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(3) Monies from the fund, including interest, shall be
expended by the concessioner solely as directed by the Sec-
retary for activities and projects within the park which
are consistent with the park’s general management plan,
concession plan, and other applicable plans, and which the
Secretary determines will enhance public use, safety, and
enjoyment of the park, including but not limited to
projects which directly or indirectly support concession fa-
cilities or services required by the concession contract.
Projects paid for from the fund shall not include routine,
operational maintenance of facilities. A concessioner shall
not be allowed to make any advances or credits to the
fund.
(4) A concessioner shall not be granted any interest
in improvements made from fund expenditures, including
any interest granted pursuant to section 12.
(5) Nothing in this subsection shall affect the obliga-
tion of a concessioner to insure, maintain, and repair any
structure, fixture, or improvement assigned to such con-
cessioner and to insure that such structure, fixture, or im-
provement fully complies with applicable safety and health
laws and regulations.
(6) The concessioner shall maintain proper records
for all expenditures made from the fund. Such records
shall include, but not be limited to invoices, bank state-
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ments, canceled checks, and such other information as the
Secretary determines to be necessary.
(7) The concessioner shall annually submit to the
Secretary a statement reflecting total activity in the fund
for the preceding financial year. The statement shall re-
flect monthly deposits, expenditures by project, interest
earned, and such other information as the Secretary re-
quires.
(8) Proceeds from the fund shall not be used for any
capital expenditure exceeding $2,500,000 in any fiscal
year unless such expenditure has been approved in ad-
vance by Act of Congress.
(9) The Secretary shall annually report to the Com-
mittees on Appropriations and Energy and Natural Re-
sources of the United States Senate and the Committees
on Appropriations and Resources of the United States
House of Representatives concerning the actual and pro-
jected expenditures for each fund established pursuant to
this section.
(10) Upon the termination of a concession contract,
or upon the sale or transfer of such contract, any remain-
ing balance in the fund shall be transferred by the conces-
sioner to the successor concessioner, to be used solely as
set forth in this subsection. In the event there is not a
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successor concessioner, the fund balance shall be deposited
into the special account established in subsection (a).
SEC. 10. DURATION OF CONTRACT.
(a) MAXIMUM TERM.—A concession contract entered
into pursuant to this Act shall be awarded for a term not
to exceed ten years: Provided, however, That the Secretary
may award a contract for a term not to exceed twenty
years if the Secretary determines that the contract terms
and conditions necessitate a longer term.
(b) TEMPORARY CONTRACT.—A temporary conces-
sion contract awarded on a non-competitive basis pursuant
to section 7(b) shall be for a term not to exceed two years.
SEC. 11. TRANSFER OF CONTRACT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) No concession contract may
be transferred, assigned, sold, or otherwise conveyed by
a concessioner without prior written notification to, and
approval of the Secretary.
(2) The Secretary shall not unreasonably withhold
approval of a transfer, assignment, sale, or conveyance of
a concession contract, but shall not approve the transfer,
assignment, sale, or conveyance of a concession contract
to any individual, corporation or other entity if the Sec-
retary determines that—
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(A) such individual, corporation or entity is, or
is likely to be, unable to completely satisfy all of the
requirements, terms, and conditions of the contract;
(B) such transfer, assignment, sale or convey-
ance is not consistent with the objectives of protect-
ing and preserving park resources, and of providing
necessary and appropriate facilities or services to the
public at reasonable rates;
(C) such transfer, assignment, sale, or convey-
ance relates to a concession contract which does not
provide to the United States consideration commen-
surate with the probable value of the privileges
granted by the contract; or
(D) the terms of such transfer, assignment,
sale, or conveyance directly or indirectly attribute a
significant value to intangible assets or otherwise
may so reduce the opportunity for a reasonable prof-
it over the remaining term of the contract that the
United States may be required to make substantial
additional expenditures in order to avoid interrup-
tion of services to park visitors.
(b) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—Within thirty
days after receiving a completed proposal to transfer, as-
sign, sell, or otherwise convey a concession contract, the
Secretary shall notify the Committee on Energy and Natu-
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ral Resources of the United States Senate and the Com-
mittee on Resources of the United States House of Rep-
resentatives of such proposal. Approval of such proposal,
if granted by the Secretary, shall not take effect until sixty
days after the date of notification of both Committees.
SEC. 12. PROTECTION OF CONCESSIONER INVESTMENT.
