Home > 105th Congressional Bills > S. 1693 (es) To provide for improved management and increased accountability for certain National Park Service programs, and for other purposes. ...S. 1693 (es) To provide for improved management and increased accountability for certain National Park Service programs, and for other purposes. ...
S.1693
One Hundred Fifth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the twenty-seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-
eight
An Act
To provide for improved management and increased accountability for
certain National Park Service programs, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``National Parks
Omnibus Management Act of 1998''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definition.
TITLE I--NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CAREER DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING, AND
MANAGEMENT
Sec. 101. Protection, interpretation, and research in the National Park
System.
Sec. 102. National Park Service employee training.
Sec. 103. Management development and training.
Sec. 104. Park budgets and accountability.
TITLE II--NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM RESOURCE INVENTORY AND MANAGEMENT
Sec. 201. Purposes.
Sec. 202. Research mandate.
Sec. 203. Cooperative agreements.
Sec. 204. Inventory and monitoring program.
Sec. 205. Availability for scientific study.
Sec. 206. Integration of study results into management decisions.
Sec. 207. Confidentiality of information.
TITLE III--STUDY REGARDING ADDITION OF NEW NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM AREAS
Sec. 301. Short title.
Sec. 302. Purpose.
Sec. 303. Study of addition of new National Park System areas.
TITLE IV--NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CONCESSIONS MANAGEMENT
Sec. 401. Short title.
Sec. 402. Congressional findings and statement of policy.
Sec. 403. Award of concessions contracts.
Sec. 404. Term of concessions contracts.
Sec. 405. Protection of concessioner investment.
Sec. 406. Reasonableness of rates.
Sec. 407. Franchise fees.
Sec. 408. Transfer of concessions contracts.
Sec. 409. National Park Service Concessions Management Advisory Board.
Sec. 410. Contracting for services.
Sec. 411. Multiple contracts within a park.
Sec. 412. Special rule for transportation contracting services.
Sec. 413. Use of nonmonetary consideration in concessions contracts.
Sec. 414. Recordkeeping requirements.
Sec. 415. Repeal of National Park Service Concessions Policy Act.
Sec. 416. Promotion of the sale of Indian, Alaska Native, Native Samoan,
and Native Hawaiian handicrafts.
Sec. 417. Regulations.
Sec. 418. Commercial use authorizations.
Sec. 419. Savings provision.
TITLE V--FEES FOR USE OF NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM
Sec. 501. Fees.
Sec. 502. Distribution of golden eagle passport sales.
TITLE VI--NATIONAL PARK PASSPORT PROGRAM
Sec. 601. Purposes.
Sec. 602. National Park passport program.
Sec. 603. Administration.
Sec. 604. Foreign sales of Golden Eagle Passports.
Sec. 605. Effect on other laws and programs.
TITLE VII--NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION SUPPORT
Sec. 701. Promotion of local fundraising support.
TITLE VIII--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Sec. 801. United States Park Police.
Sec. 802. Leases and cooperative management agreements.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION.
As used in this Act, the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior, except as otherwise specifically provided.
TITLE I--NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CAREER DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING, AND
MANAGEMENT
SEC. 101. PROTECTION, INTERPRETATION, AND RESEARCH IN THE NATIONAL PARK
SYSTEM.
Recognizing the ever increasing societal pressures being placed
upon America's unique natural and cultural resources contained in the
National Park System, the Secretary shall continually improve the
ability of the National Park Service to provide state-of-the-art
management, protection, and interpretation of and research on the
resources of the National Park System.
SEC. 102. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE EMPLOYEE TRAINING.
The Secretary shall develop a comprehensive training program for
employees in all professional careers in the work force of the National
Park Service for the purpose of assuring that the work force has
available the best, up-to-date knowledge, skills and abilities with
which to manage, interpret and protect the resources of the National
Park System.
SEC. 103. MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING.
Within 2 years after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
develop a clear plan for management training and development, whereby
career, professional National Park Service employees from any
appropriate academic field may obtain sufficient training, experience,
and advancement opportunity to enable those qualified to move into park
management positions, including explicitly the position of
superintendent of a unit of the National Park System.
SEC. 104. PARK BUDGETS AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
(a) Strategic and Performance Plans For Each Unit.--Each unit of
the National Park System shall prepare and make available to the public
a 5-year strategic plan and an annual performance plan. Such plans
shall reflect the National Park Service policies, goals, and outcomes
represented in the Service-wide Strategic Plan, prepared pursuant to
the provisions of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993
(Public Law 103-62; 107 Stat. 285).
(b) Annual Budget For Each Unit.--As a part of the annual
performance plan for a unit of the National Park System prepared
pursuant to subsection (a), following receipt of the appropriation for
the unit from the Operations of the National Park System account (but
no later than January 1 of each year), the superintendent of the unit
shall develop and make available to the public the budget for the
current fiscal year for that unit. The budget shall include, at a
minimum, funding allocations for resource preservation (including
resource management), visitor services (including maintenance,
interpretation, law enforcement, and search and rescue) and
administration. The budget shall also include allocations into each of
the above categories of all funds retained from fees collected for that
year, including (but not limited to) special use permits, concession
franchise fees, and recreation use and entrance fees.
