(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 the transfer, assignment, sale,
or conveyance directly or indirectly attribute a sig-
nificant value to intangible assets or otherwise may
so reduce the opportunity for a reasonable profit
over the remaining term of the contract that the
United States would 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 request to approve a transfer, as-
signment, sale, or other conveyance of a concession con-
tract with anticipated annual gross receipts in excess of
$1,000,000 (indexed to 1993 constant dollars) or a dura-
tion in excess of 10 years, the Secretary shall notify the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Unit-
ed States Senate and the Committee on Resources of the
United States House of Representatives of such proposal.
Approval of such proposal, if granted by the Secretary,
shall not take effect until sixty days after the date of noti-
fication of both Committees.
SEC. 510. PROTECTION OF CONCESSIONER INVESTMENT.
(a) EXISTING STRUCTURES.—(1) A concessioner
who, pursuant to a concession contract, before the date
of enactment of this title acquired or constructed, or as
of such date was required by such a contract to commence
acquisition or construction, of any structure, fixture, or
improvement upon land owned by the United States within
a park, shall have a possessory interest therein, to the ex-
tent provided by such contract, the value of such
possessory interest to be determined for all purposes on
the basis of applicable laws and contracts in effect on the
day before such date of enactment.
(2) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply
to a concessioner whose contract in effect on the date of
enactment of this title does not include recognition of a
possessory interest.
(3)(A)(i) Except as provided in subparagraph (B),
with respect to a concession contract entered into on or
after the date of enactment of this title, the provisions
of subsection (b) shall apply to any existing structure, fix-
ture, or improvement as defined in paragraph (1), except
that the value of the possessory interest as of the termi-
nation date of the first contract expiring after the date
of enactment of this title shall be used as the basis for
depreciation, in lieu of the actual original cost of such
structure, fixture, or improvement.
(ii) Notwithstanding Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles, a concessioner with a possessory interest as
provided in subsection (a) may, at the termination date
of the first contract expiring after the date of enactment
of this Act, re-estimate the useful life of the applicable
structure, fixture, or improvement, consistent with sub-
section (b): Provided, That the estimated useful life of
such structure, fixture, or improvement shall not there-
after be reestablished or revalued.
(B) If the Secretary determines during the competi-
tive selection process that all proposals submitted either
fail to meet the minimum requirements or are rejected (as
provided in section 505), the Secretary may, solely with
respect to a structure, fixture, or improvement covered
under this paragraph, suspend the depreciation provisions
of subsection (b)(1) for the duration of the contract: Pro-
vided, That the Secretary may suspend such depreciation
provisions only if the Secretary determines that the estab-
lishment of other new minimum contract requirements is
not likely to result in the submission of satisfactory pro-
posals, and that the suspension of the depreciation provi-
sions is likely to result in the submission of satisfactory
proposals.
(b) NEW STRUCTURES.—(1) On or after the date of
enactment of this title, 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 estimated useful life of an asset de-
scribed in paragraph (1), the concessioner shall be entitled
to receive from the United States or the successor conces-
sioner payment equal to the value of the concessioner’s
interest in such structure, fixture, or improvement. A suc-
cessor concessioner may not revalue the interest in such
structure, fixture, or improvement, the method of depre-
ciation, 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.
(c) INSURANCE, MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR.—Noth-
ing in this section shall affect the obligation of a conces-
sioner to insure, maintain, and repair any structure, fix-
ture, 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. 511. RATES AND CHARGES TO PUBLIC.
The reasonableness of a concessioner’s rates and
charges to the public shall, unless otherwise provided in
the prospectus and contract, be judged primarily by com-
parison with those rates and charges for facilities and
services of comparable character charged by parties in rea-
sonable proximity to the relevant park and operating
under similar conditions, with due consideration for length
of season, seasonal variance, average percentage of occu-
pancy, accessibility, availability and costs of labor and ma-
terials, type of patronage, and other factors deemed sig-
nificant by the Secretary.
SEC. 512. CONCESSIONER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.
