1.This Act may be cited as
the National Park Centennial Fund
Act
.
2.In this Act:
(1)The
term Fund means the National Park Centennial Fund established by
section 3.
(2)The term National Park System has the meaning
given the term national park system in section 2(a) of the Act of
August 8, 1953 (16 U.S.C. 1c).
(3)The term project or program
means a National Park Centennial project or program, respectively, funded under
this Act.
(4)The
term proposal
means a National Park Centennial
proposal submitted under section 4.
(5)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
3.National Park
Centennial Fund
(a)There
is established in the Treasury of the United States a revolving fund, to be
known as the National Park Centennial Fund
, consisting of such
amounts as are appropriated to the Fund under subsection (d).
(b)
(1)Subject to paragraph (2), on request by the Secretary,
the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to the Secretary
such amounts as the Secretary determines are necessary to carry out this
Act.
(2)An amount not exceeding 3 percent of the amounts in the
Fund shall be available for each fiscal year to pay the administrative expenses
necessary to carry out this Act.
(c)
(1)The amounts required to be transferred to the Fund under
this section shall be transferred at least monthly from the general fund of the
Treasury to the Fund on the basis of estimates made by the Secretary of the
Treasury.
(2)Proper
adjustment shall be made in amounts subsequently transferred to the extent
prior estimates were in excess of or less than the amounts required to be
transferred.
(d)
(1)Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, on October 1, 2008, and on each October 1 thereafter through October
1, 2016, out of any funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the
Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the Fund to carry out this Act
$100,000,000, to remain available until expended.
(2)The Secretary, acting through the Fund, shall be
entitled to receive, shall accept, and shall use to carry out this section the
funds transferred under paragraph (1), without further appropriation.
4.
(a)National Park
Centennial proposals
(1)Each fiscal year, the annual budget submission of the
President for the Department of the Interior shall include a list of proposals
which shall be known as National Park Centennial proposals.
(2)The
Secretary shall establish a standard process for developing the list that shall
encourage input from both the public and a broad cross-section of employees at
each level of the National Park Service.
(3)The
list—
(A)shall include
proposals that have an aggregate cost to the Federal Government that is equal
to the unobligated amount in the Fund;
(B)shall include
only proposals that are consistent with National Park Service policies and
adopted park planning documents;
(C)may include
proposals for any area within the National Park System, clusters of areas
within the system, 1 or more regions of the system, or the system as a
whole;
(D)shall
cumulatively represent a nationwide array of proposals that is diverse
geographically, in size, scope, magnitude, theme, and variety under the
initiatives described in subsection (b);
(E)shall give
priority to proposals that demonstrate long-term viability after funding from
the Fund;
(F)shall include
only proposals that meet the requirements of 1 or more of the initiatives
described in subsection (b);
(G)shall contain
projects under each of the initiatives described in subsection (b);
(H)shall give a
higher priority to proposals with committed non-Federal support, but shall
include proposals that are funded entirely by the Fund; and
(I)may include
acquisition of land and interest in land that are consistent with the land
acquisition authority of the National Park Service and the initiatives
described in subsection (b).
(b)National Park
Centennial Initiatives
(1)Education in
Parks Centennial InitiativeProjects shall include an
Education in Parks Centennial Initiative
under which—
(A)priority shall be
given to—
(i)projects that are
designed to increase national park-based educational opportunities for
elementary, secondary, and college students, particularly students from
underserved and low-income areas;
(ii)projects that
include strategies for encouraging young people to develop a lifelong interest
in the national parks of the United States; and
(iii)projects that
include science, history, civics, or mathematics components; and
(B)projects shall be
developed in consultation with the leadership of educational and youth
organizations that are expected to participate in the projects.
(2)Diversity in
Parks Centennial Initiative
(A)Not
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report that
provides a service-wide strategy for increasing diversity among National Park
Service employees at all levels of and visitors to the National Park
System.
(B)Projects
shall include a Diversity in Parks Centennial Initiative
under
which each project shall be—
(i)based on
recommendations made in the report required under subparagraph (A); and
(ii)designed to help
ensure that National Park Service employees or visitors to the National Park
System reflect the diversity of the population of the United States.
(3)Supporting Park
Professionals Centennial InitiativeProjects shall include a
Supporting Park Professionals Centennial Initiative
under
which—
(A)the projects,
considered in the aggregate, shall provide specific opportunities for National
Park Service employees, at all levels, to participate in professional career
development;
(B)a project may
include National Park Service-designed, internal professional development
programs; and
(C)a project may be
designed to facilitate participation in external professional development
programs or established courses of study by National Park Service
employees.
(4)Environmental
Leadership Centennial InitiativeProjects shall include an
Environmental Leadership Centennial Initiative
under
which—
(A)each project
shall be designed—
(i)to
reduce harmful emissions;
(ii)to
conserve energy or water resources;
(iii)to reduce solid
waste production within the National Park System; or
(iv)to
meet any combination of the purposes described in clauses (i) through
(iii);
(B)each project
shall include strategies for educating the public regarding environmental
leadership projects and the results of the projects; and
(C)priority shall be
given to projects with the potential to spread technological advances to other
Federal agencies or to the private sector.
(5)Natural
Resource Protection Centennial InitiativeProjects shall include
a Natural Resource Protection Centennial Initiative
under
which—
(A)each project
shall be designed to restore or conserve native ecosystems within the National
Park System;
(B)priority shall be
given to projects that are designed to control invasive species; and
(C)each project
shall be based on the best available scientific information.
