I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2504 

To establish Coltsville National Historical Park in the State of Connecticut, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 12, 2011 

Mr. LARSON of Connecticut (for himself, Mr. HIMES, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. 

COURTNEY, and Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish Coltsville National Historical Park in the State 

of Connecticut, 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 ‘‘Coltsville National His5 torical Park Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 For the purposes of this Act: 

8 (1) CITY.—The term ‘‘city’’ means the city of 

9 Hartford, Connecticut. 


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1 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

2 means the Coltsville National Historical Park Advi3 sory Commission established by subsection 6(a). 

4 (3) HISTORIC DISTRICT.—The term ‘‘Historic 

5 District’’ means the Coltsville Historic District. 

6 (4) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map ti7 tled ‘‘Coltsville National Historical Park—Proposed 

8 Boundary’’, numbered T25/102087, and dated May 

9 11, 2010. 

10 (5) PARK.—The term ‘‘park’’ means the 

11 Coltsville National Historical Park in the State of 

12 Connecticut. 

13 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

16 of Connecticut. 

17 SEC. 3. COLTSVILLE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

20 there is established in the State a unit of the Na21 tional Park System to be known as the ‘‘Coltsville 

22 National Historical Park’’. 

23 (2) CONDITIONS FOR ESTABLISHMENT.—The 

24 park shall not be established until the date on which 

25 the Secretary determines that— 


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1 (A) the Secretary has acquired by donation 

2 sufficient land or an interest in land within the 

3 boundary of the park to constitute a manage4 able unit; 

5 (B) the State, city, or private property 

6 owner, as appropriate, has entered into a writ7 ten agreement with the Secretary to donate at 

8 least 10,000 square feet of space in the East 

9 Armory which would include facilities for park 

10 administration and visitor services; 

11 (C) the Secretary has entered into a writ12 ten agreement with the State, city, or other 

13 public entity, as appropriate, providing that— 

14 (i) land owned by the State, city, or 

15 other public entity within the Coltsville 

16 Historic District shall be managed con17 sistent with this section; and 

18 (ii) future uses of land within the his19 toric district shall be compatible with the 

20 designation of the park and the city’s pres21 ervation ordinance; and 

22 (D) the Secretary has reviewed the finan23 cial resources of the owners of private and pub24 lic property within the boundary of the proVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:05 Jul 13, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2504.IH H2504

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1 posed park to ensure the viability of the park 

2 based on those resources. 

3 (b) BOUNDARIES.—The park shall include and pro4 vide appropriate interpretation and viewing of the fol5 lowing sites, as generally depicted on the map: 

6 (1) The East Armory. 

7 (2) The Church of the Good Shepherd. 

8 (3) The Caldwell/Colt Memorial Parish House. 

9 (4) Colt Park. 

10 (5) The Potsdam Cottages. 

11 (6) Armsmear. 

12 (7) The James Colt House. 

13 (c) COLLECTIONS.—The Secretary shall enter into a 

14 written agreement with the State of Connecticut State Li15 brary, Wadsworth Atheneum, and the Colt Trust, or other 

16 public entities, as appropriate, to gain appropriate access 

17 to Colt-related artifacts for the purposes of having items 

18 routinely on display in the East Armory or within the park 

19 as determined by the Secretary as a major function of the 

20 visitor experience. 

21 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall administer 

23 the park in accordance with— 

24 (1) this Act; and 


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1 (2) the laws generally applicable to units of the 

2 National Park System, including— 

3 (A) the National Park Service Organic Act 

4 (16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and 

5 (B) the Act of August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 

6 461 et seq.). 

7 (b) STATE AND LOCAL JURISDICTION.—Nothing in 

8 this Act enlarges, diminishes, or modifies any authority 

9 of the State, or any political subdivision of the State (in10 cluding the city)— 

11 (1) to exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction; or 

12 (2) to carry out State laws (including regula13 tions) and rules on non-Federal land located within 

14 the boundary of the park. 

15 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—As the Secretary determines 

17 to be appropriate to carry out this Act, the Sec18 retary may enter into cooperative agreements with 

19 the owner of any property within the Coltsville His20 toric District or any nationally significant properties 

21 within the boundary of the park, under which the 

22 Secretary may identify, interpret, restore, rehabili23 tate, and provide technical assistance for the preser24 vation of the properties. 


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1 (2) RIGHT OF ACCESS.—A cooperative agree2 ment entered into under paragraph (1) shall provide 

3 that the Secretary, acting through the Director of 

4 the National Park Service, shall have the right of 

5 access at all reasonable times to all public portions 

6 of the property covered by the agreement for the 

7 purposes of— 

8 (A) conducting visitors through the prop9 erties; and 

10 (B) interpreting the properties for the pub11 lic. 

12 (3) CHANGES OR ALTERATIONS.—No changes 

13 or alterations shall be made to any properties cov14 ered by a cooperative agreement entered into under 

15 paragraph (1) unless the Secretary and the other 

16 party to the agreement agree to the changes or al17 terations. 

18 (4) CONVERSION, USE, OR DISPOSAL.—Any 

19 payment by the Secretary under this subsection shall 

20 be subject to an agreement that the conversion, use, 

21 or disposal of a project for purposes contrary to the 

22 purposes of this section, as determined by the Sec23 retary, shall entitle the United States to reimburse24 ment in an amount equal to the greater of— 


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1 (A) the amounts made available to the 

2 project by the United States; or 

3 (B) the portion of the increased value of 

4 the project attributable to the amounts made 

5 available under this subsection, as determined 

6 at the time of the conversion, use, or disposal. 

