cession contract after November 13, 1998, instead of directly receiving 
the possessory interest compensation, shall have a leasehold surrender 
interest in its existing possessory interest improvements under the 
terms of the new concession contract and shall carry over as the initial 
value of the leasehold surrender interest (instead of construction cost) 
an amount equal to the value of the existing possessory interest as of 
the termination date of the previous concession contract. In the event 
of a dispute between the concessioner and the Secretary as to the value 
of the possessory interest, the matter shall be resolved through binding 
arbitration. 
(3) NEW CONCESSIONER AWARDED A CONTRACT.—A new conces-
sioner awarded a concession contract and required to pay a prior con-
cessioner for possessory interest in prior improvements shall have a 
leasehold surrender interest in the prior improvements. The initial 
value in the leasehold surrender interest (instead of construction cost) 
shall be an amount equal to the value of the existing possessory inter-
est as of the termination date of the previous concession contract. 
(d) TRANSITION TO SUCCESSOR CONCESSIONER.—On expiration or ter-
mination of a concession contract entered into after November 13, 1998, a 
concessioner shall be entitled under the terms of the concession contract to 
receive from the United States or a successor concessioner the value of any 
leasehold surrender interest in a capital improvement as of the date of the 
expiration or termination. A successor concessioner shall have a leasehold 
surrender interest in the capital improvement under the terms of a new con-
cession contract and the initial value of the leasehold surrender interest in 
the capital improvement (instead of construction cost) shall be the amount 
of money the new concessioner is required to pay the prior concessioner for 
its leasehold surrender interest under the terms of the prior concession con-
tract. 
(e) TITLE TO IMPROVEMENTS.—Title to any capital improvement con-
structed by a concessioner on land owned by the United States in a System 
unit shall be vested in the United States. 
§ 101916. Reasonableness of rates and charges 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each concession contract shall permit the concessioner 
to set reasonable and appropriate rates and charges for facilities, goods, and 
services provided to the public, subject to approval under subsection (b). 
(b) APPROVAL BY SECRETARY REQUIRED.— 
(1) FACTORS TO CONSIDER.—A concessioner’s rates and charges to 
the public shall be subject to approval by the Secretary. The approval 
process utilized by the Secretary shall be as prompt and as 
unburdensome to the concessioner as possible and shall rely on market 
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forces to establish reasonableness of rates and charges to the maximum 
extent practicable. The Secretary shall approve rates and charges that 
the Secretary determines to be reasonable and appropriate. Unless oth-
erwise provided in the concession contract, the reasonableness and ap-
propriateness of rates and charges shall be determined primarily by 
comparison with those rates and charges for facilities, goods, and serv-
ices of comparable character under similar conditions, with due consid-
eration to the following factors and other factors deemed relevant by 
the Secretary: 
(A) Length of season. 
(B) Peakloads. 
(C) Average percentage of occupancy. 
(D) Accessibility. 
(E) Availability and costs of labor and materials. 
(F) Type of patronage. 
(2) RATES AND CHARGES NOT TO EXCEED MARKET RATES AND 
CHARGES.—Rates and charges may not exceed the market rates and 
charges for comparable facilities, goods, and services, after taking into 
account the factors referred to in paragraph (1). 
(c) IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 6 months 
after receiving recommendations from the Advisory Board regarding conces-
sioner rates and charges to the public, the Secretary shall implement the 
recommendations or report to Congress the reasons for not implementing 
the recommendations. 
§ 101917. Franchise fees 
(a) IN GENERAL.—A concession contract shall provide for payment to the 
Federal Government of a franchise fee or other monetary consideration as 
determined by the Secretary, on consideration of the probable value to the 
concessioner of the privileges granted by the particular contract involved. 
Probable value shall be based on a reasonable opportunity for net profit in 
relation to capital invested and the obligations of the concession contract. 
Consideration of revenue to the United States shall be subordinate to the 
objectives of protecting and preserving System units and of providing nec-
essary and appropriate services for visitors at reasonable rates. 