(a) CURRENT CONTRACT.—(1) A concessioner who
before the date of the enactment of this Act has acquired
or constructed, or is required under an existing concession
contract to commence acquisition or construction of any
structure, fixture, or improvement upon land owned by the
United States within a park, pursuant to such contract,
shall have a possessory interest therein, to the extent pro-
vided by such contract.
(2) Unless otherwise provided in such contract, said
possessory interest shall not be extinguished by the expira-
tion or termination of the contract and may not be taken
for public use without just compensation. Such possessory
interest may be assigned, transferred, encumbered, or re-
linquished.
(3) Upon the termination of a concession contract in
effect before the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary shall determine the value of any outstanding
possessory interest applicable to the contract, such value
to be determined for all purposes on the basis of applicable
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laws and contracts in effect on the day before the date
of enactment of this Act.
(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to
grant a possessory interest to a concessioner whose con-
tract in effect on the date of enactment of this Act does
not include recognition of a possessory interest.
(b) NEW CONTRACTS.—(1)(A) With respect to a con-
cession contract entered into on or after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the value of any outstanding possessory
interest associated with such contract shall be set at the
value determined by the Secretary pursuant to subsection
(a)(3).
(B) As a condition of entering into a concession con-
tract, the value of any outstanding possessory interest
shall be reduced on an annual basis, in equal portions,
over the same number of years as the time period associ-
ated with the straight line depreciation of the structure,
fixture, or improvement associated with such possessory
interest, as provided by applicable Federal income tax laws
and regulations in effect on the day before the date of
enactment of this Act.
(C) In the event that the contract expires or is termi-
nated prior to the elimination of any outstanding
possessory interest,the concessioner shall be entitled to re-
ceive from the United States or the successor concessioner
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payment equal to the remaining value of the possessory
interest.
(D) A successor concessioner may not revalue any
outstanding possessory interest, nor the period of time
over which such interest is reduced.
(E) Title to any structure, fixture, or improvement
associated with any outstanding possessory interest shall
be vested in the United States.
(2)(A) If the Secretary determines during the com-
petitive selection process that all proposals submitted ei-
ther fail to meet the minimum requirements or are re-
jected (as provided in section 7), the Secretary may, solely
with respect to any outstanding possessory interest associ-
ated with the contract and established pursuant to a con-
cession contract entered into prior to the date of enact-
ment of this Act, suspend the reduction provisions of sub-
section (b)(1)(B) for the duration of the contract, and
reinitiate the competitive selection process as provided in
section 7.
(B) The Secretary may suspend such reduction provi-
sions only if the Secretary determines that the establish-
ment of other new minimum contract requirements is not
likely to result in the submission of satisfactory proposals,
and that the suspension of the reduction provisions is like-
ly to result in the submission of satisfactory proposals:
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Provided, however, That nothing in this paragraph shall
be construed to require the Secretary to establish a mini-
mum franchise fee at a level below the franchise fee in
effect for such contract on the day before the expiration
date of the previous contract.
(c) NEW STRUCTURES.—(1) On or after the date of
enactment of this Act, a concessioner who constructs or
acquires a new, additional, or replacement structure, fix-
ture, or improvement upon land owned by the United
States within a park, pursuant to a concession contract,
shall have an interest in such structure, fixture, or im-
provement equivalent to the actual original cost of acquir-
ing or constructing such structure, fixture, or improve-
ment, less straight line depreciation over the estimated
useful life of the asset according to Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles: Provided, That in no event shall
the estimated useful life of such asset exceed the deprecia-
tion period used for such asset for Federal income tax pur-
poses.
(2) In the event that the contract expires or is termi-
nated prior to the recovery of such costs, the concessioner
shall be entitled to receive from the United States or the
successor concessioner payment equal to the value of the
concessioner’s interest in such structure, fixture, or im-
provement. A successor concessioner may not revalue the
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interest in such structure, fixture, or improvement, the
method of depreciation, or the estimated useful life of the
asset.
(3) Title to any such structure, fixture, or improve-
ment shall be vested in the United States.
(d) INSURANCE, MAINTENANCE
AND
REPAIR.—
Nothing in this section shall affect the obligation of a con-
cessioner to insure, maintain, and repair any structure,
fixture, or improvement assigned to such concessioner and
to insure that such structure, fixture, or improvement
fully complies with applicable safety and health laws and
regulations.
SEC. 13. RATES AND CHARGES TO PUBLIC.