(a) REGULATIONS.—Within one hundred and eighty
days after the date of enactment of this title, the Sec-
retary, after an appropriate period for public comment,
shall publish regulations establishing standards and cri-
teria for evaluating the performance of concessioners oper-
ating within parks.
(b) PERIODIC EVALUATION.—(1) The Secretary shall
periodically conduct an evaluation of each concessioner op-
erating under a concession contract pursuant to this title
to determine whether such concessioner has performed
satisfactorily. In evaluating a concessioner’s performance,
the Secretary shall seek and consider applicable reports
and comments from appropriate Federal, State, and local
regulatory agencies, and shall seek and consider the views
of park visitors and concession customers. If the Sec-
retary’s performance evaluation results in an unsatisfac-
tory rating of the concessioner’s overall operation, the Sec-
retary shall so notify the concessioner in writing, and shall
provide the concessioner with a list of the minimum re-
quirements necessary for the operation to be rated satis-
factory.
(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
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 title.
(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 overall annual rating and of
each concession contract terminated pursuant to this sec-
tion.
SEC. 513. 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, the Inspector General of the Department
of the Interior, or any of the Secretary’s duly authorized
representatives shall, for the purpose of audit and exam-
ination, 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 and the Inspector General deem necessary.
(b) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE REVIEW.—The
Comptroller General of the United States or any of his
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, including those related to any Park Im-
provement Funds established pursuant to section 507(b).
SEC. 514. 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 title.
SEC. 515. NO EFFECT ON ANILCA PROVISIONS.
Nothing in this title 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. 516. IMPLEMENTATION.
(a) AUDIT REQUIREMENT.—Beginning with fiscal
year 1997, the Inspector General of the Department of
the Interior shall conduct a biennial audit of the Sec-
retary’s implementation of this title and the award and
management of concession contracts and authorizations
described in section 504(b).
(b) BIENNIAL REPORTS.—Beginning on June 1,
1997, and biannually thereafter the Secretary and the In-
spector 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 United States House of Representa-
tives on the implementation of this title and the effect of
such implementation on facilities operated and services
provided pursuant to concession contracts.
(c) INFORMATION FROM SECRETARY.—In each re-
port required by this section, the Secretary shall—
(1) identify any concession contracts which have
been renewed, renegotiated, terminated, or trans-
ferred during the 2 years 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 any pre-
vious concession contract for the same facilities or
services at the same park;
(3) assess the degree to which facilities are
being maintained, using the condition of such facili-
ties on the date of enactment of this Act as a base-
line;
(4) indicate whether competition has been in-
creased or decreased with respect to the awarding of
concession contracts;
(5) set forth the total amount of revenues re-
ceived and financial obligations incurred or reduced
by the Federal Government as a result of enactment
of this Act for the reporting period and in compari-
son with previous reporting periods and the baseline
year of 1993, including the costs, if any, associated
with the acquisition of possessory interests; and
(6) include information concerning any park
improvement funds established pursuant to section
507(b) of this title, including—
(A) the total amount of funds deposited
into and expended from each such fund during
the preceding 2-year period; and
(B) the purposes for which expenditures
from such funds during such period were used.
(d) INFORMATION FROM INSPECTOR GENERAL.—In
each report required by this section, the Inspector General
of the Department of the Interior shall include informa-
tion as to the results of the audit required by subsection
(a), including—
(1) the status of the Secretary’s implementation
of this title;
(2) the extent to which such implementation
has furthered the policies of this title, as set forth
in section 501, and has led to an increase or de-
crease in competition for concession contracts;
(3) the adequacy of recordkeeping and other re-
quirements imposed on establishment and use of
park improvement funds established pursuant to sec-
tion 507(b); and
(4) any recommendations the Inspector General
may find appropriate in order to further the pur-
poses of this title and other laws applicable to the
National Park System or to assure that park im-
provement funds established pursuant to section
507(b) are maintained and expenditures therefrom
are used in accordance with this title and sound
business practices.
SEC. 517. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as
may be necessary to carry out this title.
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