charged by other public and private enti9 ties,’’.

10 (d) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—Section 4(e) of the

11 Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.

12 C. 460l–6a(e)) is amended by deleting ‘‘of not more than

13 $100.’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘as provided by law.’’

14 (e) FEDERAL AND STATE LAWS UNAFFECTED.—Sec15 tion 4(g) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act

16 of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–6a(g)) is amended by deleting

17 the following in the first sentence ‘‘or fees or charges for

18 commercial or other activities not related to recreation,’’

19 and inserting ‘‘: Provided, however, That in those park

20 areas under partial (if applicable) or exclusive jurisdiction

21 of the United States where State fishing licenses are not

22 required, the National Park Service may charge a fee for

23 fishing.’’.
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1 (f) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 4(h) of the

2 Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16

3 U.S.C. 460l–6a(h)) is amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘Bureau of Outdoor Recreation’’

5 and inserting in lieu thereof, ‘‘National Park Serv6 ice’’;

7 (2) by striking ‘‘Interior and Insular Affairs of

8 the United States House of Representatives and

9 United States Senate’’ and inserting in lieu thereof,

10 ‘‘Resources of the United States House of Rep11 resentatives and on Energy and Natural Resources

12 of the United States Senate’’; and

13 (3) by striking ‘‘Bureau’’ and inserting in lieu

14 thereof, ‘‘National Park Service’’.

15 (g) USE OF FEES.—Section 4(i) of the Land and

16 Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–

17 6a(i)) is amended as follows:

18 (1) After ‘‘(i)’’ by inserting ‘‘USE OF

19 FEES.—’’.

20 (2) In the first sentence of subparagraph (B)

21 by striking ‘‘fee collection costs for that fiscal year’’

22 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘fee collection costs for

23 the immediately preceding fiscal year’’ and by strik24 ing ‘‘section in that fiscal year’’ and inserting in lieu
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1 thereof ‘‘section in such immediately preceding fiscal

2 year’’.

3 (3) In the second sentence of subparagraph (B)

4 by striking ‘‘in that fiscal year’’.

5 (4) By adding the following at the end of para6 graph (1):

7 ‘‘(C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A),

8 beginning in fiscal year 1996 and each fiscal

9 year thereafter, all additional fee revenue gen10 erated by the National Park Service through

11 enactment of this legislation, as authorized to

12 be collected pursuant to subsection 4 (a) and

13 (b), shall be covered into a special fund estab14 lished in the Treasury of the United States to

15 be known as the ‘National Park Renewal

16 Fund’. In fiscal year 1997 and each fiscal year

17 thereafter, the amount of additional fee revenue

18 generated in the immediately preceding fiscal

19 year by the National Park Service through en20 actment of this legislation shall be available to

21 the Secretary of the Interior, without further

22 provision in appropriations Acts, for infrastruc23 ture needs at parks including but not limited to

24 facility refurbishment, repair and replacement,
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1 interpretive media and exhibit repair and re2 placement, and infrastructure projects associ3 ated with park resource protection. Such

4 amounts shall remain available until expended.

5 The Secretary shall develop procedures for the

6 use of the fund that ensure accountability and

7 demonstrated results consistent with the pur8 poses of this Act. Beginning the first full fiscal

9 year after the creation of the ‘National Park

10 Renewal Fund’, the Secretary shall submit an

11 annual report to the Congress, on a unit-by12 unit basis, detailing the expenditures of such

13 receipts. In fiscal year 1996 only, fees author14 ized to be collected pursuant to subsections 4

15 (a) and (b) of this Act may be collected only to

16 the extent provided in advance in appropria17 tions Acts.’’.

18 (5) Paragraph (4)(A) is amended by striking

19 ‘‘resource protection, research, and interpretation’’

20 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘park operations’’.

21 (h) SELLING OF PERMITS.—Section 4(k) of the Land

22 and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C.

23 460l–6a(k)) is amended by—

24 (1) striking ‘‘SELLING OF ANNUAL ADMISSION

25 PERMITS BY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ENTITIES
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1 UNDER ARRANGEMENTS WITH COLLECTING AGEN2 CY HEAD’’ from the title of this section; and

3 (2) deleting the last two sentences, regarding

4 the sale of Golden Eagle Passports, from this sec5 tion.

6 (i) CHARGES FOR TRANSPORTATION PROVIDED BY

7 THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.—(1) Section 4(l)(1) of

8 the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16

9 U.S.C. 460l–6a(1)) is amended by striking the word

10 ‘‘VIEWING’’ from the section title and inserting in lieu

11 thereof ‘‘VISITING’’.