TITLE II--NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM RESOURCE INVENTORY AND MANAGEMENT
SEC. 201. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this title are--
(1) to more effectively achieve the mission of the National
Park Service;
(2) to enhance management and protection of national park
resources by providing clear authority and direction for the
conduct of scientific study in the National Park System and to use
the information gathered for management purposes;
(3) to ensure appropriate documentation of resource conditions
in the National Park System;
(4) to encourage others to use the National Park System for
study to the benefit of park management as well as broader
scientific value, where such study is consistent with the Act of
August 25, 1916 (commonly known as the National Park Service
Organic Act; 16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and
(5) to encourage the publication and dissemination of
information derived from studies in the National Park System.
SEC. 202. RESEARCH MANDATE.
The Secretary is authorized and directed to assure that management
of units of the National Park System is enhanced by the availability
and utilization of a broad program of the highest quality science and
information.
SEC. 203. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.
(a) Cooperative Study Units.--The Secretary is authorized and
directed to enter into cooperative agreements with colleges and
universities, including but not limited to land grant schools, in
partnership with other Federal and State agencies, to establish
cooperative study units to conduct multi-disciplinary research and
develop integrated information products on the resources of the
National Park System, or the larger region of which parks are a part.
(b) Report.--Within one year of the date of enactment of this
title, the Secretary shall report to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources of the United States Senate and the Committee on
Resources of the House of Representatives on progress in the
establishment of a comprehensive network of such college and university
based cooperative study units as will provide full geographic and
topical coverage for research on the resources contained in units of
the National Park System and their larger regions.
SEC. 204. INVENTORY AND MONITORING PROGRAM.
The Secretary shall undertake a program of inventory and monitoring
of National Park System resources to establish baseline information and
to provide information on the long-term trends in the condition of
National Park System resources. The monitoring program shall be
developed in cooperation with other Federal monitoring and information
collection efforts to ensure a cost-effective approach.
SEC. 205. AVAILABILITY FOR SCIENTIFIC STUDY.
(a) In General.--The Secretary may solicit, receive, and consider
requests from Federal or non-Federal public or private agencies,
organizations, individuals, or other entities for the use of any unit
of the National Park System for purposes of scientific study.
(b) Criteria.--A request for use of a unit of the National Park
System under subsection (a) may only be approved if the Secretary
determines that the proposed study--
(1) is consistent with applicable laws and National Park
Service management policies; and
(2) will be conducted in a manner as to pose no threat to park
resources or public enjoyment derived from those resources.
(c) Fee Waiver.--The Secretary may waive any park admission or
recreational use fee in order to facilitate the conduct of scientific
study under this section.
(d) Negotiations.--The Secretary may enter into negotiations with
the research community and private industry for equitable, efficient
benefits-sharing arrangements.
SEC. 206. INTEGRATION OF STUDY RESULTS INTO MANAGEMENT DECISIONS.
The Secretary shall take such measures as are necessary to assure
the full and proper utilization of the results of scientific study for
park management decisions. In each case in which an action undertaken
by the National Park Service may cause a significant adverse effect on
a park resource, the administrative record shall reflect the manner in
which unit resource studies have been considered. The trend in the
condition of resources of the National Park System shall be a
significant factor in the annual performance evaluation of each
superintendent of a unit of the National Park System.
SEC. 207. CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.
Information concerning the nature and specific location of a
National Park System resource which is endangered, threatened, rare, or
commercially valuable, of mineral or paleontological objects within
units of the National Park System, or of objects of cultural patrimony
within units of the National Park System, may be withheld from the
public in response to a request under section 552 of title 5, United
States Code, unless the Secretary determines that--
(1) disclosure of the information would further the purposes of
the unit of the National Park System in which the resource or
object is located and would not create an unreasonable risk of
harm, theft, or destruction of the resource or object, including
individual organic or inorganic specimens; and
(2) disclosure is consistent with other applicable laws
protecting the resource or object.
TITLE III--STUDY REGARDING ADDITION OF NEW NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM AREAS
SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``National Park System New Areas
Studies Act''.
SEC. 302. PURPOSE.
It is the purpose of this title to reform the process by which
areas are considered for addition to the National Park System.
SEC. 303. STUDY OF ADDITION OF NEW NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM AREAS.
Section 8 of Public Law 91-383 (commonly known as the National Park
System General Authorities Act; 16 U.S.C. 1a-5) is amended as follows:
(1) By inserting ``General Authority.--'' after ``(a)''.
(2) By striking the second through the sixth sentences of
subsection (a).
(3) By redesignating the last two sentences of subsection (a)
as subsection (f) and inserting in the first of such sentences
before the words ``For the purposes of carrying'' the following:
``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--''.
(4) By inserting the following after subsection (a):
``(b) Studies of Areas for Potential Addition.--(1) At the
beginning of each calendar year, along with the annual budget
submission, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Resources of
the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Energy and Natural
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