I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5626 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to make grants to facilitate certain 
acquisitions of property for conservation purposes, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 8, 2012 
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to make grants 
to facilitate certain acquisitions of property for conserva-
tion purposes, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clean and Beautiful 
Communities Act of 2012’’. 
SEC. 2. GRANTS TO FACILITATE CERTAIN ACQUISITIONS OF 
PROPERTY FOR CONSERVATION PURPOSES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior, act-
ing through the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assist-
ance Program of the National Park Service, may make 
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grants to facilitate the acquisition by a qualified organiza-
tion of a qualified real property interest exclusively for 
conservation purposes, that assist in the funding of trans-
actional and operational costs associated with the pur-
chase and management of preserved land or a qualified 
real property interest (including easements) including— 
(1) stewardship costs, including costs of stand-
ards and practices development and implementation; 
(2) land purchase transaction costs; 
(3) costs of preparing for accreditation associ-
ated with land management; and 
(4) costs of due diligence, including appraisal, 
title, survey, environmental hazard assessment, and 
recording costs. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A person shall be eligible for 
a grant under this section only if the person— 
(A) is an organization described in section 
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of 
such Code; and 
(B) is not a State or local government en-
tity. 
(2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under subsection (a), a qualified organization 
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shall submit to the Secretary of the Interior an ap-
plication at such time, in such form, and containing 
such information as the Secretary shall require. 
(c) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this section, 
the Secretary of the Interior shall give priority to eligible 
persons that— 
(1) demonstrate a record of successfully acquir-
ing and competently managing a substantial port-
folio of conserved properties and easement holdings; 
(2) have established and diverse capital and de-
velopment programs; 
(3) demonstrate a record of working success-
fully with local and State governmental stakeholders 
in building support for conservation acquisitions and 
leveraging funding opportunities; and 
(4) currently employ full-time or part-time staff 
to manage their operations on a nonvoluntary basis 
or can demonstrate capacity to employ such staff in 
the near-term. 
(d) LIMITATION.—A grant under this section may 
not be used to pay consideration for the purchase of any 
interest in real property. 
(e) GRANT AMOUNT AND DURATION.—A grant under 
this section shall be in an amount of not more than 
$500,000 per year for 5 years. 
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