(b) PROVISIONS TO BE SPECIFIED IN CONTRACT.—The amount of the 
franchise fee or other monetary consideration paid to the United States for 
the term of the concession contract shall be specified in the concession con-
tract and may be modified only to reflect extraordinary unanticipated 
changes from the conditions anticipated as of the effective date of the con-
cession contract. The Secretary shall include in concession contracts with a 
term of more than 5 years a provision that allows reconsideration of the 
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franchise fee at the request of the Secretary or the concessioner in the event 
of extraordinary unanticipated changes. The provision shall provide for 
binding arbitration in the event that the Secretary and the concessioner are 
unable to agree on an adjustment to the franchise fee in those cir-
cumstances. 
(c) SPECIAL ACCOUNT IN TREASURY.— 
(1) DEPOSIT AND AVAILABILITY.—All franchise fees (and other mon-
etary consideration) paid to the United States pursuant to concession 
contracts shall be deposited in a special account established in the 
Treasury. Twenty percent of the funds deposited in the special account 
shall be available for expenditure by the Secretary, without further ap-
propriation, to support activities throughout the System regardless of 
the System unit in which the funds were collected. The funds deposited 
in the special account shall remain available until expended. 
(2) SUBACCOUNT FOR EACH SYSTEM UNIT.—There shall be estab-
lished within the special account a subaccount for each System unit. 
Each subaccount shall be credited with 80 percent of the franchise fees 
(and other monetary consideration) collected at a single System unit 
under concession contracts. The funds credited to the subaccount for 
a System unit shall be available for expenditure by the Secretary, with-
out further appropriation, for use at the System unit for visitor services 
and for purposes of funding high-priority and urgently necessary re-
source management programs and operations. The funds credited to a 
subaccount shall remain available until expended. 
§ 101918. Transfer or conveyance of concession contracts or 
leasehold surrender interests 
(a) APPROVAL OF SECRETARY.—No concession contract or leasehold sur-
render interest may be transferred, assigned, sold, or otherwise conveyed or 
pledged by a concessioner without prior written notification to, and approval 
by, the Secretary. 
(b) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary shall approve a transfer or conveyance 
described in subsection (a) unless the Secretary finds that— 
(1) the individual, corporation, or other entity seeking to acquire a 
concession contract is not qualified or able to satisfy the terms and 
conditions of the concession contract; 
(2) the transfer or conveyance would have an adverse impact on— 
(A) the protection, conservation, or preservation of the resources 
of the System unit; or 
(B) the provision of necessary and appropriate facilities and 
services to visitors at reasonable rates and charges; and 
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(3) the terms of the transfer or conveyance are likely, directly or in-
directly, to— 
(A) reduce the concessioner’s opportunity for a reasonable profit 
over the remaining term of the concession contract; 
(B) adversely affect the quality of facilities and services pro-
vided by the concessioner; or 
(C) result in a need for increased rates and charges to the pub-
lic to maintain the quality of the facilities and services. 
(c) MODIFICATION OR RENEGOTIATION OF TERMS.—The terms and con-
ditions of any concession contract under this section shall not be subject to 
modification or open to renegotiation by the Secretary because of a transfer 
or conveyance described in subsection (a) unless the transfer or conveyance 
would have an adverse impact as described in subsection (b)(2). 
§ 101919. National Park Service Concessions Management 
Advisory Board 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—There is a National Park Service 
Concessions Management Advisory Board whose purpose shall be to advise 
the Secretary and Service on matters relating to management of concessions 
in the System. 
(b) DUTIES.— 
(1) ADVICE.—The Advisory Board shall advise on each of the fol-
lowing: 
(A) Policies and procedures intended to ensure that services and 
facilities provided by concessioners— 
(i) are necessary and appropriate; 
(ii) meet acceptable standards at reasonable rates with a 
minimum of impact on park resources and values; and 
(iii) provide the concessioners with a reasonable oppor-
tunity to make a profit. 
(B) Ways to make Service concession programs and procedures 
more cost effective, more process efficient, less burdensome, and 
timelier. 
(2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Advisory Board shall make rec-
ommendations to the Secretary regarding each of the following: 
(A) The Service contracting with the private sector to conduct 
appropriate elements of concession management. 
(B) Ways to make the review or approval of concessioner rates 
and charges to the public more efficient, less burdensome, and 
timelier. 
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