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108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3283
To improve recreational facilities and visitor opportunities on Federal
recreational lands by reinvesting receipts from fair and consistent
recreational fees and passes, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 8, 2003
Mr. Regula (for himself, Mr. Wamp, Mr. Sherwood, Mr. Souder, Mr. Petri,
Mr. Peterson of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Hobson) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition
to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
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A BILL
To improve recreational facilities and visitor opportunities on Federal
recreational lands by reinvesting receipts from fair and consistent
recreational fees and passes, 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.-- This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Lands
Recreation Enhancement Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Purposes and principles.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. General recreation fee authority.
Sec. 5. Basic recreation fee.
Sec. 6. Expanded recreation fee.
Sec. 7. Special recreation permit fee.
Sec. 8. General recreation pass authority.
Sec. 9. America the Beautiful--the National Parks and Federal
Recreational Lands Pass.
Sec. 10. Other recreation passes.
Sec. 11. Miscellaneous administrative provisions regarding recreation
fees and recreation passes.
Sec. 12. Volunteers.
Sec. 13. Special accounts and distribution of recreation fees and
recreation pass revenues.
Sec. 14. Expenditures from special accounts.
Sec. 15. Enforcement and protection of receipts.
Sec. 16. Repeal of superseded admission and use fee authorities.
Sec. 17. Relation to other laws and fee collection authorities.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES.
(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to enhance visitor opportunities regarding Federal
public lands by creating a seamless Federal system of
recreation opportunities;
(2) to enhance the visitor experience by investing
recreation fees in improving recreation opportunities regarding
Federal public lands;
(3) to reduce the huge deferred maintenance backlog that
adversely affects visitor use and enjoyment of Federal
recreational facilities and lands, by focused use of visitor
fee revenues;
(4) to help protect and enhance the natural resource,
historic, cultural, and other special values of Federal public
lands and National Parks that attract hundreds of millions of
visitors every year;
(5) to establish a permanent recreation fee program that
allows the fees to be used primarily at the site of collection;
(6) to establish a permanent recreation fee program so that
important investments in technology may be made;
(7) to streamline, simplify, and improve the recreation fee
program; and
(8) to streamline, simplify, and improve the interagency
national recreation pass program.
(b) Principles.--The following principles apply to the recreation
fee program authorized by this Act:
(1) Beneficial to the visiting public.--A majority of the
revenue generated by recreation fees should be retained and
used at the site where the fees are collected to benefit the
visiting public by enhancing the resources, facilities,
activities, services, and programs used by the visiting public.
Recreation fees should be designed to provide the sites with
adequate resources to enhance and supply visitor services,
reduce the backlog of deferred maintenance, and restore and
enhance impacted or endangered resources.
(2) Fair and equitable.--Recreation fees should also be
affordable for the visiting public and not significantly impact
visitation levels. Recreation fees should be reasonable and
based on a consistent and sound rationale. Recreation fee
systems should consider and address the relationship between
who pays the fee and who benefits from the resources,
facilities, activities, services, and programs provided by a
recreation program.
(3) Efficient.--Recreation fees should be collected and
administered in a cost efficient, enforceable, and business-
like manner.
(4) Collaborative.--Recreation fees should be developed
with input from local communities and other interested persons.
Wherever possible or appropriate, Federal land management
agencies should coordinate fees with private entities and
local, State, and other Federal agencies so as to minimize
overlapping costs and simplify fees for the visiting public.
(5) Convenient.--Recreation fees should be convenient to
pay and recreation passes should be easy to obtain. A variety
of payment and purchase location options (including credit
card, internet, automated fee machines, and vendor sales)
should be available as appropriate and feasible.
(6) Accountable.--Federal land management agencies should
collect data and publish annually public documentation showing
how the recreation fee program is administered. Agencies should
evaluate the recreation fee program to consider cost of
collection, adherence to policy, use of revenues, fiscal
safeguards, and how well the program achieves organizational,
site, and community goals.
(7) Consistent.--The visiting public should expect a
similar fee for similar resources, facilities, activities,
services, and programs across Federal land management agencies
or in a given geographic area. The costs and benefits
associated with a recreation fee or recreation pass should be
clearly illustrated and easily understood by the visiting
public.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Basic recreation fee.--The term ``basic recreation
fee'' means the fee authorized by section 5.
(2) Expanded recreation fee.--The term ``expanded
recreation fee'' means the fee authorized by section 6.
(3) Federal land management agency.--The term ``Federal
land management agency'' means the National Park Service, the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land
Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, or the Forest Service.
(4) National parks and federal recreational lands pass .--
The term ``National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass''
means the interagency national pass authorized by section 9.
(5) Passholder.--The term ``passholder'' means a person who
purchases or otherwise holds a recreation pass.
(6) Recreation fee.--The term ``recreation fee'' means the
basic recreation fee, expanded recreation fee, or special
recreation permit fee.
(7) Recreation pass.--The term ``recreation pass'' means
the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass or one
of the recreation passes available as authorized by section 10.
(8) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned''
means--
(A) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to
the National Park Service, the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and
the Bureau of Reclamation; and
(B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to
the Forest Service.
