I

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 919

To establish fair market value pricing of Federal natural assets, and for

other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 4, 1997

Mr. MILLER of California (for himself, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr.

MEEHAN, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. YATES, Mr.

BROWN of California, Mr. ANDREWS, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. NADLER, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. SABO, Mr.

KENNEDY of Massachusetts, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. STARK, Mrs. MALONEY of

New York, Mr. VENTO, Ms. FURSE, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. EVANS,

Mr. MARKEY, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr.

OLVER, Mr. CLAY, Mr. PORTER, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. ESHOO, Mr.

WAXMAN, Mr. GEJDENSON, Ms. LOFGREN, and Ms. DELAURO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of

the committee concerned

A BILL

To establish fair market value pricing of Federal natural

assets, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

3 ‘‘Public Resources Deficit Reduction Act of 1997’’.

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 101. Fair market value for resource disposal.

Sec. 102. Fees from program beneficiaries.

Sec. 103. Revenues from sale, lease, and transfer of assets.

TITLE II—REVENUE FROM MINING CLAIMS

Sec. 201. Royalty.

Sec. 202. Abandoned minerals mine reclamation fund.

Sec. 203. Limitation on patent issuance.

Sec. 204. Mining claim maintenance requirements.

Sec. 205. Definitions.

TITLE III—USE OR DISPOSAL OF FEDERAL NATURAL

RESOURCES

Sec. 301. Annual domestic livestock grazing fee.

Sec. 302. Elimination of below-cost sales of timber from national forest system

lands.

Sec. 303. Timberland suitability.

Sec. 304. Cost of water used to produce crops on production flexibility contract

acreage.

Sec. 305. Reduction in maximum amount of payments under agricultural assistance programs to reflect receipt of Federal irrigation water.

Sec. 306. Off budget expenditures.

Sec. 307. Deposit of Taylor Grazing Act receipts in Treasury.

Sec. 308. Repeal of livestock feed assistance program.

Sec. 309. Right-of-way permits.

Sec. 310. Oil and gas rentals.

Sec. 311. Improvement of minerals management service royalty collection.

TITLE IV—NATIONAL PARK CONCESSIONS

Sec. 401. Findings and policy.

Sec. 402. Definitions.

Sec. 403. Repeal of Concessions Policy Act of 1965.

Sec. 404. Concession contracts and other authorizations.

Sec. 405. Competitive selection process.

Sec. 406. Franchise fees.

Sec. 407. Use of franchise fees.

Sec. 408. Duration of contract.

Sec. 409. Transfer of contract.

Sec. 410. Protection of concessioner investment.

Sec. 411. Rates and charges to public.

Sec. 412. Concessioner performance evaluation.

Sec. 413. Recordkeeping requirements.
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Sec. 414. Exemption from certain lease requirements.

Sec. 415. No effect on ANILCA provisions.

Sec. 416. Implementation.

Sec. 417. Authorization of appropriations.

1 TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS

2 SEC. 101. FAIR MARKET VALUE FOR RESOURCE DISPOSAL.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi4 sion of law, no timber, minerals, forage, or other natural

5 resource owned by the United States, no Federally owned

6 water, and no hydroelectric energy generated at a Federal

7 facility may be sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of by

8 any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United

9 States for an amount less than fair market value, as deter10 mined by such department, agency, or instrumentality.

11 (b) EXISTING CONTRACTS, LEASES, ETC.—

12 (1) EXISTING ARRANGEMENTS.—The provisions

13 of subsection (a) shall not apply to any existing con14 tract, lease, or other binding arrangement entered

15 into before the date of the enactment of this Act un16 less such contract, lease or other arrangement is re17 newed or extended after such date of enactment.

18 (2) ARRANGEMENTS ENTERED INTO IN 5-YEAR

19 PERIOD.—The provisions of subsection (a) shall take

20 effect on the date 5 years after the date of enact21 ment of this Act in the case of any contract, lease,
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1 or other binding arrangement entered into or re2 newed or extended after such date but before the

3 date 5 years after such date.

4 (3) ARRANGEMENTS ENTERED INTO AFTER 5

5 YEARS.—The provisions of subsection (a) shall apply

6 immediately to all contracts, leases, or other binding

7 arrangements entered into or renewed or extended

8 after the date 5 years after the enactment of this

9 Act.

10 (c) WAIVER.—The President may waive the require11 ments of subsection (a) whenever the President deter12 mines that such waiver is in the national interest. The

13 President shall submit a notice to Congress containing an

14 explanation of the reasons for any such determination

15 within 60 days after the date of the determination.

16 SEC. 102. FEES FROM PROGRAM BENEFICIARIES.

17 (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of the In18 terior and the Secretary of Agriculture are each author19 ized to establish and collect from persons subject to pro20 grams administered by each such Secretary such user fees

21 as may be necessary to reimburse the United States for

22 the expenses incurred in administering such programs.

23 The aggregate amount of fees that may be assessed and

24 collected under this section by each such Secretary in any

25 fiscal year from persons subject to any such program shall
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1 not exceed the aggregate amount of expenses incurred in

2 administering such program in such fiscal year.

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE; OIL AND GAS LEASE TRANS4 FERS.—The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary

5 of Agriculture may, by rule, establish the applicable effec6 tive date of any fee to be imposed under this section, ex7 cept that fees shall be established and collected under this

8 section from each person receiving a transfer of a Federal

9 onshore oil and gas lease after the date of the enactment

10 of this section.

11 SEC. 103. REVENUES FROM SALE, LEASE, AND TRANSFER

12 OF ASSETS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1105(a) of chapter 11 of

14 title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the

15 end the following new paragraph:

16 ‘‘(31) a separate statement of—

17 ‘‘(A) projected revenues during the fiscal

18 year for which the budget is submitted from the

19 anticipated sale, lease, or transfer of any phys20 ical asset; and

21 ‘‘(B) the estimated price at which this

22 asset or a comparable asset would be sold in an

23 arms length transaction in the private sector;

24 asset by asset and aggregated by major functional

25 category.’’.
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

2 subsection (a) shall become effective for fiscal year 1998

3 and shall be fully reflected in the fiscal year 1999 budget

4 submitted by the President in February 1998 as required

5 by section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code.

6 TITLE II—REVENUE FROM

7 MINING CLAIMS

8 SEC. 201. ROYALTY.

9 (a) RESERVATION OF ROYALTY.—Each person pro10 ducing locatable minerals (including associated minerals)

11 from any mining claim located under the general mining

12 laws, or mineral concentrates derived from locatable min13 erals produced from any mining claim located under the

14 general mining laws, as the case may be, shall pay a roy15 alty of 5 percent of the net smelter return from the pro16 duction of such locatable minerals or concentrates, as the

17 case may be.

18 (b) ROYALTY PAYMENTS.—Each person responsible

19 for making royalty payments under this section shall make

20 such payments to the Secretary not later than 30 days

21 after the end of the calendar month in which the mineral

22 or mineral concentrates are produced and first placed in

23 marketable condition, consistent with prevailing practices

24 in the industry.
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1 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—All persons hold2 ing mining claims located under the general mining laws

3 shall provide to the Secretary such information as deter4 mined necessary by the Secretary to ensure compliance

5 with this section, including, but not limited to, quarterly

6 reports, records, documents, and other data. Such reports

7 may also include, but not be limited to, pertinent technical

8 and financial data relating to the quantity, quality, and

9 amount of all minerals extracted from the mining claim.

10 (d) AUDITS.—The Secretary is authorized to conduct

11 such audits of all persons holding mining claims located

12 under the general mining laws as he deems necessary for

13 the purposes of ensuring compliance with the require14 ments of this section.

15 (e) DISPOSITION OF RECEIPTS.—All receipts from

16 royalties collected pursuant to this section shall be depos17 ited into the Fund established under section 202.

18 (f) COMPLIANCE.—Any person holding mining claims

19 located under the general mining laws who knowingly or

20 willfully prepares, maintains, or submits false, inaccurate,

21 or misleading information required by this section, or fails

22 or refuses to submit such information, shall be subject to

23 a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 imposed by the

24 Secretary.
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1 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect

2 with respect to minerals produced from a mining claim

3 in calendar months beginning after the enactment of this

4 Act.

5 SEC. 202. ABANDONED MINERALS MINE RECLAMATION

6 FUND.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—(1) There is established on

8 the books of the Treasury of the United States a trust

9 fund to be known as the Abandoned Minerals Mine Rec10 lamation Fund (hereinafter referred to as the Fund). The

11 Fund shall be administered by the Secretary.

12 (2) The Secretary shall notify the Secretary of the

13 Treasury as to what portion of the Fund is not, in his

14 judgment, required to meet current withdrawals. The Sec15 retary of the Treasury shall invest such portion of the

16 Fund in public debt securities with maturities suitable for

17 the needs of such Fund and bearing interest at rates de18 termined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into

19 consideration current market yields on outstanding mar20 ketplace obligations of the United States of comparable

21 maturities. The income on such investments shall be cred22 ited to, and from a part of, the Fund.

23 (b) AMOUNTS.—The following amounts shall be cred24 ited to the Fund for the purposes of this title:
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1 (1) All moneys received from royalties under

2 section 201 and the mining claim maintenance fee

3 under section 204 of this Act.

4 (2) All donations by persons, corporations, as5 sociations, and foundations for the purposes of this

6 title.