7 (5) MATCHING FUNDS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of the 

9 receipt of funds under this subsection, the Sec10 retary shall require that any Federal funds 

11 made available under a cooperative agreement 

12 shall be matched on a 1-to-1 basis by non-Fed13 eral funds. 

14 (B) FORM.—With the approval of the Sec15 retary, the non-Federal share required under 

16 subparagraph (A) may be in the form of do17 nated property, goods, or services from a non18 Federal source, fairly valued. 

19 (d) ACQUISITION OF LAND.—The Secretary is au20 thorized to acquire land and interests in land by donation, 

21 purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or ex22 change, except that land or interests in land owned by the 

23 State or any political subdivision of the State may be ac24 quired only by donation. 


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1 (e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND PUBLIC INTERPRE2 TATION.—The Secretary may provide technical assistance 

3 and public interpretation of related historic and cultural 

4 resources within the boundary of the historic district. 

5 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 fiscal years after 

7 the date on which funds are made available to carry out 

8 this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Commis9 sion, shall complete a management plan for the park in 

10 accordance with— 

11 (1) section 12(b) of Public Law 91–383 (com12 monly known as the National Park Service General 

13 Authorities Act) (16 U.S.C. 1a–7(b)); and 

14 (2) other applicable laws. 

15 (b) COST SHARE.—The management plan shall in16 clude provisions that identify costs to be shared by the 

17 Federal Government, the State, and the city, and other 

18 public or private entities or individuals for necessary cap19 ital improvements to, and maintenance and operations of, 

20 the park. 

21 (c) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—On completion of 

22 the management plan, the Secretary shall submit the man23 agement plan to— 

24 (1) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

25 House of Representatives; and 


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1 (2) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re2 sources of the Senate. 

3 SEC. 6. COLTSVILLE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK ADVI4 SORY COMMISSION. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Com6 mission to be known as the Coltsville National Historical 

7 Park Advisory Commission. 

8 (b) DUTY.—The Commission shall advise the Sec9 retary in the development and implementation of the man10 agement plan. 

11 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

12 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

13 composed of 11 members, to be appointed by the 

14 Secretary, of whom— 

15 (A) 2 members shall be appointed after 

16 consideration of recommendations submitted by 

17 the Governor of the State; 

18 (B) 1 member shall be appointed after con19 sideration of recommendations submitted by the 

20 State Senate President; 

21 (C) 1 member shall be appointed after con22 sideration of recommendations submitted by the 

23 Speaker of the State House of Representatives; 


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1 (D) 2 members shall be appointed after 

2 consideration of recommendations submitted by 

3 the Mayor of Hartford, Connecticut; 

4 (E) 2 members shall be appointed after 

5 consideration of recommendations submitted by 

6 Connecticut’s 2 United States Senators; 

7 (F) 1 member shall be appointed after con8 sideration of recommendations submitted by 

9 Connecticut’s First Congressional District Rep10 resentative; 

11 (G) 2 members shall have experience with 

12 national parks and historic preservation; 

13 (H) all appointments must have significant 

14 experience with and knowledge of the Coltsville 

15 Historic District; and 

16 (I) 1 member of the Commission must live 

17 in the Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood with18 in the Coltsville Historic District. 

19 (2) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The Secretary 

20 shall appoint the initial members of the Commission 

21 not later than the earlier of— 

22 (A) the date that is 30 days after the date 

23 on which the Secretary has received all of the 

24 recommendations for appointments under para25 graph (1); or 


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1 (B) the date that is 30 days after the park 

2 is established. 

3 (d) TERM; VACANCIES.— 

4 (1) TERM.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—A member shall be ap6 pointed for a term of 3 years. 

7 (B) REAPPOINTMENT.—A member may be 

8 reappointed for not more than 1 additional 

9 term. 

10 (2) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission 

11 shall be filled in the same manner as the original ap12 pointment was made. 

13 (e) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the 

14 call of— 

15 (1) the Chairperson; or 

16 (2) a majority of the members of the Commis17 sion. 

18 (f) QUORUM.—A majority of the Commission shall 

19 constitute a quorum. 

20 (g) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall select 

22 a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among the 

23 members of the Commission. 


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1 (2) VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The Vice Chairperson 

2 shall serve as Chairperson in the absence of the 

3 Chairperson. 

4 (3) TERM.—A member may serve as Chair5 person or Vice Chairperson for not more than 1 year 

6 in each office. 

7 (h) COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 

8 (1) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Members of the Com10 mission shall serve without compensation. 

11 (B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of the 

12 Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, in13 cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates 

14 authorized for an employee of an agency under 

15 subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 

16 States Code, while away from the home or reg17 ular place of business of the member in the per18 formance of the duty of the Commission. 

19 (2) STAFF.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

21 provide the Commission with any staff members 

22 and technical assistance that the Secretary, 

23 after consultation with the Commission, deter24 mines to be appropriate to enable the Commis25 sion to carry out the duty of the Commission. 


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1 (B) DETAIL OF EMPLOYEES.—The Sec2 retary may accept the services of personnel de3 tailed from the State or any political subdivi4 sion of the State. 

5 (i) FACA NONAPPLICABILITY.—Section 14(b) of the 

6 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not 

7 apply to the Commission. 

8 (j) TERMINATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Unless extended under para10 graph (2), the Commission shall terminate on the 

11 date that is 10 years after the date of the enactment 

12 of this Act. 

13 (2) EXTENSION.—Eight years after the date of 

14 the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall 

15 make a recommendation to the Secretary if a body 

16 of its nature is still necessary to advise on the devel17 opment of the park. If, based on a recommendation 

18 under this paragraph, the Secretary determines that 

19 the Commission is still necessary, the Secretary may 

20 extend the life of the Commission for not more than 

21 10 years. 

Æ 


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