[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6668 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6668

    To establish the Centennial Historic District in Philadelphia, 
                 Pennsylvania, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2008

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To establish the Centennial Historic District in Philadelphia, 
                 Pennsylvania, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Centennial Historic District 
Authorization Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Centennial Historic District in the Commonwealth of 
        Pennsylvania was the site of an international exhibition to 
        celebrate the Centennial of the United States in 1876.
            (2) On March 3, 1871, an Act of Congress created the United 
        States Centennial Commission and provided that an Exhibition of 
        American and foreign arts, products, and manufactures be held 
        in Philadelphia in 1876.
            (3) Held only 11 years after the end of the Civil War, the 
        Centennial Exhibition was a both a national celebration of 
        unity and a recognition by the world community that the United 
        States was emerging as the leading nation in the world.
            (4) The Centennial Exhibition displayed 60,000 exhibits 
        from more than 28 countries around the world in 240 buildings 
        and hosted nearly 10 million visitors, estimated to be nearly 
        25 percent of the population of the United States at the time. 
        It was the first World's Fair to be held in the United States.
            (5) The Exhibition became the center of cultural, 
        technological, economic and geopolitical development in the 
        United States by demonstrating groundbreaking innovations, 
        including root beer, the telephone, kindergarten, the 
        typewriter, the phonograph, and the monorail.
            (6) More than 100 American companies who participated in 
        the Centennial Exhibition are still in business today, 
        including Bausch and Lomb, John Deere, Campbell's, Heinz, and 
        Wyeth.
            (7) The Centennial Historic District is located in 
        Fairmount Park, which is listed on the National Register of 
        Historic Places.
            (8) Memorial Hall, a centerpiece of the Centennial 
        celebration, is a National Historic Landmark and is being 
        renovated to join other cultural institutions as an anchor for 
        the Centennial Historic District.
            (9) The Centennial Historic District will commemorate the 
        historic significance of the Centennial celebration in our 
        Nation's history.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Historic district.--The term ``historic district'' 
        means the Centennial Historic District established by section 
        4.
            (2) Management plan.--The term ``management plan'' means 
        the management plan described in section 5(b).
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means--
                    (A) the Secretary of the Interior; or
                    (B) the head of any Federal agency to which funds 
                are appropriated to carry out this Act.

SEC. 4. CENTENNIAL HISTORIC DISTRICT.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established the Centennial Historic 
District in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
    (b) Boundaries.--The boundaries of the historic district shall be 
as depicted on the map titled ``Fairmount Park's Proposed Centennial 
Authorization Boundary'', numbered A, and dated December 2007. The map 
shall be on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate 
offices of the National Park Service.

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION OF CENTENNIAL HISTORIC DISTRICT.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may make grants to, and enter into 
cooperative agreements with, any State or local government agencies, 
any nonprofit entities designated by the Secretary to operate the 
historic district, or any leaseholders for--
            (1) the preparation of the management plan; and
            (2) the implementation of projects approved by the 
        Secretary under the management plan.
    (b) Management Plan.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall prepare a plan for the 
        development of historic, architectural, natural, cultural, 
        recreational, and interpretive resources within the historic 
        district.
            (2) Requirements.--The management plan shall include--
                    (A) an evaluation of--
                            (i) the condition of historic and 
                        architectural resources in the historic 
                        district; and
                            (ii) the environmental conditions in the 
                        historic district; and
                    (B) recommendations for--
                            (i) rehabilitating, reconstructing, and 
                        adaptively reusing the historic and 
                        architectural resources evaluated under 
                        subparagraph (A)(i);
                            (ii) preserving viewsheds, focal points, 
                        and streetscapes in the historic district;
                            (iii) establishing gateways to the historic 
                        district;
                            (iv) establishing and maintaining parks and 
                        public spaces in the historic district;
                            (v) developing public parking areas in the 
                        historic district;
                            (vi) improving pedestrian and vehicular 
                        circulation in the historic district; and
                            (vii) improving security in the historic 
                        district.
            (3) Restoration, maintenance, and interpretation.--
                    (A) Cooperative agreements.--For projects 
                recommended in the management plan, the Secretary may 
                enter into cooperative agreements with the city of 
                Philadelphia, agents of the city, and designated 
                partners to--
                            (i) provide technical assistance with 
                        respect to the preservation and interpretation 
                        of properties within the historic district; and
                            (ii) mark, improve, restore, and provide 
                        interpretation of properties within the 
                        historic district.
                    (B) Contents.--A cooperative agreement under 
                subparagraph (A) shall ensure that--
                            (i) the Secretary has a right of access at 
                        reasonable times to public portions of the 
                        historic district for interpretive and other 
                        purposes; and
                            (ii) no change or alteration shall be made 
                        in the property except with the agreement of 
                        the property owner, the Secretary, and any 
                        Federal agency that may have regulatory 
                        jurisdiction over the property.
    (c) Capital Projects.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall, to the extent funds 
        are available, make grants for capital improvements in the 
        historic district.
            (2) Application.--To be eligible for a grant under this 
        subsection, an entity shall submit to the Secretary an 
        application that includes information concerning how the 
        proposed capital project will improve the historic district.
            (3) Considerations.--In making grants under this 
        subsection, the Secretary shall--
                    (A) consider the cost and benefit of the proposed 
                capital project; and
                    (B) give priority to proposed capital projects--
                            (i) providing gateways to, and signage for, 
                        the historic district;
                            (ii) improving historical monuments in the 
                        historic district;
                            (iii) maintaining public parks and spaces 
                        in the historic district;
                            (iv) establishing a trail in the historic 
                        district;
                            (v) maintaining and improving the lake in 
                        the historic district;
                            (vi) improving the streetscape, including 
                        lighting, of the Girard Gateway;
                            (vii) improving pedestrian and vehicular 
                        traffic circulation and parking at the western 
                        end of the Centennial Exhibition grounds; or
                            (viii) restoring Memorial Hall.
            (4) Matching funds.--To be eligible for a grant under this 
        subsection, the recipient shall provide matching, non-Federal 
        funds in an amount equal to not less than 20 percent of the 
        total amount of the grant.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$45,000,000 for fiscal years 2009 through 2013. Of the amount 
appropriated pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall obligate not 
more than 12 percent for planning and technical assistance.
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