7 (c) USE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE FUND.— The Sec8 retary is, subject to appropriations, authorized to use

9 moneys in the Fund for the reclamation and restoration

10 of land and water resources adversely affected by past

11 mineral (other than coal and fluid minerals) and mineral

12 material mining, including but not limited to, any of the

13 following:

14 (1) Reclamation and restoration of abandoned

15 surface mined areas.

16 (2) Reclamation and restoration of abandoned

17 milling and processing areas.

18 (3) Sealing, filling, and grading abandoned deep

19 mine entries.

20 (4) Planting of land adversely affected by past

21 mining to prevent erosion and sedimentation.

22 (5) Prevention, abatement, treatment and con23 trol of water pollution created by abandoned mine

24 drainage.
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1 (6) Control of surface subsidence due to aban2 doned deep mines.

3 (7) Such expenses as may be necessary to ac4 complish the purposes of this section.

5 (d) ELIGIBLE AREAS.—(1) Land and waters eligible

6 for reclamation expenditures under this section shall be

7 those within the boundaries of States that have lands sub8 ject to the general mining laws—

9 (A) which were mined or processed for minerals

10 and mineral materials or which were affected by

11 such mining or processing, and abandoned or left in

12 an inadequate reclamation status prior to the date

13 of enactment of this Act;

14 (B) for which the Secretary makes a determina15 tion that there is no continuing reclamation respon16 sibility under State or Federal laws; and

17 (C) for which it can be established that such

18 lands do not contain minerals which could economi19 cally be extracted through the reprocessing or remin20 ing of such lands.

21 (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), sites and areas

22 designated for remedial action pursuant to the Uranium

23 Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C.

24 7901 and following) or which have been listed for remedial
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1 action pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Re2 sponse Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42

3 U.S.C. 9601 and following) shall not be eligible for ex4 penditures from the Fund under this section.

5 (e) FUND EXPENDITURES.—Moneys available from

6 the Fund may be expended directly by the Director, Bu7 reau of Land Management. The Director may also make

8 such money available through grants made to the Chief

9 of the United States Forest Service, and the Director of

10 the National Park Service.

11 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Amounts

12 credited to the Fund are authorized to be appropriated

13 for the purpose of this title without fiscal year limitation.

14 SEC. 203. LIMITATION ON PATENT ISSUANCE.

15 No patent shall be issued by the United States for

16 any mining or mill site claim located under the general

17 mining laws unless the Secretary determines that, for the

18 claim concerned a patent application was filed with the

19 Secretary on or before September 30, 1994, and all re20 quirements established under sections 2325 and 2326 of

21 the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 29 and 30) for vein or

22 lode claims and sections 2329, 2330, 2331, and 2333 of

23 the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 35, 36 and 37) for placer

24 claims, and section 2337 of the Revised Statutes (30
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1 U.S.C. 42) for mill site claims, as the case may be, were

2 fully complied with by the applicant by that date.

3 SEC. 204. MINING CLAIM MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENTS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Effective October 1, 1998, the

5 holder of each mining claim located under the general min6 ing laws prior to the date of enactment shall pay to the

7 Secretary an annual claim maintenance fee of $100 per

8 claim per calendar year.

9 (2) The holder of each mining claim located under

10 the general mining laws subsequent to the date of enact11 ment shall pay to the Secretary an annual claim mainte12 nance fee of $125 per claim per calendar year.

13 (b) PURCHASING POWER ADJUSTMENT.—The Sec14 retary shall adjust the amount of the claim maintenance

15 fee payable pursuant to subsection (a) for changes in the

16 purchasing power of the dollar after the calendar year

17 1993, employing the Consumer Price Index for all urban

18 consumers published by the Department of Labor as the

19 basis for adjustment, and rounding according to the ad20 justment process of conditions of the Federal Civil Pen21 alties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990.

22 (c) TIME OF PAYMENT.—Each claim holder shall pay

23 the claim maintenance fee payable under subsection (a)

24 for any year on or before August 31 of each year, except

25 that for the initial calendar year in which the location is
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1 made, the initial claim maintenance fee shall be paid at

2 the time the location notice is recorded with the Bureau

3 of Land Management.

4 (d) OIL SHALE CLAIMS SUBJECT TO CLAIM MAINTE5 NANCE FEES UNDER ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 1992.—

6 The section shall not apply to any oil shale claims for

7 which a fee is required to be paid under section 2511(e)(2)

8 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (30 U.S.C. 242(e)(2)).

9 (e) CLAIM MAINTENANCE FEES PAYABLE UNDER

10 1993 ACT.—The claim maintenance fees payable under

11 this section for any period with respect to any claim shall

12 be reduced by the amount of the claim maintenance fees

13 paid under section 10101 of the Omnibus Budget Rec14 onciliation Act of 1993 with respect to that claim and with

15 respect to the same period.

16 (f) WAIVER.—(1) The claim maintenance fee re17 quired under this section may be waived for a claim holder

18 who certifies in writing to the Secretary that on the date

19 the payment was due, the claim holder and all related par20 ties held not more than 10 mining claims on land open

21 to location. Such certification shall be made on or before

22 the date on which payment is due.

23 (2) For purposes of this subsection, with respect to

24 any claim holder, the term ‘‘related party’’ means each

25 of the following:
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1 (A) The spouse and dependent children (as de2 fined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of

3 1986), of the claim holder.

4 (B) Any affiliate of the claim holder.

5 (g) CO-OWNERSHIP.—Upon the failure of any one or

6 more of several co-owners to contribute such co-owner or

7 owners portion of the fee under this section, any co-owner

8 who has paid such fee may, after the payment due date,

9 give the delinquent co-owner or owners notice of such fail10 ure in writing (or by publication in the newspaper nearest

11 the claim for at least once a week for at least 90 days).

12 If at the expiration of 90 days after such notice in writing

13 or by publication, any delinquent co-owner fails or refused

14 to contribute his portion, his interest, in the claim shall

15 become the property of the co-owners who have paid the

16 required fee.

17 SEC. 205. DEFINITIONS.

18 As used in this title:

19 (1) The term ‘‘affiliate’’ means, with respect to

20 any person, each of the following:

21 (A) Any partner of such person.

22 (B) Any person owning at least 10 percent

23 of the voting shares of such person.
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1 (C) Any person who controls, is controlled

2 by, or is under common control with such per3 son.

4 (2) The term ‘‘locatable minerals’’ means min5 erals not subject to disposition under any of the fol6 lowing:

7 (A) The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C.

8 181 and following).

9 (B) The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970

10 (30 U.S.C. 100 and following).

11 (C) The Act of July 31, 1947, commonly

12 known as the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C.

13 601 and following).

14 (D) The Mineral Leasing for Acquired

15 Lands Act (30 U.S.C. 351 and following).

16 (3) The term ‘‘net smelter return’’ has the

17 same meaning provided in section 613 of the Inter18 nal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 613) for

19 ‘‘gross income from mining’’.

20 (4) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

21 of the Interior.

22 (5) The term ‘‘general mining laws’’ means

23 those Acts which generally comprise chapters 2,

24 12A, and 16, and sections 161 and 162 of title 30,

25 United States Code.
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1 TITLE III—USE OR DISPOSAL OF

2 FEDERAL NATURAL RESOURCES

3 SEC. 301. ANNUAL DOMESTIC LIVESTOCK GRAZING FEE.

4 The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of

5 1976 is amended by inserting after section 401 (43 U.S.C.

6 1751) the following new section:

7 ‘‘SEC. 401A. ESTABLISHMENT OF FAIR MARKET VALUE

8 GRAZING FEES.

9 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ANNUAL DOMESTIC LIVE10 STOCK GRAZING FEE.—(1) Notwithstanding any other

11 provision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect

12 to National Forest System lands in the 16 contiguous

13 Western States (except National Grasslands) administered

14 by the Forest Service where domestic livestock grazing is

15 permitted under applicable law, shall establish an annual

16 domestic livestock grazing fee equal to fair market value.

17 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

18 Secretary of the Interior, with respect to public domain

19 lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management

20 where domestic livestock grazing is permitted under appli21 cable law, shall establish an annual domestic livestock

22 grazing fee equal to fair market value.

23 ‘‘(b) CALCULATION OF FAIR MARKET VALUE.—(1)

24 For purposes of determining the annual domestic livestock

25 grazing fee under this section, the Secretary concerned
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1 shall calculate fair market value using the following for2 mula:

Fair Market Value=

Appraised Base Value×Forage Value Index

100

3 ‘‘(2) For purposes of the formula in paragraph (1):

4 ‘‘(A) The term ‘Forage Value Index’ means the

5 Forage Value Index (FVI) computed annually by the

6 Economic Research Service, United States Depart7 ment of Agriculture, and set with the 1997 FVI

8 equal to 100; and

9 ‘‘(B) The term ‘Appraised Base Value’ means

10 the 1983 Appraisal Value conclusions for mature

11 cattle and horses (expressed in dollars per head or

12 per month), as determined in the 1986 report pre13 pared jointly by the Secretary of Agriculture and the

14 Secretary of the Interior entitled ‘Grazing Fee Re15 view and Evaluation’, dated February 1986, on a

16 west-wide basis using the lowest appraised value of

17 the pricing areas adjusted for advanced payment

18 and indexed to 1997.