The reasonableness of a concessioner’s rates and
charges to the public shall, unless otherwise provided in
the bid specifications and contract, be judged primarily
by comparison with those rates and charges for facilities
and services of comparable character under similar condi-
tions, with due consideration for length of season, seasonal
variance, average percentage of occupancy, accessibility,
availability and costs of labor and materials, type of pa-
tronage, and other factors deemed significant by the Sec-
retary.
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SEC. 14. CONCESSIONER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.
(a) REGULATIONS.—Within one hundred and eighty
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall publish, after an appropriate period for public com-
ment, regulations establishing standards and criteria for
evaluating the performance of concessions operating with-
in parks.
(b) PERIODIC EVALUATION.—(1) The Secretary shall
periodically conduct an evaluation of each concessioner op-
erating under a concession contract pursuant to this Act,
as appropriate, to determine whether such concessioner
has performed satisfactorily. In evaluating a conces-
sioner’s performance, the Secretary shall seek and con-
sider applicable reports and comments from appropriate
Federal, State, and local regulatory agencies, and shall
seek and consider the applicable views of park visitors and
concession customers. If the Secretary’s performance eval-
uation results in an unsatisfactory rating of the conces-
sioner’s overall operation, the Secretary shall provide the
concessioner with a list of the minimum requirements nec-
essary for the operation to be rated satisfactory, and shall
so notify the concessioner in writing.
(2) The Secretary may terminate a concession con-
tract if the concessioner fails to meet the minimum oper-
ational requirements identified by the Secretary within the
time limitations established by the Secretary at the time
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notice of the unsatisfactory rating is provided to the con-
cessioner.
(3) If the Secretary terminates a concession contract
pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall solicit propos-
als for a new contract consistent with the provisions of
this Act.
(c) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary
shall notify the Committee on Energy and Natural Re-
sources of the United States Senate and the Committee
on Resources of the United States House of Representa-
tives of each unsatisfactory rating and of each concession
contract terminated pursuant to this section.
SEC. 15. RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each concessioner shall keep such
records as the Secretary may prescribe to enable the Sec-
retary to determine that all terms of the concessioner’s
contract have been, and are being faithfully performed,
and the Secretary or any of the Secretary’s duly author-
ized representatives shall, for the purpose of audit and ex-
amination, have access to such records and to other books,
documents and papers of the concessioner pertinent to the
contract and all the terms and conditions thereof as the
Secretary deems necessary.
(b) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE REVIEW.—The
Comptroller General of the United States or any of his
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or her duly authorized representatives shall, until the expi-
ration of five calendar years after the close of the business
year for each concessioner, have access to and the right
to examine any pertinent books, documents, papers, and
records of the concessioner related to the contracts or con-
tracts involved.
SEC. 16. EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN LEASE REQUIRE-
MENTS.
The provisions of section 321 of the Act of June 30,
1932 (47 Stat. 412; 40 U.S.C. 303b), relating to the leas-
ing of buildings and properties of the United States, shall
not apply to contracts awarded by the Secretary pursuant
to this Act.
SEC. 17. NO EFFECT ON ANILCA PROVISIONS.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to amend, su-
persede, or otherwise affect any provision of the Alaska
National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C.
3101 et seq.).
SEC. 18. IMPLEMENTATION REPORTS.
Beginning on June 1, 1997, and biennially thereafter,
the Inspector General of the Department of the Interior
shall submit a report to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources of the United States Senate and the
Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives
on the implementation of this Act and the effect of such
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implementation on facilities operated pursuant to conces-
sion contracts and on visitor services. Each report shall—
(1) identify any concession contracts which have
been renewed, renegotiated, terminated, or trans-
ferred during the year prior to the submission of the
report and identify any significant changes in the
terms of the new contract;
(2) state the amount of franchise fees the rates
which would be charged for services, and the level of
other services required to be provided by the conces-
sioner in comparison to that required in the previous
contract;
(3) assess the degree to which concession facili-
ties are being maintained using the condition of such
facilities on the date of enactment of this Act as a
baseline;
(4) determine whether competition has been in-
creased or decreased with respect to the awarding of
each contract; and
(5) set forth the amount of revenues received
and financial obligations incurred or reduced by the
Federal Government as a result of the comparison of
the Act for the reporting period and in comparison
with previous reporting periods and the baseline year
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of 1995, including the costs, if any, associated with
the acquisition of possessory interests.
SEC. 19. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as
may be necessary to carry out this Act.
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