Title: American Gateway Communities Economic Development and Conservation Act
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
American Gateway Communities Economic Development and Conservation Act
This bill directs the Department of the Interior to establish an American Gateway Communities Economic Development and Conservation Program. Interior may provide grants under the program to assist local government entities in improving gateways to National Park System units.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5471 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5471

    To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Gateway 
        Communities Improvement Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 11, 2018

    Mr. Cicilline (for himself and Mr. Poe of Texas) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Gateway 
        Communities Improvement Program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``American Gateway Communities 
Economic Development and Conservation Act''.

SEC. 2. GATEWAY COMMUNITIES IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Interior shall establish an 
American Gateway Communities Economic Development and Conservation 
Program (in this section referred to as the ``Program'') to assist 
covered entities to improve gateways to units of the National Park 
System.
    (b) Grant Authority.--In carrying out the Program, the Secretary 
may award a grant, on a competitive basis, to a covered entity.
    (c) Applications.--To be eligible for a grant under the Program, a 
covered entity shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 
time, in such form, and containing such information as the Secretary 
may require. Applications should address the economic development 
benefits associated with the proposed activity.
    (d) Grant Uses.--Grant amounts awarded under the Program may be 
used to--
            (1) facilitate a planning, study, or design component of an 
        activity described in paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), or (6) in 
        collaboration with local residents, businesses, elected 
        officials, representatives of the unit of the National Park 
        System nearby and other affected public agencies;
            (2) prepare a general plan and visual design guidance that 
        reflect the goals of the Gateway Community and are in harmony 
        with the visual, historic and cultural character of the nearby 
        unit of the National Park Service;
            (3) carry out, with respect to a public space, a 
        landscaping project that is consistent with local character and 
        with the scenic, historic and cultural character of the nearby 
        National Park System unit;
            (4) provide wayfinding and interpretation markers to assist 
        visitors to the relevant unit of the National Park System with 
        orientation or interpretation, including but not limited to 
        markers at key sites of scenic, historic, or cultural value, so 
        long as all wayfinding markers have a non-intrusive design that 
        keeps with the character of the gateway community and the unit 
        of the National Park System;
            (5) establish a scenic easement to protect a view of the 
        relevant unit of the National Park System; and
            (6) mitigation of visual blight including screening or 
        removal of elements not in keeping with the desired visual, 
        historic and cultural character of the Gateway Community and 
        the unit of the National Park System.
    (e) Federal Share.--The Federal share of the cost of an activity 
assisted with grant amounts awarded under the Program shall be not more 
than 50 percent.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $2,000,000 to carry out the Program.
    (g) Covered Entity Defined.--In this section, the term ``covered 
entity'' means a local government entity that serves an area located 
within 5 miles of a public entrance to a unit of the National Park 
System. The Secretary shall have the discretion of waiving the 5-mile 
limit in cases where compatibility between the visual, historic and 
cultural character of a gateway community beyond the 5-mile limit and 
the unit of the National Park System is significant to both as jointly 
attested to by the local government entity and the National Park 
Service.
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