19 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON FLUCTUATIONS OF FEES.—

20 Notwithstanding the amount calculated under subsection

21 (b) for a year, the domestic livestock grazing fee charged

22 for any given year shall not increase nor decrease by more
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1 than 33.3 percent from the domestic livestock grazing fee

2 for the previous year.

3 ‘‘(d) EFFECT ON EXECUTIVE ORDER.—Executive

4 Order No. 12548, dated February 14, 1986 (51 Fed. Reg.

5 5985), shall not apply to grazing fees established pursuant

6 to this section.

7 ‘‘(e) EFFECT ON GRAZING ADVISORY BOARDS.—The

8 grazing advisory boards established pursuant to Secretar9 ial action, notice of which was published in the Federal

10 Register on May 14, 1986 (51 Fed. Reg. 17874), are abol11 ished, effective as of the date of the enactment of this sec12 tion, and the advisory functions exercised by such boards

13 shall be exercised only by the appropriate councils estab14 lished under section 309 of this Act.

15 ‘‘(f) USE OF FEES AND RANGE IMPROVEMENT

16 FUNDS.—Funds appropriated pursuant to section 5 of the

17 Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C.

18 1904) or any other provision of law related to disposition

19 of the Federal share of receipts from fees for grazing on

20 public domain lands or National Forest lands in the 16

21 contiguous western States shall be used for restoration

22 and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat, for restora23 tion and improved management of riparian areas, and for

24 implementation and enforcement of applicable land man25 agement plans, allotment plans, and regulations regarding
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1 the use of such lands for domestic livestock grazing. Such

2 funds shall be distributed as the Secretary concerned con3 siders advisable after consultation and coordination with

4 the advisory councils established pursuant to section 309

5 of this Act and other interested parties.

6 ‘‘(g) COMMENCEMENT DATE FOR FEES.—The first

7 annual domestic livestock grazing fee required by this sec8 tion shall apply with respect to the grazing season com9 mencing on March 1, 1998.

10 SEC. 302. ELIMINATION OF BELOW-COST SALES OF TIMBER

11 FROM NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Forest Management

13 Act of 1976 is amended by inserting after section 14 (16

14 U.S.C. 472a) the following new section:

15 ‘‘SEC. 14A. ELIMINATION OF BELOW-COST TIMBER SALES

16 FROM NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS.

17 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT THAT SALE REVENUES EXCEED

18 COSTS.—On and after October 1, 2002, in appraising tim19 ber and setting a minimum bid for trees, portions of trees,

20 or forest products located on National Forest System

21 lands proposed for sale under section 14 or any other pro22 vision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture shall ensure

23 that the estimated cash returns to the United States

24 Treasury from each sale exceed the estimated costs to be
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1 incurred by the Federal Government in the preparation

2 of the sale or as a result of the sale.

3 ‘‘(b) COSTS TO BE CONSIDERED.—For purposes of

4 estimating under this section the costs to be incurred by

5 the Federal Government from each timber sale, the Sec6 retary shall assign to the sale the following costs:

7 ‘‘(1) The actual appropriated expenses for sale

8 preparation and harvest administration incurred or

9 to be incurred by the Federal Government from the

10 sale and the payments to counties to be made as a

11 result of the sale.

12 ‘‘(2) A portion of the annual timber resource

13 planning costs, silvicultural examination costs, other

14 resource support costs, road design and construction

15 costs, road maintenance costs, transportation plan16 ning costs, appropriated reforestation costs, timber

17 stand improvement costs, forest genetics costs, gen18 eral administrative costs (including administrative

19 costs of the national and regional offices of the For20 est Service), and facilities construction costs of the

21 Federal Government directly or indirectly related to

22 the timber harvest program conducted on National

23 Forest System lands.

24 ‘‘(c) METHOD OF ALLOCATING COSTS.—The Sec25 retary shall allocate the costs referred to in subsection
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1 (b)(2) to each unit of the National Forest System, and

2 each proposed timber sale in such unit, on the basis of

3 harvest volume.

4 ‘‘(d) TRANSITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—To ensure the

5 elimination of all below-cost timber sales by the date speci6 fied in subsection (a), the Secretary shall progressively re7 duce the number and size of below-cost timber sales on

8 National Forest System lands as follows:

9 ‘‘(1) In fiscal years 1998 and 1999, the quan10 tity of timber sold in below-cost timber sales on Na11 tional Forest System lands shall not exceed 75 per12 cent of the quantity of timber sold in such sales in

13 the preceding fiscal year.

14 ‘‘(2) In fiscal year 2000, the quantity of timber

15 sold in below-cost timber sales on National Forest

16 System lands shall not exceed 65 percent of the

17 quantity of timber sold in such sales in fiscal year

18 1998.

19 ‘‘(3) In fiscal year 2001, the quantity of timber

20 sold in below-cost timber sales on National Forest

21 System lands shall not exceed 50 percent of the

22 quantity of timber sold in such sales in the fiscal

23 year 2000.

24 ‘‘(e) BELOW-COST TIMBER SALE.—For purposes of

25 this section, the term ‘below-cost timber sale’ means a sale
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1 of timber in which the costs to be incurred by the Federal

2 Government exceed the cash returns to the United States

3 Treasury.’’.

4 (b) FINDINGS.—Section 2 of the Forest and Range5 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16

6 U.S.C. 1600) is amended—

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

8 (6);

9 (2) by striking the period at the end of para10 graph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

11 (3) by adding at the end the following new

12 paragraph:

13 ‘‘(8) the practice of selling timber from Na14 tional Forest System lands for less than the cost to

15 the Federal Government of growing the timber and

16 preparing the timber for sale is not in the best inter17 ests of the United States, and such below-cost sales

18 should be eliminated in an orderly manner to achieve

19 a more economically and environmentally sound tim20 ber program for the National Forest System.’’.

21 SEC. 303. TIMBERLAND SUITABILITY.

22 Subsection (k) of section 6 of the Forest and Range23 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16

24 U.S.C. 1604) is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(k) DETERMINATION OF SUITABILITY OF LANDS

2 FOR TIMBER PRODUCTION.—

3 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION REQUIRED.—In revising

4 land management plans developed pursuant to this

5 section, the Secretary shall identify lands within the

6 management area that are not suited for timber pro7 duction based on physical, economic, or other rel8 evant factors. The Secretary shall review the identi9 fications made under this paragraph during each re10 vision of the forest plan.

11 ‘‘(2) EVIDENCE OF ECONOMIC

12 UNSUITABILITY.—The Secretary shall identify lands

13 as economically unsuitable for timber production

14 under paragraph (1) if—

15 ‘‘(A) the expected cash returns to the

16 United States Treasury that would result from

17 the sale of standing timber on the lands do not

18 exceed the expected costs that would be in19 curred by the Federal Government in prepara20 tion or as a result of such sales; or

21 ‘‘(B) the expected cash returns to the

22 United States Treasury that would result from

23 the sale of subsequent timber stands on the

24 lands do not exceed the expected costs that
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1 would be incurred by the Federal Government

2 in preparation or as a result of such sales.

3 ‘‘(3) COSTS TO BE CONSIDERED.—For purposes

4 of estimating under paragraph (2) the costs to be in5 curred by the Federal Government from timber sales

6 conducted on the lands being reviewed, the Secretary

7 shall assign to sales on such lands the following

8 costs:

9 ‘‘(A) The appropriated expenses for sale

10 preparation and harvest administration that

11 would be incurred by the Federal Government

12 from such sales and the payments to counties

13 that would be made as a result of such sales.

14 ‘‘(B) A portion of the annual timber re15 source planning costs, silvicultural examination

16 costs, other resource support costs, road design

17 and construction costs, road maintenance costs,

18 transportation planning costs, appropriated re19 forestation costs, timber stand improvement

20 costs, forest genetics costs, general administra21 tive costs (including administrative costs of the

22 national and regional offices of the Forest Serv23 ice), and facilities construction costs of the Fed24 eral Government directly or indirectly related to
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1 the timber harvest program conducted on Na2 tional Forest System lands.

3 ‘‘(4) METHOD OF ALLOCATING COSTS.—The

4 Secretary shall allocate the costs referred to in para5 graph (3)(B) to each unit of the National Forest

6 System on the basis of harvest volume.

7 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON TIMBER HARVESTS ON

8 UNSUITABLE LANDS.—In the case of lands identified

9 under paragraph (1) as unsuitable for timber pro10 duction, no timber harvesting shall occur on such

11 lands for a period of 10 years or the life of the plan,

12 whichever is greater.

13 ‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub14 section:

15 ‘‘(A) The term ‘standing timber’ means an

16 existing stand of timber that has not been har17 vested.

18 ‘‘(B) The term ‘subsequent timber stand’

19 means a regenerated stand of timber produced

20 on land from which standing timber has been

21 harvested.’’.
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1 SEC. 304. COST OF WATER USED TO PRODUCE CROPS ON

2 PRODUCTION FLEXIBILITY CONTRACT ACRE3 AGE.

4 Section 9 of the Act of August 4, 1939 (commonly

5 known as the Reclamation Project Act of 1939; 43 U.S.C.