12 (2) Section 4(l)(1) of the Land and Water Conserva13 tion Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–6a(1)) is amended

14 by deleting the word ‘‘view’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

15 ‘‘visit’’.

16 (3) Section 4(l)(2) of the Land and Water Conserva17 tion Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–6a(1)) is amended

18 by deleting paragraph (2) and inserting in lieu thereof:

19 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the charges

20 imposed under paragraph (1) shall be retained by the unit

21 of the National Park System at which the service was pro22 vided. The amount retained shall be expended for costs

23 associated with the transportation systems at the unit

24 where the charge was imposed.’’.
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1 (j) COMMERCIAL TOUR FEES.—Section 4 of the

2 Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16

3 U.S.C. 460l–6a(n)) is amended by striking section (2) in

4 its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof:

5 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall establish a flat fee, per

6 entry, for such vehicles. The amount of the said flat

7 fee shall reflect both the commercial tour use fee

8 rate and current admission rates.’’.

9 (k) FEES FOR SPECIAL USES.—Section 4 of the

10 Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16

11 U.S.C. 460l–6a) is amended by adding the following at

12 the end thereof:

13 ‘‘(o) FEES FOR COMMERCIAL NONRECREATIONAL

14 USES.—Utilizing the criteria established in section 4(d)

15 (16 U.S.C. 460l–6a(d)), the Secretary of the Interior shall

16 establish reasonable fees for non-recurring commercial or

17 non-recreational uses of National Park System units that

18 require special arrangements, including permits. At a min19 imum, such fees will cover all costs of providing necessary

20 services associated with such use, except that at the Sec21 retary’s discretion, the Secretary may waive or reduce

22 such fees in the case of any organization using an area

23 within the National Park System for activities which fur24 ther the goals of the National Park Service. Receipts from

25 such fees may be retained at the park unit in which the
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1 use takes place, and remain available, without further ap2 propriation, to cover the cost of providing such services.

3 The portion of such fee which exceeds the cost of providing

4 necessary services associated with such use shall be depos5 ited into the National Park Renewal Fund.’’.

6 (l) FEE AUTHORITY.—Section 4 of the Land and

7 Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–

8 6a) is amended by adding the following new subsection

9 at the end thereof:

10 ‘‘(p) ADMISSION OR RECREATION USE FEES.—No

11 admission or recreation use fee of any kind shall be

12 charged or imposed for entrance into, or use of, any feder13 ally owned area operated and maintained by a Federal

14 agency and used for outdoor recreation purposes, except

15 as provided for by this Act.’’.

16 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF COMMERCIAL VEHICLES, DELA17 WARE WATER GAP NATIONAL RECREATION

18 AREA.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective at noon on September

20 30, 2005, the use of Highway 209 within the Delaware

21 Water Gap National Recreation Area by commercial vehi22 cles, when such use is not connected with the operation

23 of the recreation area, is prohibited, except as provided

24 in section (b).
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1 (b) LOCAL BUSINESS USE PROTECTED.—Subsection

2 (a) does not apply with respect to the use of commercial

3 vehicles to serve businesses located within or in the vicinity

4 of the recreation area, as determined by the Secretary.

5 (c) CONFORMING PROVISIONS.—(1) Paragraphs (1)

6 through (3) of the third undesignated paragraph under

7 the heading ‘‘ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS’’ in chapter

8 VII of title I of Public Law 98–63 (97 Stat. 329), are

9 repealed, effective September 30, 2005.

10 (2) Prior to noon on September 30, 2005, the Sec11 retary shall collect and utilize a commercial use fee from

12 commercial vehicles in accordance with paragraphs (1)

13 through (3) of such third undesignated paragraph. Such

14 fee shall not exceed $25 per trip.

15 SEC. 4. CHALLENGE COST-SHARE AGREEMENTS.

16 (a) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary of the Interior is

17 authorized to negotiate and enter into challenge cost-share

18 agreements with cooperators. For purposes of this section,

19 the term—

20 (1) ‘‘challenge cost-share agreement’’ means

21 any agreement entered into between the Secretary

22 and any cooperator for the purpose of sharing costs

23 or services in carrying out authorized functions and

24 responsibilities of the Secretary with respect to any

25 unit or program of the National Park System (as
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1 defined in section 2(a) of the Act of August 8, 1953

2 (16 U.S.C. 1c(a)), any affiliated area, or designated

3 National Scenic or Historic Trail; and

4 (2) ‘‘cooperator’’ means any State or local gov5 ernment, public or private agency, organization, in6 stitution, corporation, individual, or other entity.

