I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1118
To provide increased funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund
and Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Programs, to resume the
funding of the State grants program of the Land and Water Conservation
Fund, and to provide for the acquisition and development of conservation
and recreation facilities and programs in urban areas, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 16, 1999
Mr. CAMPBELL (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of California, and Mr. LEWIS of
Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Resources
A BILL
To provide increased funding for the Land and Water Con-
servation Fund and Urban Parks and Recreation Recov-
ery Programs, to resume the funding of the State grants
program of the Land and Water Conservation Fund,
and to provide for the acquisition and development of
conservation and recreation facilities and programs in
urban areas, 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 ‘‘Public Land and
Recreation Investment Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act
of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–4 et seq.) has been critical
in acquiring land to protect America’s national
parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and public land in all
50 States from potential development and in improv-
ing recreational opportunities for all Americans;
(2) the Land and Water Conservation Fund has
helped to preserve nearly 7,000,000 acres of Amer-
ica’s most special places, from the California Desert
to the Everglades, in part by providing grants that
have helped States purchase over 2,000,000 acres of
parkland and open space;
(3) although amounts in the Land and Water
Conservation Fund are meant to be used only for
conservation and recreation purposes, since 1980
Congress and the President have diverted much of
this vital funding for deficit reduction and other
budgetary purposes;
(4) because of chronic shortages in funding for
the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the backlog
of Federal acquisition needs now totals over
$10,000,000,000; the backlog includes key wetlands,
watersheds, wilderness, and wildlife habitat and im-
portant historic, cultural, and recreational sites;
(5) the findings of the 1995 National Biological
Service study entitled ‘‘Endangered Ecosystems of
the United States: A Preliminary Assessment of
Loss and Degradation’’ demonstrate the need to es-
calate conservation measures that protect the Na-
tion’s wildlands and wildlife habitats;
(6) lack of funding for the State grants portion
of the Land and Water Conservation Fund has ham-
pered State and local efforts to protect parklands,
coastlines, habitat areas, and open space from devel-
opment;
(7) recreation needs in America’s cities have
been neglected, in part because the Urban Park and
Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2501
et seq.) has not been funded since 1995;
(8) at the same time that Federal investment in
conservation and recreation has shrunk, demand for
outdoor recreation has skyrocketed: visits to our
public lands have increased dramatically in recent
years, and the national survey on recreation and the
environment conducted by the Forest Service indi-
cates substantial growth in most outdoor activities;
and
(9) increased investment in conservation and
recreation is essential to maintaining America’s envi-
ronmental quality and high quality of life.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to ensure that funding is available without
further Act of appropriation to the Land and Water
Conservation Fund and the Urban Park and Recre-
ation Recovery Program;
(2) to protect the Nation’s parklands, wildlife
habitat, and recreational resources;
(3) to revive the State grants portion of the
Land and Water Conservation Fund; and
(4) to ensure that local governments and Indian
tribes receive a fair share of proceeds from the Land
and Water Conservation Fund.
SEC. 4. LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND.
(a) APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 3 of the Land and
Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–
6) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘SEC. 3. APPROPRIATIONS.—
Moneys’’ and inserting the following:
‘‘SEC. 3. APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Moneys’’;
(2) by striking the third sentence; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b) PERMANENT APPROPRIATION.—There is appro-
priated out of the fund to carry out this Act $900,000,000
for each fiscal year, to remain available until expended.’’.
(b) ALLOCATION OF FUND.—Section 5 of the Land
and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C.
460l–7) is amended—
(1) by striking the first, second, and third sen-
tences and inserting the following:
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Of amounts annually available to
carry out this Act for any fiscal year—
‘‘(1) 40 percent shall be allocated for financial
assistance to States under section 6, of which not
less than 50 percent shall be directed to local gov-
ernments to provide natural areas, open space, park-
land, wildlife habitat, and recreation areas;
‘‘(2) 50 percent shall be allocated for Federal
purposes under section 7; and
‘‘(3) 10 percent shall be allocated for grants to
local governments under the Urban Park and Recre-
ation Recovery Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2501 et
seq.).’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘There shall be’’ and inserting
the following:
‘‘(b) SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—There shall be’’.
(c) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO STATES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6 of the Land and
Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C.
460l–8) is amended—
(A) in subsection (b)—
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking
‘‘forty per centum’’ and all that follows
through ‘‘twenty per centum’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘30 percent of the first $225,000,000
and 20 percent’’; and
(ii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(6) INDIAN TRIBES.—
‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the
term ‘Indian tribe’ means an Indian or Alaska
Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or
community that the Secretary of the Interior
recognizes as an Indian tribe under section 104
of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List
Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a–1).
‘‘(B) APPORTIONMENT.—For the purposes
of paragraph (1), the Indian tribes—
‘‘(i) shall be treated collectively as 1
State; and
‘‘(ii) shall receive shares of their col-
lective apportionment under that para-
graph in amounts to be determined by the
Secretary of the Interior.
‘‘(C) OTHER TREATMENT.—For all other
purposes of this title, each Indian tribe shall be
treated as a State, except that—
‘‘(i) an Indian tribe shall not be re-
quired to direct 50 percent of the financial
assistance provided under this Act to local
governments; and
‘‘(ii) an Indian tribe may use financial
assistance provided under this Act only if
the Indian tribe provides assurances, sub-
ject to the approval of the Secretary, that
the Indian tribe will maintain conservation
and recreation opportunities to the public
at large in perpetuity on land and facilities
funded under this Act.