6 485h) is amended by inserting at the end thereof the fol7 lowing new subsection:

8 ‘‘(g)(1) Any contract entered into under authority of

9 this section or any other provision of Federal reclamation

10 law shall require that the organization agree by contract

11 with the Secretary to pay full cost for the delivery of water

12 used in the production of any contract commodity on acre13 age subject to a production flexibility contract entered into

14 under section 111 of the Agricultural Market Transition

15 Act (7 U.S.C. 7211).

16 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall announce the amount of the

17 full cost payment for the succeeding year on or before July

18 1 of each year.

19 ‘‘(3) As used in this subsection:

20 ‘‘(A) The term ‘full cost’ has the meaning given

21 such term in section 202(3) of the Reclamation Re22 form Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C. 390bb(3)).

23 ‘‘(B) The term ‘contract commodity’ has the

24 meaning given such term in section 102(5) of the

25 Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C.

26 7202(5)).
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1 ‘‘(4) Paragraph (1) shall apply to any contract en2 tered into or amended after the date of the enactment of

3 this subsection.’’.

4 SEC. 305. REDUCTION IN MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS

5 UNDER AGRICULTURAL ASSISTANCE PRO6 GRAMS TO REFLECT RECEIPT OF FEDERAL

7 IRRIGATION WATER.

8 (a) PRICE SUPPORT PROGRAMS.—Title X of the

9 Food Security Act of 1985 is amended—

10 (1) by redesignating sections 1001D (7 U.S.C.

11 1308–4) and 1001E (7 U.S.C. 1308–5) as sections

12 1001E and 1001F, respectively; and

13 (2) by inserting after section 1001C (7 U.S.C.

14 1308–3) the following new section:

15 ‘‘SEC. 1001D. REDUCTION OF PAYMENT LIMITATIONS TO

16 REFLECT RECEIPT OF FEDERAL IRRIGATION

17 WATER.

18 ‘‘(a) REDUCTION OF PAYMENT LIMITATIONS RE19 QUIRED.—If a person subject to section 1001 receives

20 Federal irrigation water for agricultural purposes from the

21 operation of a Federal reclamation project, the payment

22 limitations specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of such sec23 tion and applicable to such person shall be reduced for

24 the year in which such person receives irrigation water.

25 The amount of the reduction shall be equal to the total
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1 value during that year of the subsidy portion of the con2 tract with such person for the delivery of the irrigation

3 water.

4 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF SUBSIDY PORTION OF

5 WATER CONTRACT.—The subsidy portion of an irrigation

6 water delivery contract is equal to the amount by which

7 full cost for the delivery of the irrigation water exceeds

8 the actual contract price for the delivery of the water.

9 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

10 terms ‘contract’, ‘full cost’, ‘irrigation water’, and ‘project’

11 have the meanings given such terms in section 202 of the

12 Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C. 390bb).’’.

13 (b) NONINSURED CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE.—

14 Section 196(i) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement

15 and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333(i)) is amended—

16 (1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para17 graph (6); and

18 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the follow19 ing new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(5) EFFECT OF RECEIPT OF IRRIGATION

21 WATER.—

22 ‘‘(A) REDUCTION OF PAYMENT LIMITA23 TION.—If a person who receives payments

24 under this section also receives, during the
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1 same year, Federal irrigation water for agricul2 tural purposes from the operation of a Federal

3 reclamation project, the payment limitation

4 specified in paragraph (2) for such person shall

5 be reduced for that year. The amount of the re6 duction shall be equal to the total value during

7 that year of the subsidy portion of the contract

8 with such person for the delivery of the irriga9 tion water.

10 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF SUBSIDY POR11 TION OF WATER CONTRACT.—The subsidy por12 tion of an irrigation water delivery contract is

13 equal to the amount by which full cost for the

14 delivery of the irrigation water exceeds the ac15 tual contract price for the delivery of the water.

16 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this

17 paragraph, the terms ‘contract’, ‘full cost’, ‘irri18 gation water’, and ‘project’ have the meanings

19 given such terms in section 202 of the Reclama20 tion Reform Act of 1982 (43 U.S.C. 390bb).’’.

21 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section

22 1001(5)(A) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C.

23 1308(5)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘through 1001C’’ and

24 inserting ‘‘through 1001D’’.
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1 SEC. 306. OFF BUDGET EXPENDITURES.

2 (a) KNUTSON-VANDENBERG FUND.—Section 3 of

3 the Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the

4 Knutson-Vandenberg Act; 16 U.S.C. 576b), is amended

5 by striking ‘‘and shall constitute a special fund, which is

6 hereby appropriated and made available until expended,’’

7 in the second sentence and inserting ‘‘and are authorized

8 to be appropriated’’.

9 (b) DEPOSITS FROM BRUSH DISPOSAL.—The para10 graph relating to deposits from brush disposal under the

11 heading ‘‘FOREST SERVICE’’ in the Act of August 11, 1916

12 (39 Stat. 462; 16 U.S.C. 490), is amended by striking

13 ‘‘and constitute a special fund, which is hereby appro14 priated and shall remain available until expended’’ and in15 serting ‘‘and are authorized to be appropriated for the

16 purpose of disposing of such brush and other debris’’.

17 (c) NATIONAL FORESTS ROADS AND TRAILS.—Sec18 tion 7 of Public Law 88–657 (commonly known as the

19 Forest Roads and Trails Act; 16 U.S.C. 538) is amended

20 by striking ‘‘may be placed in a fund to be available’’ and

21 inserting ‘‘are authorized to be appropriated’’.

22 (d) TIMBER SALVAGE SALE FUND.—Section 303(d)

23 of Public Law 96–451 (16 U.S.C. 1606a) is amended by

24 striking ‘‘The Secretary of Agriculture’’ and inserting ‘‘In

25 such amounts as are provided in advance in appropriations

26 Acts, the Secretary of Agriculture’’.
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1 SEC. 307. DEPOSIT OF TAYLOR GRAZING ACT RECEIPTS IN

2 TREASURY.

3 Section 10 of the Act of June 28, 1934 (commonly

4 known as the Taylor Grazing Act; 43 U.S.C. 315i), is

5 amended by striking all after ‘‘miscellaneous receipts’’ and

6 inserting a period.

7 SEC. 308. REPEAL OF LIVESTOCK FEED ASSISTANCE PRO8 GRAM.

9 The Emergency Livestock Feed Assistance Act of

10 1988 (title VI of the Agricultural Act of 1949; 7 U.S.C.

11 1471–1471j) is repealed.

12 SEC. 309. RIGHT-OF-WAY PERMITS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—No permit, lease, or authorization

14 for the use of any area of the public lands or National

15 Forests for rights-of-way (including rights-of-way for

16 power lines, oil and gas pipelines, water conveyances, and

17 other utility lines) shall remain in force and effect after

18 October 1, 1997, unless, by such date, and by October

19 1 of each year thereafter, the holder of such permit, lease,

20 or authorization pays to the Secretary of the Interior or

21 the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate, an amount

22 equal to the fair market value, as determined by such Sec23 retary, of the right to use and occupy such area for such

24 purposes.

25 (b) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section,

26 the term ‘‘public lands’’ shall have the same meaning as
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1 defined in section 103(e) of the Federal Land Policy Man2 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(e)).

3 SEC. 310. OIL AND GAS RENTALS.

4 The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is

5 amended as follows:

6 (1) In section 14 by striking out ‘‘a rental of

7 $1 per acre’’ and inserting ‘‘a rental established by

8 the Secretary of the Interior’’ and by adding the fol9 lowing at the end thereof: ‘‘The Secretary shall es10 tablish fair market value rental fees under this sec11 tion based upon the rental fees which would be

12 charged in arm’s length transactions for comparable

13 leases of oil and gas resources on non-Federal

14 land.’’.

15 (2) In section 17(d) by striking out ‘‘rental of

16 not less than $1.50 per acre per year for the first

17 through fifth years of the lease and not less than $2

18 per acre per year for each year thereafter’’ and in19 serting ‘‘rental established by the Secretary of the

20 Interior’’ and by adding the following at the end

21 thereof: ‘‘The Secretary shall establish fair market

22 value rental fees under this section based upon the

23 rental fees which would be charged in arms length

24 transactions for comparable leases of oil and gas re25 sources on non-Federal land.’’.
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1 (3) In section 21(a) by striking out ‘‘rental,

2 payable at the beginning of each year, at the rate of

3 50 cents per acre per annum, for the lands included

4 in the lease,’’ and inserting ‘‘rental established by

5 the Secretary of the Interior’’ and by adding the fol6 lowing at the end thereof: ‘‘The Secretary shall es7 tablish fair market value rental fees under this sec8 tion based upon the rental fees which would be

9 charged in arms length transactions for comparable

10 leases on non-Federal land.’’.

11 (4) In section 31(e)(2) by striking ‘‘rate of not

12 less than $10 per acre per year, or the inclusion in

13 a reinstated lease issued pursuant to the provisions

14 of section 17(c) of this Act of a requirement that fu15 ture rentals shall be at a rate not less than $5 per

16 acre per year’’ and inserting ‘‘fair market value rate

17 (but not less than $10 per acre per year)’’.