7 (b) USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—In carrying out chal8 lenge cost-share agreements, the Secretary is authorized

9 to provide the Federal funding share from any funds avail10 able to the National Park Service.

11 SEC. 5. DONATIONS.

12 (a) REQUESTS FOR DONATIONS.—In addition to the

13 Secretary’s other authorities to accept the donation of

14 lands, buildings, other property, services, and moneys for

15 the purposes of the National Park System, the Secretary

16 is authorized to solicit donations of money, property, and

17 services from individuals, corporations, foundations and

18 other potential donors who the Secretary believes would

19 wish to make such donations as an expression of support

20 for the national parks. Such donations may be accepted

21 and used for any authorized purpose or program of the
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1 National Park Service, and donations of money shall re2 main available for expenditure without fiscal year limita3 tion. Any employees of the Department to whom this au4 thority is delegated shall be set forth in the written guide5 lines issued by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (d).

6 (b) EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION.—Employees of the

7 National Park Service may solicit donations only if the

8 request is incidental to or in support of, and does not

9 interfere with their primary duty of protecting and admin10 istering the parks or administering authorized programs,

11 and only for the purpose of providing a level of resource

12 protection, visitor facilities, or services for health and safe13 ty projects, recurring maintenance activities, or for other

14 routine activities normally funded through annual agency

15 appropriations. Such requests must be in accordance with

16 the guidelines issued pursuant to subparagraph (d).

17 (c) PROHIBITIONS.—(1) A donation may not be ac18 cepted in exchange for a commitment to the donor on the

19 part of the National Park Service or which attaches condi20 tions inconsistent with applicable laws and regulations or

21 that is conditioned upon or will require the expenditure

22 of appropriated funds that are not available to the Depart23 ment, or which compromises a criminal or civil position

24 of the United States or any of its departments or agencies
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1 or the administrative authority of any agency of the

2 United States.

3 (2) In utilizing the authorities contained in this sec4 tion employees of the National Park Service shall not di5 rectly conduct or execute major fundraising campaigns,

6 but may cooperate with others whom the Secretary may

7 designate to conduct such campaigns on behalf of the Na8 tional Park Service.

9 (d) GUIDANCE.—(1) The Secretary shall issue writ10 ten guidelines setting forth those positions to which he has

11 delegated his authority under paragraph (a) and the cat12 egories of employees of the National Park Service that are

13 authorized to request donations pursuant to paragraph

14 (b). Such guidelines shall also set forth any limitations

15 on the types of donations that will be requested or accept16 ed as well as the sources of those donations.

17 (2) The Secretary shall publish guidelines which set

18 forth the criteria to be used in determining whether the

19 solicitation or acceptance of contributions of lands, build20 ings, other property, services, moneys, and other gifts or

21 donations authorized by this section would reflect unfavor22 ably upon the ability of the Department of the Interior

23 or any employee to carry out its responsibilities or official

24 duties in a fair and objective manner, or would com25 promise the integrity or the appearance of the integrity
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1 of its programs or any official involved in those programs.

2 The Secretary shall also issue written guidance on the ex3 tent of the cooperation that may be provided by National

4 Park Service employees in any major fundraising cam5 paign which the Secretary has designated others to con6 duct pursuant to paragraph (c)(2).

7 SEC. 6. COST RECOVERY FOR DAMAGE TO NATIONAL PARK

8 RESOURCES.

9 Public Law 101–337 is amended as follows:

10 (1) In section 1 (16 U.S.C. 19jj), by amending

11 subsection (d) to read as follows:

12 ‘‘(d) ‘Park system resource’ means any living or non13 living resource that is located within the boundaries of a

14 unit of the National Park System, except for resources

15 owned by a non-Federal entity.’’.

16 (2) In section 1 (16 U.S.C. 19jj) by adding at

17 the end thereof the following:

18 ‘‘(g) ‘Marine or aquatic park system resource’ means

19 any living or nonliving part of a marine or aquatic regimen

20 within or is a living part of a marine or aquatic regimen

21 within the boundaries of a unit of the National Park Sys22 tem, except for resources owned by a non-Federal entity.’’.
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1 (3) In section 2(b) (16 U.S.C. 19jj–1(b)), by

2 striking ‘‘any park’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

3 ‘‘any marine or aquatic park’’.

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