A bill to amend the Volunteers in the Parks Act of 1969, and for other purposes.
PL 98-540 (S.864), enacted 10/24/1984

98 STAT. 2718 
PUBLIC LAW 98-540—OCT. 24, 1984 
Public Law 98-540 
98th Congress 
An Act 
Oct 24 1984 
'• '- 
To amend the Volunteers in the Parks Act of 1969, and for other purposes. 
[S. 864] 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) section 4 of 
the Volunteers in the Parks Act of 1969 (84 Stat. 472; 16 U.S.C. 18j) 
as amended is further amended by striking out "$250,000" and 
substituting "$1,000,000". The amendment made by this subsection 
shall apply with respect to fiscal years beginning after September 
30,1984. 
16 use I8g. 
O
t
>
) Section 1 of such Act is amended by adding the following at the 
end thereof: "In accepting such services of individuals or volunteers, 
the Secretary shall not permit the use of volunteers in hazardous 
duty or law enforcement work or in policymaking processes, or to 
displace any employee: Provided, That the services of individuals 
whom the Secretary determines are skilled in performing hazardous 
activities may be accepted. 
SEC. 2. Section 307 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976 (90 Stat. 2766; 43 U.S.C. 1737) is amended by adding at 
the end thereof the following new subsections: 
"(d) The Secretary may recruit, without regard to the civil service 
classification laws, rules, or regulations, the services of individuals 
contributed without compensation as volunteers for aiding in or 
facilitating the activities administered by the Secretary through the 
Bureau of Land Management. 
"(e) In accepting such services of individuals as volunteers, the 
Secretary— 
"(1) shall not permit the use of volunteers in hazardous duty 
or law enforcement work, or in policymaking processes or to 
displace any employee; and 
"(2) may provide for services or costs incidental to the utiliza-
tion of volunteers, including transportation, supplies, lodging, 
subsistence, recruiting, training, and supervision. 
"(f) Volunteers shall not be deemed employees of the United 
States except for the purposes of the tort claims provisions of title 
28, United States Code, and subchapter 1 of chapter 81 of title 5, 
5 use 8101. 
United States Code, relating to compensation for work injuries. 
"(g) Effective with fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1984, 
there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out the provisions of subsection (d), but not more 
than $250,000 may be appropriated for any one fiscal year.". 
43 use 1457a 
SEC. 3. (a) The Congress finds that— 
note. 
(1) the public lands administered by the National Park Serv-
ice, the Bureau of Land Management, and the United States 
Fish and Wildlife Service contain valuable wildlife, scenery, 
natural and historic features, and other resources; 
(2) the Congress has specified the duties and responsibilities of 
the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, 
and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to balance the 
PUBLIC LAW 98-540—OCT. 24, 1984 
98 STAT. 2719 
conservation and protection of these public lands and resources 
with permitted uses in ways Congress has found to be appropri-
ate for each of the various land areas; 
(3) the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service are 
currently under congressional mandates to maintain sufficient 
visitor and recreational services in our national parks, camp-
grounds, and wildlife refuges; 
(4) the Congress has authorized the National Park Service, 
the Bureau of Land Management, and the United States Fish 
and Wildlife Service to contract for the provision of certain 
facilities, accommodations, and services by non-Federal entities, 
but with certain limitations that reflect the values and appro-
priate management policies of the various conservation areas, 
parks, wildlife refuges, and other public lands; 
(5) expansion of the contracting authority of the managers of 
these conservation areas, parks, wildlife refuges, and lands 
should be considered only after careful study of the existing 
management mandates and contracting authorities; and 
(6) management and regulation of natural resources on Fed-
eral lands are inherently Government functions and should be 
performed by Federal employees. 
(b)(1)(A) The provisions of Office of Management and Budget 
Circular A-76 and any similar provisions in any other order or 
directive shall not apply to activities conducted by the National 
Park Service, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the 
Bureau of Land Management which involve ten full time equiva-
lents (FTE) or less. 
(B) For fiscal years 1985 through and including 1988, no contracts, 
for activities conducted by the National Park Service, United States 
Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Bureau of Land Management 
which have been subject to the provisions of Office of Management 
and Budget Circular A-76 or any similar provision in any other 
order or directive, shall be entered into by the United States until 
funds have been specifically provided therefore by an Act of 
Congress. 
(2) Nothing in this section shall prevent the National Park Serv-
ice, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land 
Management from entering into contracts for services and materials 
under provisions of law and rules, regulations, orders, and policies 
other than the circular referred to in paragraph (1) or any similar 
order or directive. 
SEC. 4. (a) Beginning in fiscal year 1985, the National Park Service 
16 USC la-8. 
shall implement a maintenance management system into the main-
tenance and operations programs of the National Park System. For 
purposes of this section the term "maintenance management 
system" means a system that contains but is not limited to the 
following elements: 
(1) a work load inventory of assets including detailed informa-
tion that quantifies for all assets (including but not limited to 
buildings, roads, utility systems, and grounds that must be 
maintained) the characteristics affecting the type of mainte-
nance work performed; 
(2) a set of maintenance tasks that describe the maintenance 
work in each unit of the National Park System; 
(3) a description of work standards including frequency of 
maintenance, measurable quality standard to which assets 
98 STAT. 2720 
PUBLIC LAW 98-540—OCT. 24, 1984 
should be maintained, methods for accomplishing work, re-
quired labor, equipment and material resources, and expected 
worker production for each maintenance task; 
(4) a work program and performance budget which develops 
an annual work plan identifying maintenance needs and finan-
cial resources to be devoted to each maintenance task; 
(5) a work schedule which identifies and prioritizes tasks to be 
done in a specific time period and specifies required labor 
resources; 
(6) work orders specifying job authorizations and a record of 
work accomplished which can be used to record actual labor and 
material costs; and 
(7) reports and special analyses which compare planned 
versus actual accomplishments and costs and can be used to 
evaluate maintenance operations. 
(b) The National Park Service shall transmit to the Committee on 
Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States 
Senate, at the end of each fiscal year, a copy of a report summariz-
ing the status of implementation of a maintenance management 
system until such a system has been implemented. 
The report shall incorporate the following information: 
(1) the number of units in the National Park System that 
have implemented a maintenance management system during 
the period; 
(2) contract costs versus management efficiencies achieved; 
(3) the total amount of dollars spent on contracts for services; 
and 
(4) estimation of the total value of benefits achieved through 
greater management efficiency. 
Approved October 24, 1984. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 864: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 98-960 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs). 
SENATE REPORT No. 98-208 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 129 (1983): Sept. 15, considered and passed Senate. 
Vol. 130 (1984): Aug. 6, considered and passed House, amended. 
Oct. 3, Senate concurred in House amendment with an amend-
ment. 
Oct. 4, House concurred in Senate amendment. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 20, No. 48 (1984): 
Oct. 24, Presidential statement.