18 (5) In section 31(f)(3) by striking out ‘‘of not

19 less than $5 per acre per year’’ and inserting ‘‘es20 tablished by the Secretary at fair market value

21 based upon the rental fees which would be charged

22 in arms length transactions for comparable leases on

23 non-Federal land’’.
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1 SEC. 311. IMPROVEMENT OF MINERALS MANAGEMENT

2 SERVICE ROYALTY COLLECTION.

3 The Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Simplification and

4 Fairness Act of 1996 (Public Law No. 104–185; 30

5 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is amended by adding the following

6 new subsection after subsection (l):

7 ‘‘(m) ASSESSMENT FOR UNDERREPORTING OF ROY8 ALTY.—(1) If there is any underreporting of royalty owed

9 on production from any lease for any production month,

10 the Secretary may make an assessment of 20 percent of

11 the amount of that underreporting if any of the following

12 circumstances occurs:

13 ‘‘(A) For a Federal lease, the underreporting

14 exceeds 10 percent of the value of production which

15 should have been reported and exceeds $1,500, or

16 the underreporting exceeds 5 percent of the value of

17 production which should have been reported and ex18 ceeds $15,000.

19 ‘‘(B) For an Indian lease, the underreporting

20 exceeds 10 percent of the value of production which

21 should have been reported and exceeds $125.

22 ‘‘(C) For either a Federal or Indian lease, no

23 royalty was paid on production from that lease for

24 the production month immediately preceding the

25 month for which the underreporting was submitted,
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1 regardless of the amount of the underreporting or

2 the amount of royalty owed.

3 ‘‘(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term

4 ‘underreporting’ means the amount by which the royalty

5 on the value of the production which should have been re6 ported exceeds the royalty on the value of the production

7 which was reported.

8 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall not impose the assessment

9 specified in paragraph (1) if the underreporting is cor10 rected before the date the person against whom the assess11 ment is made receives written notice from the Secretary

12 that an underreporting may have occurred.

13 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall not impose the assessment

14 specified in paragraph (1) with respect to an underreport15 ing which is corrected in the course of performing an order

16 to correct royalty accounting and recompute and pay roy17 alties due. This exception does not apply to the specific

18 instances of underreporting discovered during audit which

19 formed the basis of the order to recompute and pay.

20 ‘‘(5)(A) The Secretary shall waive the portion of an

21 assessment specified in paragraph (1) attributable to that

22 portion of the underreporting for which a person dem23 onstrates that—
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1 ‘‘(i) the person had substantial authority for re2 porting royalty on the value of the production on the

3 basis on which it was reported, or

4 ‘‘(ii) the person meets any other exception

5 which the Secretary may, by rule, establish.

6 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘sub7 stantial authority’ means any of the following:

8 ‘‘(i) A controlling judicial or administrative de9 cision which has not been reversed, vacated, or over10 ruled, or a controlling regulation.

11 ‘‘(ii) A body of judicial or administrative deci12 sions or regulations which provide a reasoned basis

13 to support the person’s action. Such a reasoned

14 basis must be more than a merely arguable theory

15 which is unlikely to prevail in court upon a complete

16 review of the relevant facts and authorities.

17 ‘‘(iii) A legal question of first impression.

18 ‘‘(6) Interest shall not accrue on the amount of an

19 assessment under this subsection during the pendency of

20 any administrative appeal of the assessment which may

21 be allowed by rule. No hearing on the record in such ap22 peal shall be necessary before an assessment is made. No

23 surety instrument shall be required to secure the amount

24 of the assessment pending administrative appeal.
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1 ‘‘(7) An assessment under this subsection shall apply

2 only to an underreporting occurring after the date of en3 actment of this subsection.

4 ‘‘(8) Notwithstanding any provision of section 206 of

5 this Act, all assessments collected under this subsection

6 shall be deposited to the same accounts in the Treasury

7 or paid to the same recipients in the same manner as the

8 royalty with respect to which such assessment is made.

9 ‘‘(9) For purposes of this subsection, the definitions

10 in section 2 of this Act shall be deemed to also apply to

11 coal, any other mineral, geothermal steam, or associated

12 geothermal resources.’’.

13 TITLE IV—NATIONAL PARK

14 CONCESSIONS

15 SEC. 401. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

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

17 25, 1916 (39 Stat. 535), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1, 2–

18 4), which directs the Secretary of the Interior to admin19 ister areas of the National Park System in accordance

20 with the fundamental purpose of conserving their scenery,

21 wildlife, natural and historic objects, and providing for

22 their enjoyment in a manner that will leave them

23 unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations, the

24 Congress finds that the preservation and conservation of
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1 park resources and values requires that such public ac2 commodations, facilities, and services within such areas as

3 the Secretary, in accordance with this Act, determines nec4 essary and appropriate—

5 (1) should be provided only under carefully con6 trolled safeguards against unregulated and indis7 criminate use so that visitation will not unduly im8 pair park resources and values; and

9 (2) should be limited to locations and designs

10 consistent to the highest practicable degree with the

11 preservation and conservation of park resources and

12 values.

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

14 (1) development on Federal lands within a park

15 shall be limited to those facilities that the Secretary

16 determines are necessary and appropriate for public

17 use and enjoyment of the park in which such facili18 ties and services are located;

19 (2) development within a park should be con20 sistent to the highest practicable degree with the

21 preservation and conservation of the park’s re22 sources and values;

23 (3) park facilities and services the Secretary de24 termines suitable to be provided by parties other

25 than the Secretary should be provided by private
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1 persons, corporations, or other entities, except when

2 no private interest is qualified and willing to provide

3 such facilities and services;

4 (4) if the Secretary determines that develop5 ment should occur within a park, such development

6 shall be designed, located, and operated in a manner

7 that is consistent with the purposes for which such

8 park was established;

9 (5) the right to provide such services and to de10 velop or utilize facilities should be awarded to the

11 person, corporation, or entity submitting the best

12 proposal through a competitive selection process;

13 and

14 (6) such facilities or services should be provided

15 to the public at reasonable rates.

16 SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS.

17 As used in this title:

18 (1) The term ‘‘concessioner’’ means a person,

19 corporation, or other entity to whom a concession

20 contract has been awarded.

21 (2) the term ‘‘concession contract’’ means a

22 contract, or permit, (but not an authorization issued

23 pursuant to section 404(b) of this title) to provide

24 facilities or services, or both, at a park.
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1 (3) The term ‘‘facilities’’ means improvements

2 to real property within parks used to provide accom3 modations, facilities, or services to park visitors.

4 (4) The term ‘‘franchise fee’’ means the fee re5 quired by a concession contract to be paid to the

6 United States in consideration for the privileges af7 forded by such contract to the holder thereof, which

8 may be expressed as a percentage of revenues de9 rived by the contract holder from activities author10 ized by the contract, and which shall be in addition

11 to fees required to be paid to the United States for

12 the use of federally-owned buildings or other facili13 ties.

14 (5) The term ‘‘fund’’ means the Park Improve15 ment Fund established under section 8(b).

16 (6) The term ‘‘park’’ means a unit of the Na17 tional Park System.

18 (7) The term ‘‘proposal’’ means the complete

19 proposal for a concession contract offered by a po20 tential or existing concessioner in response to the

21 minimum requirements for the contract established

22 by the Secretary.

23 (8) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

24 of the Interior.
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1 SEC. 403. REPEAL OF CONCESSIONS POLICY ACT OF 1965.

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

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

4 ‘‘An Act relating to the establishment of concession poli5 cies in the areas administered by National Park Service

6 and for other purposes’’, is hereby repealed. The repeal

7 of such Act shall not affect the validity of any contract

8 entered into under such Act, but the provisions of this title

9 shall apply to any such contract except to the extent such

10 provisions are inconsistent with the express terms and

11 conditions of the contract. Nothing in this title that is in12 consistent with a prospectus issued before January 27,

13 1995, shall apply to the contract with respect to which

14 such prospectus was issued. The Secretary is authorized

15 to award a concession contract prior to promulgation of

16 new regulations to implement this title if the Secretary

17 determines that protection of public health and safety war18 rant such action, provided that such contract is consistent

19 with this title.

20 (b) TRANSITION.—Nothing in this Act that is incon21 sistent with a prospectus issued before April 1, 1994, shall

22 apply to the contract with respect to which such prospec23 tus was issued. The Secretary is authorized to award a

24 concession contract prior to promulgation of new regula25 tions to implement this Act if the Secretary determines

26 that protection of public health and safety warrant such
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1 action, provided that such contract is consistent with this

2 Act.

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The fourth sen4 tence of section 3 of this Act of August 25, 1916 (16

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

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

7 SEC. 404. CONCESSION CONTRACTS AND OTHER AUTHOR8 IZATIONS.

9 (a) CONCESSIONS.—(1) Subject to the findings and

10 policy stated in section 401 of this title and the provisions

11 of this section, the Secretary may award concession con12 tracts that authorize private persons, corporations, or

13 other entities to provide services to park visitors and to

14 utilize facilities if the Secretary determines that such

15 award is the appropriate means for such authorization.

16 (2) Concession contracts shall be awarded only to the

17 extent that the Secretary finds that the services to be pro18 vided and the facilities to be utilized pursuant to each such

19 contract are necessary and appropriate for the accommo20 dation of visitors to a park.

21 (3) The provision of services and the utilization of

22 facilities pursuant to concession contracts shall be consist23 ent with all applicable requirements of law, including laws

24 relating generally to the administration and management

25 of units of the National Park Service, and with the general
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1 management plan, concessions plan, and other relevant

2 plans developed by the Secretary for the relevant park.

3 (b) OTHER AUTHORIZATIONS.—(1) To the extent

4 specified in this subsection, the Secretary, upon request,

5 may authorize a private person, corporation, or other en6 tity to provide services to park visitors otherwise than by

7 award of a concession contract.