‘‘(D) LIMITATION.—For any fiscal year, no
single Indian tribe shall receive more than 10
percent of the total amount made available
under paragraph (1) to all Indian tribes, collec-
tively.’’;
(B) by striking subsection (d) and insert-
ing the following:
‘‘(d) STATE ACTION AGENDAS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To qualify for financial as-
sistance under this section, a State, in consultation
with local subdivisions, nonprofit and other private
organizations, and interested citizens, shall prepare
and submit to the Secretary a State action agenda
for recreation, open space, and conservation that
identifies the State’s recreation, open space, and
conservation needs and priorities.
‘‘(2) 
REQUIREMENTS.—A 
State 
action
agenda—
‘‘(A) shall take into account long-term
recreation, open space, and conservation needs
(including preservation of habitat for threat-
ened and endangered species and other species
of conservation concern) but focus on actions
that can be funded over a 4-year period;
‘‘(B) shall be updated every 4 years and
approved by the Governor;
‘‘(C) shall be considered in an active public
involvement process that includes public hear-
ings around the State;
‘‘(D) shall take into account activities and
priorities of managers of conservation land,
open space, and recreation land in the State, in-
cluding Federal, regional, local, and nonprofit
agencies; and
‘‘(E) to the extent practicable, shall be co-
ordinated with other State, regional, and local
plans for parks, recreation, open space, and
wetland conservation.
‘‘(3) USE
OF
RECOVERY
ACTION
PLANS.—A
State shall use recovery action plans developed by
local governments under section 1007 of the Urban
Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 (16
U.S.C. 2506) as a guide in formulating the conclu-
sions and action items contained in the State action
agenda.’’; and
(C) by striking subsection (f)(3) and in-
serting the following:
‘‘(3) CONVERSION OF USE OF PROPERTY.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No property acquired
or developed with assistance under this section
may be converted to a use other than use for
recreation, open space, or conservation without
the approval of the Secretary.
‘‘(B) APPROVAL.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary
may approve a conversion of use of prop-
erty under subparagraph (A) if the State
demonstrates that—
‘‘(I) no prudent or feasible alter-
native to conversion of the use of the
property exists;
‘‘(II) because of changes in de-
mographics, the property is no longer
viable for use for recreation, open
space, or conservation; or
‘‘(III) the property must be
abandoned because of environmental
contamination that endangers public
health or safety.
‘‘(ii) SUBSTITUTION OF OTHER PROP-
ERTY.—
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—Conversion
of the use of property shall satisfy any
condition that the Secretary considers
necessary to ensure that—
‘‘(aa) the substituted prop-
erty is property in the State that
is of at least equal market value
and reasonably equivalent useful-
ness and location; and
‘‘(bb) the use of the sub-
stituted property for recreation,
open space, or conservation is
consistent with the State action
agenda.
‘‘(II) WETLAND AREAS.—A wet-
land area or interest in a wetland area
(as identified in the wetland provi-
sions of the State action agenda) that
is proposed to be acquired as a suit-
able substitute property and that is
otherwise acceptable to the Secretary
shall be considered to be of reasonably
equivalent usefulness to the property
proposed for conversion.’’.
(2) TRANSITION PROVISION.—Any comprehen-
sive statewide outdoor recreation plan developed by
a State under section 6(d) of the Land and Water
Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–
8(d)) before the date that is 5 years after the date
of enactment of this Act shall remain in effect in the
State until a State action agenda has been adopted
in accordance with the amendment made by para-
graph (1), but not later than 5 years after the date
of enactment of this Act.
(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(A) Section 6 of the Land and Water Con-
servation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–
8(e)) is amended—
(i) in subsection (e)—
(I) in the matter preceding para-
graph (1), by striking ‘‘State com-
prehensive plan’’ and inserting ‘‘State
action agenda’’; and
(II) in paragraph (1), by striking
‘‘, or wetland areas and interests
therein as identified in the wetlands
provisions of the comprehensive plan’’;
and
(ii) in subsection (f)(3)—
(I) in the second sentence, by
striking ‘‘then existing comprehensive
statewide outdoor recreation plan’’
and inserting ‘‘State action agenda’’;
and
(II) by striking ‘‘: Provided,’’ and
all that follows.
(B) Section 32(e) of the Bankhead-Jones
Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1011(e)) is amend-
ed in the last proviso of the first paragraph by
striking ‘‘existing comprehensive statewide out-
door recreation plan found adequate for pur-
poses of the Land and Water Conservation
Fund Act of 1965 (78 Stat. 897)’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘State action agenda required by section 6
of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act
of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–8)’’.
(C) Section 102(a)(2) of the National His-
toric Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470b(a)(2))
is amended by striking ‘‘comprehensive state-
wide outdoor recreation plan prepared pursuant
to the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act
of 1965 (78 Stat. 897)’’ and inserting ‘‘State
action agenda required by section 6 of the Land
and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16
U.S.C. 460l–8)’’.
(D) Section 8(a) of the National Trails
System Act (16 U.S.C. 1247(a)) is amended in
the first sentence—