(9) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture
acting jointly.
(10) Special account.--The term ``special account'' means
the special account established in the Treasury under section
13 for a Federal land management agency.
(11) Special recreation permit fee.--The term ``special
recreation permit fee'' means the fee authorized by section 7.
SEC. 4. GENERAL RECREATION FEE AUTHORITY.
(a) Authority to Establish.--The Secretary concerned shall provide
for the establishment of basic recreation fees, expanded recreation
fees, and special recreation permit fees that are fair and equitable.
(b) Establishment Guidelines.--The Secretary concerned shall
establish guidelines identifying the process by which a Federal land
management agency shall establish and change the amount charged for a
basic recreation fee, expanded recreation fee, or special recreation
permit fee. The guidelines shall contain a provision requiring that
Federal land management agencies coordinate with each other, to the
extent practicable, when establishing and changing such fees.
(c) Considerations.--Before establishing and setting a price for a
recreation fee, the Secretary concerned shall take into consideration
the following:
(1) The benefits and services provided to visitors paying
the recreation fee.
(2) The public policy or management objectives served.
(3) The effect of multiple fees charged to the public.
(4) The direct and indirect cost to the Government.
(5) The revenue benefits to the Government.
(6) Fees charged at comparable sites or by other public
agencies.
(7) The economic and administrative feasibility of fee
collection.
(8) The price of the National Parks and Federal
Recreational Lands Pass.
(d) Fees for Certain Activities Prohibited.--The Secretary
concerned may not charge a basic recreation fee, expanded recreation
fee, or special recreation permit fee--
(1) for travel by private, noncommercial vehicles over any
national parkway or any road or highway established as a part
of the National Highway System (as defined in section 101 of
title 23, United States Code) that is commonly used by the
public as a means of travel between two places either or both
of which are outside any unit or area of a Federal land
management agency at which fees are charged under this Act;
(2) for travel by a person using a private, noncommercial
vehicle over any road or highway to any land in which the
person has any property right, if the land is within any unit
or area of a Federal land management agency at which fees are
charged under this Act;
(3) for any person who has a right of access for hunting or
fishing privileges under a specific provision of law or treaty;
or
(4) for any person who is engaged in the conduct of
official Federal, State, or local government business.
(e) Waiver or Discount of Fees.--The Secretary concerned may waive
or discount a basic recreation fee, expanded recreation fee, or special
recreation permit fee, as considered appropriate by the Secretary
concerned.
(f) Fee Management Agreements.--Notwithstanding chapter 63 of title
31, United States Code (commonly known as the Federal Grants and
Cooperative Agreements Act), the Secretary concerned may enter into fee
management agreements, including contracts, that provide for reasonable
commissions, discounts, or reimbursements, with any governmental or
nongovernmental entities to provide fee collection and processing
services, including visitor reservation services.
SEC. 5. BASIC RECREATION FEE.
(a) Fee Authorized.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the
Secretary concerned may charge a basic recreation fee for the following
locations:
(1) Units of the National Park System.
(2) National Conservation Areas.
(3) National Recreation Areas.
(4) National Monuments.
(5) National Volcanic Monuments.
(6) National Scenic Areas.
(7) Areas of substantial investment by a Federal land
management agency, which refers to Federal lands or waters
under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned that are not
specified in paragraphs (1) through (6), but that--
(A) are managed for recreation purposes or contain
at least one major visitor attraction; and
(B) have had substantial investments, as determined
by the Secretary concerned, made in their facilities or
services, in restoring resource degradation in areas of
concentrated public use, including a visitor or
interpretive center, a trailhead facility, or a
developed parking lot, or in requiring the presence of
personnel of a Federal land management agency.
(b) Limitations on Fees for Certain Persons, Activities, and
Locations.--The Secretary concerned may not charge a basic recreation
fee with respect to any of the following:
(1) A person under 16 years of age.
(2) Outings conducted for noncommercial educational
purposes by schools or bonafide academic institutions.
(3) The following National Park System units:
(A) U.S.S. Arizona Memorial.
(B) Independence National Historical Park.
(C) Statue of Liberty National Monument.
(D) National Park System units in the District of
Columbia.
(E) The Arlington House-Robert E. Lee National
Memorial.
(F) Any National Park System unit covered by
section 203 of the Alaska National Interest Lands
Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 410hh-2), other than Denali
National Park and Preserve.
(G) Any National Park System unit containing a deed
restriction on charging entrance fees.
(4) For entrance on other routes into the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park, or any part thereof, unless a basic
recreation fee is charged for entrance into that park on main
highways and thoroughfares.
(5) For any person who visits a unit or area under the
jurisdiction of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and
is the holder of a valid migratory bird hunting and
conservation stamp issued under section 2 of the Act of March
16, 1934 (16 U.S.C. 718b; commonly known as the Migratory Bird
Hunting Stamp Act or Duck Stamp Act).
(6) For any person engaged in a nonrecreational activity
authorized under a valid permit issued under any other Act,
including a valid grazing permit.
(c) Fee-Free Day.--At every unit or area of a Federal land
management area that charges a basic recreation fee, that Secretary
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