8 (2)(A) The authority of this subsection may be used

9 only to authorize provision of services to park visitors that

10 the Secretary determines have minimal impact on park re11 sources and values and will be consistent with the pur12 poses for which the park was established and with all ap13 plicable management plans for such park.

14 (B) The Secretary shall require payment of a reason15 able fee for issuance of an authorization under this sub16 section. The fees shall remain available without further

17 appropriation to be used to recover the costs of managing

18 and administering this subsection.

19 (C) The Secretary shall require that the provision of

20 services under such an authorization be accomplished in

21 a manner consistent to the highest practicable degree with

22 the preservation and conservation of park resources and

23 values.
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1 (D) The Secretary shall take appropriate steps to

2 limit the liability of the United States arising from the

3 provision of services under such an authorization.

4 (E) The Secretary shall no authority under this sub5 section to issue more authorizations than are consistent

6 with the preservation and proper management of park re7 sources and values, and shall establish such other condi8 tions for issuance of such an authorization as the Sec9 retary determines appropriate for protection of visitors,

10 provision of adequate and appropriate visitor services, and

11 protection and proper management of the resources and

12 values of the National Park System.

13 (3) Any authorization issued under this subsection

14 shall be limited to commercial operations with annual

15 gross revenues of not more than $25,000 resulting from

16 the services provided within the park pursuant to such au17 thorization.

18 (4) The term of any authorization issued under this

19 subsection shall not exceed 2 years.

20 (5) An entity seeking or obtaining an authorization

21 pursuant to this subsection shall not be precluded from

22 also submitting proposals for concession contracts.
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1 SEC. 405. 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 title shall be awarded to the person submitting the

6 best proposal, as determined by the Secretary through the

7 competitive selection process specified in this section.

8 (2) Within 180 days after the date of enactment of

9 this title, the Secretary shall promulgate appropriate regu10 lations establishing a process to implement this section.

11 (3) The regulations referred to in paragraph (2) shall

12 include provisions for establishing a method or procedure

13 for the resolution of disputes between the Secretary and

14 a concessioner in those instances where the Secretary has

15 been unable to meet conditions or requirements or provide

16 such services, if any, as set forth in a prospectus pursuant

17 to sections 405(c)(2) (D) and (E).

18 (b) TEMPORARY CONTRACT.—Notwithstanding the

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

20 a noncompetitive basis a temporary concession contract if

21 the Secretary determines such an award to be necessary

22 in order to avoid interruption of services to the public at

23 a park. Prior to making such a determination, the Sec24 retary shall take all reasonable and appropriate steps to

25 consider alternative actions to avoid such interruptions.
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1 (c) PROSPECTUS.—(1) Prior to soliciting proposals

2 for a concession contract at a park, the Secretary shall

3 prepare a prospectus soliciting proposals, shall publish a

4 notice of its availability at least once in such local or na5 tional newspapers or trade publications as the Secretary

6 determines appropriate, and shall make such prospectus

7 available upon request to all interested parties.

8 (2) The prospectus shall include, but need not be lim9 ited to, the following information:

10 (A) The minimum requirements for such con11 tract, as set forth in subsection (d).

12 (B) The terms and conditions of the existing

13 concession contract awarded for such park, if any,

14 including all fees and other forms of compensation

15 provided to the United States by the concessioner.

16 (C) Other authorized facilities or services which

17 may be included in a proposal.

18 (D) Facilities and services to be provided by the

19 Secretary to the concessioner, if any, including but

20 not limited to, public access, utilities, and buildings.

21 (E) Minimum public services to be offered with22 in a park by the Secretary, including but not limited

23 to, interpretive programs, campsites, and visitor cen24 ters.
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1 (F) Such other information related to the con2 cessions operation as is provided by the Secretary

3 pursuant to a concession contract or is otherwise

4 available to the Secretary, as the Secretary deter5 mines is necessary to allow for the submission of

6 competitive proposals.

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

8 proposal shall be considered which fails to meet the mini9 mum requirements included in the prospectus. Such mini10 mum requirements shall include payment to the United

11 States of a franchise fee and shall also include, but need

12 not be limited to, the following:

13 (A) The minimum acceptable franchise fee, fees

14 for use of any Federal buildings or other facilities,

15 and any other fees to be paid to the United States.

16 (B) The duration of the contract.

17 (C) Any facilities, services, or capital invest18 ments required to be provided by the concessioner.

19 (D) Measures that will be required in order to

20 ensure the protection and preservation of park re21 sources and values.

22 (2) The Secretary may reject any proposal, notwith23 standing the amount of franchise fee offered, if the Sec24 retary determines that the person, corporation, or entity

25 making such proposal is not qualified, is likely to provide
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1 unsatisfactory service, or that the proposal is not suffi2 ciently responsive to the objectives of protecting and pre3 serving park resources and of providing necessary and ap4 propriate facilities or services to the public at reasonable

5 rates.

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

7 fail to meet the minimum requirements or are rejected by

8 the Secretary, the Secretary shall establish new minimum

9 contract requirements and re-initiate the competitive se10 lection process pursuant to this section.

11 (e) SELECTION OF BEST PROPOSAL.—(1) In select12 ing the best proposal, the Secretary shall consider the fol13 lowing principal factors:

14 (A) The responsiveness of the proposal to the

15 objectives of protecting and preserving park re16 sources and of providing necessary and appropriate

17 facilities and services to the public at reasonable

18 rates.

19 (B) The experience, expertise, and related back20 ground of the person, corporation, or other entity

21 submitting the proposal, including whether the per22 son, corporation, or entity submitted the proposal

23 has established a record of outstanding performance

24 in providing the same or similar facilities or services.
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1 (C) The financial capability of the person, cor2 poration, or entity submitting the proposal.

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

4 consideration of revenue to the United States shall

5 be subordinate to the objectives of protecting and

6 preserving park resources including cultural re7 sources, and of providing necessary and appropriate

8 facilities or services to the public at reasonable rates.

9 (2) The Secretary may also consider such secondary

10 factors as the Secretary deems appropriate.

11 (3) In developing regulations to implement this title,

12 the Secretary shall consider the extent to which plans for

13 employment of Indians (including Native Alaskans) and

14 involvement of businesses owned by Indians, Indian tribes,

15 or Native Alaskans in the operation of concession con16 tracts should be identified as a factor in the selection of

17 a best offer under this section.

18 (f) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—(1) The Sec19 retary shall submit any proposed concession contract with

20 anticipated annual gross receipts in excess of $1,000,000

21 (indexed to 1993 constant dollars) or a duration in excess

22 of ten years to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re23 sources of the United States Senate and the Committee

24 on Resources of the United States House of Representa25 tives.
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1 (2) The Secretary shall not award any such proposed

2 contract until at least 60 days subsequent to the submis3 sion thereof to both Committees.

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

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

6 not grant a preferential right to a concessioner to renew

7 a concession contract executed pursuant to this title.

8 (2)(A) The Secretary shall grant a preferential right

9 of renewal with respect to a concession contract covered

10 by subsection (h) and (i) subject to the requirements of

11 subsection (h) or (i), as appropriate.

12 (B) As used in this paragraph and subsections (h)

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

14 that the Secretary shall allow a concessioner satisfying the

15 requirements of this paragraph the opportunity to match

16 the terms and conditions of any competing proposal which

17 the Secretary determines to be the best offer.

18 (C) A concessioner who exercises a preferential right

19 of renewal in accordance with the requirements of this

20 paragraph shall be entitled to award of the new concession

21 contract with respect to which such right is exercised.

22 (h) OUTFITTING AND GUIDE CONTRACTS.—(1) Ex23 cept as provided in subsection (i), the provisions of sub24 section (g)(2) shall apply only—

25 (A) to a concession contract—
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1 (i) which solely authorizes a concessioner

2 to provide outfitting, guide, river running, or

3 other substantially similar services within a

4 park; and

5 (ii) which does not grant such concessioner

6 any interest in any structure, fixture, or im7 provement pursuant to section 11 of this Act;

8 and

9 (B) where the concessioner has been awarded

10 an annual rating of ‘‘Excellent’’ in at least 50 per11 cent of the annual ratings during the term of the

12 contract;

13 (C) where the concessioner has not received any

14 annual unsatisfactory ratings during the term of the

15 contract; and

16 (D) where the Secretary determines that the

17 concessioner has submitted a responsive proposal for

18 a new contract which satisfies the minimum require19 ments established by the Secretary pursuant to sec20 tion 6 of this Act.

21 (2) In granting a preferential right of renewal pursu22 ant to subsection (g)(2), the Secretary shall not require

23 concessioner to match any portion of a proposed franchise

24 fee which exceeds by more than 10 percent the minimum
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1 fee established by the Secretary in the prospectus for such

2 contract.

3 (3)(A) With respect to a concession contract (or ex4 tension thereof) covered by this subsection, which is in ef5 fect on the date of enactment of this Act, the provisions

6 of this paragraph shall apply if the holder of such con7 tract, under the laws and policies in effect on the day be8 fore the date of enactment of this Act, would have been

9 entitled to a preferential right of renewal upon the expira10 tion of such contract.

