(b) WHEN AMOUNTS SHALL BE CREDITED.—Amounts shall be credited 
within 90 days of the date of the original request by the Service for payment. 
Chapter 1019—Concessions and 
Commercial Use Authorizations 
Subchapter I—Authority of Secretary 
Sec. 
101901.
Utility services. 
Subchapter II—Commercial Visitor Services 
101911.
Definitions. 
101912.
Findings and declaration of policy. 
101913.
Award of concession contracts. 
101914.
Term of concession contracts. 
101915.
Protection of concessioner investment. 
101916.
Reasonableness of rates and charges. 
101917.
Franchise fees. 
101918.
Transfer or conveyance of concession contracts or leasehold surrender interests. 
101919.
National Park Service Concessions Management Advisory Board. 
101920.
Contracting for services. 
101921.
Multiple contracts within a System unit. 
101922.
Use of nonmonetary consideration in concession contracts. 
101923.
Recordkeeping requirements. 
101924.
Promotion of sale of Indian, Alaska Native, Native Samoan, and Native Hawaiian 
handicrafts. 
101925.
Commercial use authorizations. 
101926.
Regulations. 
Subchapter I—Authority of Secretary 
§ 101901. Utility services. 
To facilitate the administration of the System, the Secretary, under such 
terms and conditions as the Secretary considers advisable, may furnish, on 
a reimbursement of appropriation basis, all types of utility services to conces-
sioners, contractors, permittees, or other users of the services, within the Sys-
tem. The reimbursements for cost of the services may be credited to the appro-
priation current at the time reimbursements are received. 
Subchapter II—Commercial Visitor 
Services 
§ 101911. Definitions 
In this subchapter: 
(1) ADVISORY BOARD.—The term ‘‘Advisory Board’’ means the Na-
tional Park Service Concessions Management Advisory Board established 
under section 101919 of this title. 
(2) PREFERENTIAL RIGHT OF RENEWAL.—The term ‘‘preferential right 
of renewal’’ means the right of a concessioner, subject to a determination 
by the Secretary that the facilities or services authorized by a prior con-
tract continue to be necessary and appropriate within the meaning of 
section 101912 of this title, to match the terms and conditions of any 
competing proposal that the Secretary determines to be the best proposal 
for a proposed new concession contract that authorizes the continuation 
of the facilities and services provided by the concessioner under its prior 
contract. 
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§ 101912. Findings and declaration of policy 
(a) FINDINGS.—In furtherance of section 100101(a), Congress finds that the 
preservation and conservation of System unit resources and values requires 
that public accommodations, facilities, and services that have to be provided 
within those System units should be provided only under carefully controlled 
safeguards against unregulated and indiscriminate use, so that— 
(1) visitation will not unduly impair those resources and values; and 
(2) development of public accommodations, facilities, and services 
within System units can best be limited to locations that are consistent 
to the highest practicable degree with the preservation and conservation 
of the resources and values of the System units. 
(b) DECLARATION OF POLICY.—It is the policy of Congress that the develop-
ment of public accommodations, facilities, and services in System units shall 
be limited to accommodations, facilities, and services that— 
(1) are necessary and appropriate for public use and enjoyment of the 
System unit in which they are located; and 
(2) are consistent to the highest practicable degree with the preserva-
tion and conservation of the resources and values of the System unit. 
§ 101913. Award of concession contracts 
In furtherance of the findings and policy stated in section 101912 of this 
title, and except as provided by this subchapter or otherwise authorized by 
law, the Secretary shall utilize concession contracts to authorize a person, cor-
poration, or other entity to provide accommodations, facilities, and services 
to visitors to System units. Concession contracts shall be awarded as follows: 
(1) COMPETITIVE SELECTION PROCESS.—Except as otherwise provided 
in this section, all proposed concession contracts shall be awarded by the 
Secretary to the person, corporation, or other entity submitting the best 
proposal, as determined by the Secretary through a competitive selection 
process. The competitive process shall include simplified procedures for 
small, individually-owned entities seeking award of a concession con-
tract. 
