[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1204 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1204

To amend the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 
to establish requirements for the award of concessions in the National 
   Wildlife Refuge System, to provide for maintenance and repair of 
 properties located in the System by concessionaires authorized to use 
                such properties, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 11, 2003

  Mr. Souder introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 
to establish requirements for the award of concessions in the National 
   Wildlife Refuge System, to provide for maintenance and repair of 
 properties located in the System by concessionaires authorized to use 
                such properties, 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. LEASES, PERMITS, AND CONTRACTS FOR BUILDINGS, FACILITIES, 
              AND PROPERTIES IN THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration 
Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) is amended by--
            (1) striking section 6 (relating to amendments to other 
        laws, which have executed);
            (2) redesignating section 5 (16 U.S.C. 668ee) as section 6; 
        and
            (3) inserting after section 4 the following:

``SEC. 5. CONCESSION CONTRACTS.

    ``(a) Contract Requirement.--(1) The Secretary shall not award any 
concession that authorizes a person to use any land or water in the 
System for any activity described in subsection (b), except under a 
contract that complies with the requirements established under 
subsection (c).
    ``(2) The Secretary may not award a contract required under this 
subsection except under a competitive bidding process.
    ``(b) Covered Concession Activities.--(1) The activity referred to 
in subsection (a) is any activity conducted to provide accommodations, 
facilities, or services to members of the public who are visiting lands 
or waters in the System, for the purpose of providing such visitors 
recreational, educational, or interpretive enjoyment of lands or waters 
in the System.
    ``(2) Such activity does not include--
            ``(A) any activity carried out under a procurement 
        contract, grant agreement, or cooperative agreement required 
        under chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code;
            ``(B) the performance of volunteer services; and
            ``(C) any activity by a governmental entity.
    ``(c) Standardized Contract.--(1) The Secretary, acting through the 
Director, shall issue regulations that establish a standardized 
contract for purposes of subsection (a).
    ``(2) Regulations under this subsection shall authorize a contract 
to use a provision other than those specified by the regulations only 
if--
            ``(A) the provision addresses extenuating circumstances 
        that are specific to a refuge or the contract; and
            ``(B) the provision is approved by the Director in writing.
    ``(3) Regulations under this subsection shall require in each 
contract provisions that require that any activity conducted in the 
System under the contract--
            ``(A) must be a compatible use; and
            ``(B) must be designed to--
                    ``(i) conserve the natural and cultural resources 
                of the System;
                    ``(ii) facilitate the enjoyment of the lands and 
                waters of the System by visitors to the System; and
                    ``(iii) enhance such visitors' knowledge of the 
                natural resources of the System.
    ``(d) Maintenance and Repair.--(1) Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Secretary shall include, in each contract that 
authorizes a person to use any land or water in the System for any 
activity described in subsection (b), provisions that--
            ``(A) authorize the person to maintain or repair any 
        improvement on or in such land or water that the person is 
        authorized to use for such activity; and
            ``(B) treat costs incurred by the person for such 
        maintenance or repair as consideration otherwise required to be 
        paid to the United States for such use.
    ``(2) This subsection does not authorize any maintenance or repair 
that is not directly related to an activity described in subsection (b) 
that is authorized by the contract.
    ``(3) The United States shall retain title to all property that is 
maintained or repaired under this subsection.
    ``(e) No Compensable Interest.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
considered to convey to any person any right to compensation for--
            ``(1) the value of any maintenance activities, repairs, 
        construction, or improvements on or in land or water in the 
        System; or
            ``(2) buildings, facilities, fixtures, and non-movable 
        equipment that the person is authorized to use under this Act.
    ``(f) Expenditure of Fees and Other Payments.--(1) Amounts received 
by the United States as fees or other payments required under any 
agreement, lease, permit, or contract for use of real property located 
in an area in the System shall be available to the Secretary for 
expenditure in accordance with this subsection, without further 
appropriation.
    ``(2) Amounts available for expenditure under this subsection may 
only be used--
            ``(A) at the refuge or refuge complex with respect to which 
        the amounts were received as fees or other payments;
            ``(B) to increase the quality of the visitor experience; 
        and
            ``(C) for purposes of--
                    ``(i) backlogged repair and maintenance projects 
                (including projects relating to health and safety);
                    ``(ii) interpretation, signage, habitat, or 
                facility enhancement;
                    ``(iii) resource protection and preservation; or
                    ``(iv) administration of agreements, leases, 
                permits, and contracts from which such amounts are 
                derived.
    ``(3) Paragraph (1) shall not affect the application of the Act of 
June 15, 1935 (chapter 261; 16 U.S.C. 715s), commonly referred to as 
the Refuge Revenue Sharing Act, to amounts referred to in paragraph (1) 
that are not expended by the Secretary under paragraph (1).''.
    (b) Application.--Section 5(a) of the National Wildlife Refuge 
System Administration Act of 1966, as amended by this section, shall 
apply only with respect to a concession that is--
            (1) first awarded after the date of the publication of 
        regulations under section 5(c) of the National Wildlife Refuge 
        System Administration Act of 1966, as amended by this section; 
        or
            (2) renewed after the end of the 3-year period beginning on 
        the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Deadline for Regulations Establishing Standardized Contract 
Requirements.--The Secretary of the Interior shall issue regulations 
under section 5(c) of the National Wildlife Refuge System 
Administration Act of 1966, as amended by this section, by not later 
than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (d) Comprehensive Conservation Plan Requirement.--Section 4(e) of 
the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (16 
U.S.C. 668dd) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(5) The Secretary shall include, in the comprehensive 
conservation plan for each refuge under this subsection, a description 
of the activities that may be conducted in the refuge, and the lands, 
waters, and facilities of the refuge that may be used, under concession 
contracts awarded under section 5(a).''.
    (e) Prior Amendments Not Affected.--Nothing in this section shall 
be construed to affect any amendment made by section 6 of the National 
Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as in effect before 
the enactment of this Act, or any provision of law amended by such 
section.

SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORT ON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE CONCESSIONS.

    (a) Reporting Requirement.--The National Wildlife Refuge System 
Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) is further amended 
by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT ON CONCESSION ACTIVITIES IN THE SYSTEM.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall submit by December 31 each 
year, to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate, a report 
on concessions activities conducted in the System.
    ``(b) Contents.--Each report under this section shall describe the 
following with respect to the period covered by the report:
            ``(1) The number of refuge units in which concessions 
        activities were conducted.
            ``(2) The names and descriptions of services offered in the 
        System by each concessionaire.
            ``(3) A listing of the different types of legal 
        arrangements under which concessionaires operated in the 
        System, including contracts, memoranda of understanding, 
        permits, letters of agreement, and other arrangements.
            ``(4) Amounts of fees or other payments received by the 
        United States with respect to such activities from each 
        concessionaire, and the portion of such funds expended for 
        purposes under this Act.
            ``(5) An accounting of the amount of monies deposited into 
        the fund established by section 401 of the Act of June 15, 1935 
        (chapter 261; 16 U.S.C. 715s), popularly known as the refuge 
        revenue sharing fund, and of the balance remaining in the fund 
        at the end of the reporting period.
            ``(6) A listing of all concession contracts and other 
        arrangements that were terminated or not renewed within the 
        reporting period.
            ``(7) A summary of all improvements in visitor services in 
        the System that were completed by concessionaires and 
        volunteers during the reporting period.
            ``(8) A summary of all backlogged repair and maintenance, 
        facility enhancement, and resource preservation projects 
        completed by concessionaires and volunteers during the 
        reporting period.''.
    (b) Deadline for First Report.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
submit the first report under the amendment made by subsection (a) by 
not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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