11 (B) Upon the expiration of a concession contract (or

12 extension thereof) covered by this paragraph, the Sec13 retary, with respect to the award of a new concession con14 tract to provide the same or substantially similar services

15 as those authorized by the previous contract or extension,

16 shall allow the holder of such contract or extension the

17 right to exercise a preferential right of renewal to the

18 same extent as would have been the case under the laws

19 and policies in effect on the day before the date of enact20 ment of this Act.

21 (4)(A) In promulgating regulations to implement this

22 subsection, the Secretary shall include a rating category

23 of ‘‘Excellent’’, and shall establish clear and achievable

24 standards necessary for the award of such rating, includ25 ing but not necessarily limited to criteria relating to—
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1 (i) protection of the park’s resources and val2 ues;

3 (ii) furtherance of the educational, recreational,

4 and other purposes for which the Secretary manages

5 the park; and

6 (iii) the adequacy of services provided to park

7 visitors.

8 (B) The Secretary shall take appropriate steps to en9 able all holders of contracts covered by this subsection,

10 and all parties seeking to obtain such contracts, to be

11 aware of the criteria established pursuant to this para12 graph.

13 (i) CONTRACTS WITH ANNUAL GROSS RECEIPTS

14 UNDER $500,000.—(1) The provisions of subsection

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

16 (A) which the Secretary estimates will result in

17 annual gross receipts of less than $500,000;

18 (B) where the Secretary has determined that

19 the concessioner has operated satisfactorily during

20 the term of the contract (including any extensions

21 thereof); and

22 (C) that the concessioner has submitted a re23 sponsive proposal for a new concession contract
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1 which satisfies the minimum requirements estab2 lished by the Secretary pursuant to section 6 of this

3 Act.

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

5 to a concession contract covered by subsection (h).

6 SEC. 406. FRANCHISE FEES.

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

8 shall not be less than the minimum franchise fee estab9 lished by the Secretary for each contract. The minimum

10 franchise fee shall be determined in a manner that will

11 provide the concessioner with a reasonable opportunity to

12 realize a profit on the operation as a whole, commensurate

13 with the capital invested and the obligations assumed.

14 (b) MULTIPLE CONTRACTS WITHIN A PARK.—If mul15 tiple concession contracts are awarded to authorize conces16 sioners to provide the same outfitting, guide, river run17 ning, or other similar services at the same approximate

18 location within a specific park, the Secretary shall estab19 lish a standardized schedule of franchise fees for all such

20 contracts, subject to periodic review and revision by the

21 Secretary.

22 SEC. 407. USE OF FRANCHISE FEES.

23 (a) SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—Except as provided in sub24 section (b), all receipts including fees for use of Federally25 owned buildings or other facilities collected pursuant to
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1 this title shall be covered into a special account established

2 in the Treasury of the United States. Amounts covered

3 into such account in a fiscal year shall be available for

4 expenditure, subject to appropriation, solely as follows:

5 (1) 50 percent shall be allocated among the

6 units of the National Park System in the same pro7 portion as franchise fees collected from a specific

8 unit bears to the total amount covered into the ac9 count for each fiscal year, to be used for resource

10 management and protection, maintenance activities,

11 interpretation, and research.

12 (2) 50 percent shall be allocated among the

13 units of the National Park System on the basis of

14 need, in a manner to be determined by the Sec15 retary, to be used for resource management and pro16 tection, maintenance activities, interpretation, and

17 research.

18 (b) PARK IMPROVEMENT FUND.—(1) In lieu of col19 lecting all or a portion of the franchise fees that would

20 otherwise be collected pursuant to the concession contract,

21 the Secretary shall, where the Secretary determines it to

22 be practicable, require a concessioner to establish a Park

23 Improvement Fund in which the concessioner shall deposit

24 the franchise fees that would otherwise be required by the

25 contract.
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1 (2) The fund shall be maintained by the concessioner

2 in an interest bearing account in a federally insured finan3 cial institution. The concessioner shall maintain the fund

4 separately from any other funds or accounts and shall not

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

6 The Secretary may establish such other terms, conditions,

7 or requirements as the Secretary determines to be nec8 essary to ensure the financial integrity of the fund.

9 (3) Monies from the fund, including interest, shall be

10 expended solely for activities and projects within the park

11 which are consistent with the park’s general management

12 plan, concessions plan, and other applicable plans, and

13 which the Secretary determines will enhance public use,

14 safety, and enjoyment of the park, including but not lim15 ited to projects which directly or indirectly support conces16 sion facilities or services required by the concession con17 tract, but no expenditure from the fund shall have the ef18 fect of creating or increasing any compensable interest of

19 any concessioner in any such facilities. A concessioner

20 shall not be allowed to make any advances or credits to

21 the fund.

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

23 in improvements made from fund expenditures, including

24 any interest granted pursuant to section 310 of this title.
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1 (5) Nothing in this subsection shall affect the obliga2 tion of a concessioner to insure, maintain, and repair any

3 structure, fixture, or improvement assigned to such con4 cessioner and to insure that such structure, fixture, or im5 provement fully complies with applicable safety and health

6 laws and regulations.

7 (6) The concessioner shall maintain proper records

8 for all expenditures made from the fund. Such records

9 shall include, but not be limited to invoices, bank state10 ments, canceled checks, and such other information as the

11 Secretary may require.

12 (7) The concessioner shall annually submit to the

13 Secretary a statement reflecting total activity in the fund

14 for the preceding financial year. The statement shall re15 flect monthly deposits, expenditures by project, interest

16 earned, and such other information as the Secretary re17 quires.

18 (8) A fund established pursuant to this subsection

19 may not be used for any capital expenditure exceeding

20 $2,500,000 in any fiscal year unless such expenditure

21 from a fund has been authorized in advance by Act of Con22 gress. The Secretary shall annually inform the Congress

23 concerning the actual and projected use of moneys in each

24 fund established pursuant to this subsection.
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1 (9) Upon the termination of a concession contract,

2 or upon the sale or transfer of such contract, any remain3 ing balance in the fund shall be transferred by the conces4 sioner to the successor concessioner, to be used solely as

5 set forth in this subsection. In the event there is no succes6 sor concessioner, the fund balance shall be deposited into

7 the special account established in subsection (a).

8 SEC. 408. DURATION OF CONTRACT.

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

10 into pursuant to this title shall be awarded for a term not

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

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

13 years if the Secretary determines that a longer term is

14 a necessary component of the overall contract in order to

15 reduce the costs to the United States of acquiring

16 possessory interests or to carry out the policies of this title

17 and other laws applicable to the National Park System.

18 (b) TEMPORARY CONTRACT.—A temporary conces19 sion contract awarded on a non-competitive basis pursuant

20 to section 405(b) of this title shall be for a term not to

21 exceed two years.

22 SEC. 409. TRANSFER OF CONTRACT.

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

24 be transferred, assigned, sold, or otherwise conveyed by
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1 a concessioner without prior written notification to, and

2 approval of the Secretary.

3 (2) The Secretary shall not unreasonably withhold

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

5 a concession contract, but shall not approve the transfer

6 of a concession contract to any individual, corporation or

7 other entity if, among other matters, the Secretary deter8 mines that—

9 (A) such individual, corporation or entity is, or

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

11 requirements, terms, and conditions of the contract;

12 (B) such transfer, assignment, sale or convey13 ance is not consistent with the objectives of protect14 ing and preserving park resources, and of providing

15 necessary and appropriate facilities or services to the

16 public at reasonable rates;

17 (C) such transfer, assignment, sale, or convey18 ance relates to a concession contract which does not

19 provide to the United States consideration commen20 surate with the probable value of the privileges

21 granted by the contract; or

22 (D) the terms of the transfer, assignment, sale,

23 or conveyance directly or indirectly attribute a sig24 nificant value to intangible assets or otherwise may

25 so reduce the opportunity for a reasonable profit
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1 over the remaining term of the contract that the

2 United States would be required to make substantial

3 additional expenditures in order to avoid interrup4 tion of services to park visitors.

5 (b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Within thirty

6 days after receiving a request to approve a transfer, as7 signment, sale, or other conveyance of a concession con8 tract with anticipated annual gross receipts in excess of

9 $1,000,000 (indexed to 1993 constant dollars) or a dura10 tion in excess of 10 years, the Secretary shall notify the

11 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Unit12 ed States Senate and the Committee on Resources of the

13 United States House of Representatives of such proposal.

14 Approval of such proposal, if granted by the Secretary,

15 shall not take effect until sixty days after the date of noti16 fication of both Committees.

17 SEC. 410. PROTECTION OF CONCESSIONER INVESTMENT.

18 (a) EXISTING STRUCTURES.—(1) A concessioner

19 who, pursuant to a concession contract, before the date

20 of enactment of this title acquired or constructed, or as

21 of such date was required by such a contract to commence

22 acquisition or construction, of any structure, fixture, or

23 improvement upon land owned by the United States within

24 a park, shall have a possessory interest therein, to the ex25 tent provided by such contract, the value of such
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1 possessory interest to be determined for all purposes on

2 the basis of applicable laws and contracts in effect on the

3 day before such date of enactment.

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

5 to a concessioner whose contract in effect on the date of

6 enactment of this title does not include recognition of a

7 possessory interest.

