[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3626 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3626

To amend the National Trails System Act to designate El Camino Real de 
                los Tejas as a National Historic Trail.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 21, 2003

 Mr. Rodriguez (for himself, Mr. Gonzalez, and Mr. Doggett) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the National Trails System Act to designate El Camino Real de 
                los Tejas as a National Historic Trail.

    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 ``El Camino Real de los Tejas National 
Historic Trail Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.

    Section 5(a) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(23) El camino real de los tejas.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), El 
                Camino Real de los Tejas (The Royal Road of historic 
                Tejas) National Historic Trail, a combination of 
                historic routes totaling 2,580 miles in length from the 
                Rio Grande near Eagle Pass and Laredo, Texas, to 
                Natchitoches, Louisiana, and including the Old San 
                Antonio Road, as generally depicted on the maps 
                entitled `El Camino Real de los Tejas', contained in 
                the report prepared pursuant to subsection (b) entitled 
                `National Historic Trail Feasibility Study and 
                Environmental Assessment: El Camino Real de los Tejas, 
                Texas-Louisiana', dated July 1998. The National Park 
                Service is authorized to administer designated portions 
                of this trail system as a national historic trail as 
                set forth in this paragraph.
                    ``(B) Establishment.--
                            ``(i) Publicly owned lands.--Congress 
                        authorizes the establishment of El Camino Real 
                        de los Tejas national historic trail and the 
                        respective administration on those portions of 
                        the historic trail routes and related historic 
                        sites within publicly owned lands when such 
                        trail related resources meet the purposes of 
                        this Act or certification criteria set by the 
                        Secretary of the Interior per section 3(a)(3) 
                        of this Act.
                            ``(ii) Privately owned lands.--Congress 
                        authorizes the establishment of El Camino Real 
                        de los Tejas national historic trail and the 
                        respective administration on those portions of 
                        the historic trail routes and related historic 
                        sites within privately owned lands only through 
                        the voluntary and expressed consent of the 
                        owner and when such trails and sites qualify 
                        for certification as officially established 
                        components of the national historic trail. The 
                        owner's approval of a certification agreement 
                        satisfies the consent requirement. 
                        Certification agreements are not legally 
                        binding and may be terminated at any time. 
                        Should land ownership change at a certified 
                        site, the certification will cease to be valid 
                        unless the new owner consents to a new 
                        agreement.
                    ``(C) Private property rights protection.--Nothing 
                in this Act or in the establishment of any portion of 
                the national historic trail authorizes any person to 
                enter private property without the consent of the 
                owner. Nothing in this Act or in the establishment of 
                any portion of the national historic trail will 
                authorize the Federal Government to restrict private 
                property owner's use or enjoyment of their property 
                subject to other laws or regulations. Authorization of 
                El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail 
                under this Act does not itself confer any additional 
                authority to apply other Federal laws and regulations 
                on non-Federal lands along the trail. Laws or 
                regulations requiring public entities and agencies to 
                take into consideration a national historic trail shall 
                continue to apply notwithstanding the foregoing. 
                Notwithstanding section 7(g) of this Act, the United 
                States is authorized to acquire privately owned real 
                property or an interest in such property for purposes 
                of the national historic trail only with the consent of 
                the owner of such property and shall have no authority 
                to condemn or otherwise appropriate privately owned 
                real property or an interest in such property for the 
                purposes of El Camino Real de los Tejas National 
                Historic Trail.
                    ``(D) Coordination of activities.--The Secretary of 
                the Interior may coordinate with United States and 
                Mexican public and nongovernmental organizations, 
                academic institutions, and, in consultation with the 
                Secretary of State, the Government of Mexico and its 
                political subdivisions, for the purpose of exchanging 
                trail information and research, fostering trail 
                preservation and educational programs, providing 
                technical assistance, and working to establish an 
                international historic trail with complementary 
                preservation and education programs in each nation.''.
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