(2) SOLICITATION OF PROPOSALS.—Except as otherwise provided in 
this section, prior to awarding a new concession contract (including re-
newals or extensions of existing concession contracts) the Secretary— 
(A) shall publicly solicit proposals for the concession contract; 
and 
(B) in connection with the solicitation, shall— 
(i) prepare a prospectus and publish notice of its avail-
ability at least once in local or national newspapers or trade 
publications, by electronic means, or both, as appropriate; and 
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(ii) make the prospectus available on request to all interested 
persons. 
(3) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN PROSPECTUS.—The prospectus 
shall include the following information: 
(A) The minimum requirements for the contract as set forth in 
paragraph (4). 
(B) The terms and conditions of any existing concession contract 
relating to the services and facilities to be provided, including all 
fees and other forms of compensation provided to the United States 
by the concessioner. 
(C) Other authorized facilities or services that may be provided 
in a proposal. 
(D) Facilities and services to be provided by the Secretary to the 
concessioner, including public access, utilities, and buildings. 
(E) An estimate of the amount of compensation due an existing 
concessioner from a new concessioner under the terms of a prior 
concession contract. 
(F) A statement as to the weight to be given to each selection fac-
tor identified in the prospectus and the relative importance of those 
factors in the selection process. 
(G) Other information related to the proposed concession oper-
ation that is provided to the Secretary pursuant to a concession 
contract or is otherwise available to the Secretary, as the Secretary 
determines is necessary to allow for the submission of competitive 
proposals. 
(H) Where applicable, a description of a preferential right to the 
renewal of the proposed concession contract held by an existing con-
cessioner as set forth in paragraph (7). 
(4) CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSALS.— 
(A) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—No proposal shall be considered 
that fails to meet the minimum requirements as determined by the 
Secretary. The minimum requirements shall include the following: 
(i) The minimum acceptable franchise fee or other forms of 
consideration to the Federal Government. 
(ii) Any facilities, services, or capital investment required to 
be provided by the concessioner. 
(iii) Measures necessary to ensure the protection, conserva-
tion, and preservation of resources of the System unit. 
(B) REJECTION OF PROPOSAL.—The Secretary shall reject any 
proposal, regardless of the franchise fee offered, if the Secretary de-
termines that— 
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(i) the person, corporation, or entity is not qualified or is 
not likely to provide satisfactory service; or 
(ii) the proposal is not responsive to the objectives of pro-
tecting and preserving resources of the System unit and of pro-
viding necessary and appropriate facilities and services to the 
public at reasonable rates. 
(C) ALL PROPOSALS FAIL TO MEET MIMIMUM REQUIREMENTS OR 
ARE REJECTED.—If all proposals submitted to the Secretary fail to 
meet the minimum requirements or are rejected by the Secretary, 
the Secretary shall establish new minimum contract requirements 
and re-initiate the competitive selection process pursuant to this sec-
tion. 
(D) TERMS AND CONDITIONS MATERIALLY AMENDED OR NOT IN-
CORPORATED IN CONTRACT.—The Secretary may not execute a con-
cession contract that materially amends or does not incorporate the 
proposed terms and conditions of the concession contract as set forth 
in the applicable prospectus. If proposed material amendments or 
changes are considered appropriate by the Secretary, the Secretary 
shall resolicit offers for the concession contract incorporating the 
material amendments or changes. 
(5) SELECTION OF THE BEST PROPOSAL.— 
(A) FACTORS IN SELECTION.—In selecting the best proposal, the 
Secretary shall consider the following principal factors: 
(i) The responsiveness of the proposal to the objectives of pro-
tecting, conserving, and preserving resources of the System unit 
and of providing necessary and appropriate facilities and serv-
ices to the public at reasonable rates. 
(ii) The experience and related background of the person, 
corporation, or entity submitting the proposal, including the 
past performance and expertise of the person, corporation or 
entity in providing the same or similar facilities or services. 
(iii) The financial capability of the person, corporation, or 
entity submitting the proposal. 
(iv) The proposed franchise fee, except that consideration of 
revenue to the United States shall be subordinate to the objec-
tives of protecting, conserving, and preserving resources of the 
System unit and of providing necessary and appropriate fa-
cilities to the public at reasonable rates. 
(B) SECONDARY
FACTORS.—The Secretary may also consider 
such secondary factors as the Secretary considers appropriate. 
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