8 (3)(A)(i) Except as provided in subparagraph (B),

9 with respect to a concession contract entered into on or

10 after the date of enactment of this title, the provisions

11 of subsection (b) shall apply to any existing structure, fix12 ture, or improvement as defined in paragraph (1), except

13 that the value of the possessory interest as of the termi14 nation date of the first contract expiring after the date

15 of enactment of this title shall be used as the basis for

16 depreciation, in lieu of the actual original cost of such

17 structure, fixture, or improvement.

18 (ii) Notwithstanding Generally Accepted Accounting

19 Principles, a concessioner with a possessory interest as

20 provided in subsection (a) may, at the termination date

21 of the first contract expiring after the date of enactment

22 of this Act, re-estimate the useful life of the applicable

23 structure, fixture, or improvement, consistent with sub24 section (b): Provided, That the estimated useful life of
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1 such structure, fixture, or improvement shall not there2 after be reestablished or revalued.

3 (B) If the Secretary determines during the competi4 tive selection process that all proposals submitted either

5 fail to meet the minimum requirements or are rejected (as

6 provided in section 405), the Secretary may, solely with

7 respect to a structure, fixture, or improvement covered

8 under this paragraph, suspend the depreciation provisions

9 of subsection (b)(1) for the duration of the contract: Pro10 vided, That the Secretary may suspend such depreciation

11 provisions only if the Secretary determines that the estab12 lishment of other new minimum contract requirements is

13 not likely to result in the submission of satisfactory pro14 posals, and that the suspension of the depreciation provi15 sions is likely to result in the submission of satisfactory

16 proposals.

17 (b) NEW STRUCTURES.—(1) On or after the date of

18 enactment of this title, a concessioner who constructs or

19 acquires a new, additional, or replacement structure, fix20 ture, or improvement upon land owned by the United

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

22 shall have an interest in such structure, fixture, or im23 provement equivalent to the actual original cost of acquir24 ing or constructing such structure, fixture, or improve25 ment, less straight line depreciation over the estimated
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1 useful life of the asset according to Generally Accepted

2 Accounting Principles: Provided, That in no event shall

3 the estimated useful life of such asset exceed the deprecia4 tion period used for such asset for Federal income tax pur5 poses.

6 (2) In the event that the contract expires or is termi7 nated prior to the estimated useful life of an asset de8 scribed in paragraph (1), the concessioner shall be entitled

9 to receive from the United States or the successor conces10 sioner payment equal to the value of the concessioner’s

11 interest in such structure, fixture, or improvement. A suc12 cessor concessioner may not revalue the interest in such

13 structure, fixture, or improvement, the method of depre14 ciation, or the estimated useful life of the asset.

15 (3) Title to any such structure, fixture, or improve16 ment shall be vested in the United States.

17 (c) INSURANCE, MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR.—Noth18 ing in this section shall affect the obligation of a conces19 sioner to insure, maintain, and repair any structure, fix20 ture, or improvement assigned to such concessioner and

21 to insure that such structure, fixture, or improvement

22 fully complies with applicable safety and health laws and

23 regulations.
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1 SEC. 411. RATES AND CHARGES TO PUBLIC.

2 The reasonableness of a concessioner’s rates and

3 charges to the public shall, unless otherwise provided in

4 the prospectus and contract, be judged primarily by com5 parison with those rates and charges for facilities and

6 services of comparable character charged by parties in rea7 sonable proximity to the relevant park and operating

8 under similar conditions, with due consideration for length

9 of season, seasonal variance, average percentage of occu10 pancy, accessibility, availability and costs of labor and ma11 terials, type of patronage, and other factors deemed sig12 nificant by the Secretary.

13 SEC. 412. CONCESSIONER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.

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

15 days after the date of enactment of this title, the Sec16 retary, after an appropriate period for public comment,

17 shall publish regulations establishing standards and cri18 teria for evaluating the performance of concessioners oper19 ating within parks.

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

21 periodically conduct an evaluation of each concessioner op22 erating under a concession contract pursuant to this title

23 to determine whether such concessioner has performed

24 satisfactorily. In evaluating a concessioner’s performance,

25 the Secretary shall seek and consider applicable reports

26 and comments from appropriate Federal, State, and local
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1 regulatory agencies, and shall seek and consider the views

2 of park visitors and concession customers. If the Sec3 retary’s performance evaluation results in an unsatisfac4 tory rating of the concessioner’s overall operation, the Sec5 retary shall so notify the concessioner in writing, and shall

6 provide the concessioner with a list of the minimum re7 quirements necessary for the operation to be rated satis8 factory.

9 (2) The Secretary may terminate a concession con10 tract if the concessioner fails to meet the minimum oper11 ational requirements identified by the Secretary within the

12 time limitations established by the Secretary at the time

13 notice of the unsatisfactory rating is provided to the con14 cessioner.

15 (3) If the Secretary terminates a concession contract

16 pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall solicit propos17 als for a new contract consistent with the provisions of

18 this title.

19 (c) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary

20 shall notify the Committee on Energy and Natural Re21 sources of the United States Senate and the Committee

22 on Resources of the United States House of Representa23 tives of each unsatisfactory overall annual rating and of

24 each concession contract terminated pursuant to this sec25 tion.
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1 SEC. 413. RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.

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

3 records as the Secretary may prescribe to enable the Sec4 retary to determine that all terms of the concessioner’s

5 contract have been and are being faithfully performed, and

6 the Secretary, the Inspector General of the Department

7 of the Interior, or any of the Secretary’s duly authorized

8 representatives shall, for the purpose of audit and exam9 ination, have access to such records and to other books,

10 documents and papers of the concessioner pertinent to the

11 contract and all the terms and conditions thereof as the

12 Secretary and the Inspector General deem necessary.

13 (b) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE REVIEW.—The

14 Comptroller General of the United States or any of his

15 or her duly authorized representatives shall, until the expi16 ration of five calendar years after the close of the business

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

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

19 records of the concessioner related to the contracts or con20 tracts involved, including those related to any Park Im21 provement Funds established pursuant to section 407(b).

22 SEC. 414. EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN LEASE REQUIRE23 MENTS.

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

25 1932 (47 Stat. 412; 40 U.S.C. 303b), relating to the leas26 ing of buildings and properties of the United States, shall
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1 not apply to contracts awarded by the Secretary pursuant

2 to this title.

3 SEC. 415. NO EFFECT ON ANILCA PROVISIONS.

4 Nothing in this title shall be construed to amend, su5 persede, or otherwise affect any provision of the Alaska

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

7 3101 et seq.).

8 SEC. 416. IMPLEMENTATION.

9 (a) AUDIT REQUIREMENT.—Beginning with fiscal

10 year 1997, the Inspector General of the Department of

11 the Interior shall conduct a biennial audit of the Sec12 retary’s implementation of this title and the award and

13 management of concession contracts and authorizations

14 described in section 404(b).

15 (b) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—Beginning on June 1,

16 1997, and biannually thereafter the Secretary and the In17 spector General of the Department of the Interior shall

18 submit a report to the Committee on Energy and Natural

19 Resources of the United States Senate and the Committee

20 on Resources of the United States House of Representa21 tives on the implementation of this title and the effect of

22 such implementation on facilities operated and services

23 provided pursuant to concession contracts.

24 (c) INFORMATION FROM SECRETARY.—In each re25 port required by this section, the Secretary shall—
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1 (1) identify any concession contracts which have

2 been renewed, renegotiated, terminated, or trans3 ferred during the 2 years prior to the submission of

4 the report and identify any significant changes in

5 the terms of the new contract;

6 (2) state the amount of franchise fees, the rates

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

8 other services required to be provided by the conces9 sioner in comparison to that required in any pre10 vious concession contract for the same facilities or

11 services at the same park;

12 (3) assess the degree to which facilities are

13 being maintained, using the condition of such facili14 ties on the date of enactment of this Act as a base15 line;

16 (4) indicate whether competition has been in17 creased or decreased with respect to the awarding of

18 concession contracts;

19 (5) set forth the total amount of revenues re20 ceived and financial obligations incurred or reduced

21 by the Federal Government as a result of enactment

22 of this Act for the reporting period and in compari23 son with previous reporting periods and the baseline

24 year of 1993, including the costs, if any, associated

25 with the acquisition of possessory interests; and
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1 (6) include information concerning any park

2 improvement funds established pursuant to section

3 407(b) of this title, including—

4 (A) the total amount of funds deposited

5 into and expended from each such fund during

6 the preceding 2-year period; and

7 (B) the purposes for which expenditures

8 from such funds during such period were used.

9 (d) INFORMATION FROM INSPECTOR GENERAL.—In

10 each report required by this section, the Inspector General

11 of the Department of the Interior shall include informa12 tion as to the results of the audit required by subsection

13 (a), including—

14 (1) the status of the Secretary’s implementation

15 of this title;

16 (2) the extent to which such implementation

17 has furthered the policies of this title, as set forth

18 in section 401, and has led to an increase or de19 crease in competition for concession contracts;

20 (3) the adequacy of recordkeeping and other re21 quirements imposed on establishment and use of

22 park improvement funds established pursuant to sec23 tion 407(b); and
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1 (4) any recommendations the Inspector General

2 may find appropriate in order to further the pur3 poses of this title and other laws applicable to the

4 National Park System or to assure that park im5 provement funds established pursuant to section

6 407(b) are maintained and expenditures therefrom

7 are used in accordance with this title and sound

8 business practices.

9 SEC. 417. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

10 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as

11 may be necessary to carry out this title.

Æ