(6)Cultural
Resource Protection Centennial InitiativeProjects shall include
a Cultural Resource Protection Centennial Initiative
under
which—
(A)the projects
shall—
(i)increase the
knowledge of the National Park Service of cultural resources located within the
National Park System through means such as surveys, studies, mapping, and
documentation of the resources; or
(ii)improve the
condition of documented cultural resources within the National Park
System;
(B)the projects
shall incorporate the best available scientific information; or
(C)if appropriate,
the projects shall be developed in consultation with Native American tribes,
State historic preservation offices, or other organizations with cultural
resource preservation expertise.
(7)Visitor
Enjoyment and Health Centennial Initiative
(A)Projects shall include a Visitor Enjoyment and
Health Centennial Initiative
under which projects shall be described in
1 or more of the following 4 categories:
(i)Projects designed
to repair, rehabilitate, or otherwise improve infrastructure, including trails,
that facilitates healthy outdoor activity within the National Park
System.
(ii)Projects
designed to expand opportunities for access to the National Park System for
visitors with disabilities.
(iii)Projects to
develop and implement management plans (such as climbing plans and trail system
plans) for activities designed to increase the health and fitness of visitors
to the National Park System.
(iv)Projects to
develop outreach programs and media that promote visitor enjoyment or provide
public information regarding opportunities the National Park System provides to
benefit the physical and mental health of visitors in a manner that is
consistent with park resources and values.
(B)Miscellaneous
requirementsEach project for the Visitor Enjoyment and
Health Centennial Initiative
shall—
(i)be
consistent with National Park Service policies and adopted park planning
documents; and
(ii)be
designed to provide for visitor enjoyment in such a way as to leave the
National Park System unimpaired for future generations.
(c)
(1)Subject to paragraph (2), for each of fiscal years 2008
through 2017, unobligated amounts in the Fund shall be available to carry out
projects authorized by this Act, without further appropriation.
(2)Amounts from the Fund may not be obligated or expended to
carry out a proposal or project described in an annual submission of the list
of proposals required under this section before the date that is 120 days after
the date of the annual submission to Congress.
(d)Limitation on
use of funds
(1)Subject to paragraph (2), not more than 30 percent of
amounts available from the Fund for any fiscal year may be expended on projects
that are for the construction of facilities that cost in excess of
$5,000,000.
(2)The
Secretary may waive the application of paragraph (1) to a project by submitting
to Congress a notice that the project to be funded is a high priority and
cannot otherwise be carried out.
5.
(a)The
Secretary may—
(1)actively
encourage and facilitate participation in proposals from non-Federal and
philanthropic partners; and
(2)accept funds for
any project or program pursuant to the second paragraph of the matter under the
heading National parks
under the heading
Department of
the Interior
of the first section of the Act of June
5, 1920 (16 U.S.C. 6), and other provisions of law governing acceptance of
donations.
(b)
(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), to the extent that
private organizations or individuals participate in or contribute to any
project or program, the terms and conditions of the participation or
contribution, and actions by employees of the National Park Service, shall be
governed by Directors Order No. 21 of the National Park Service entitled
Donations and Fundraising
, as in effect on the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(2)National park concessionaires may establish a
foundation that assists in the funding of regional and national projects and
programs proposed under this Act.
6.
(a)Amounts made
available from the Fund shall supplement (and not supplant) other Federal
funding available to the National Park Service, including—
(1)authorized expenditures from the
Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of
1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–4 et seq.); and
(2)the line item construction program of the
National Park Service.
(b)The Secretary, acting through the Director
of the National Park Service—
(1)shall maintain adequate, permanent staffing
levels at units of the National Park System at which projects or programs are
carried out; and
(2)shall not replace permanent staff with
nonpermanent employees hired to carry out this Act or projects or programs
carried out with funds provided under this Act.
7.For each of fiscal years 2008 through 2017,
the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that includes—
(1)a detailed
accounting of all expenditures from the Fund divided by categories of proposals
under section 4(b), including a detailed accounting of any private
contributions, either in funds or in kind, to any project or program;
(2)a cumulative
summary of the results of the National Park Centennial program, including
recommendations for revisions to the program; and
(3)a statement of
whether the National Park Service has maintained adequate, permanent staffing
levels and what nonpermanent and permanent staff have been hired to carry out
this Act or projects or programs carried out with funds provided under this
Act.
8.
(a)Excess revenues
from offshore oil and gas activities
(1)Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) and notwithstanding any
other provision of law, the following amounts received by the Secretary of the
Interior shall not be subject to distribution under any other law and shall be
deposited into the Fund as follows:
(A)All bonuses and
rents received from leases sales for areas in the Gulf of Mexico held pursuant
to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.)—
(i)for
fiscal year 2008 in excess of $2,154,000,000;
(ii)for fiscal year
2009 in excess of $919,000,000;
(iii)for fiscal year
2010 in excess of $625,000,000;
(iv)for fiscal year
2011 in excess of $532,000,000; and
(v)for
fiscal year 2012 in excess of $474,000,000.
(B)All royalties
received from leases for areas in the Gulf of Mexico held pursuant to the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), other than leases for
areas in the Gulf of Mexico that, as of October 1, 2007, were eligible for
royalty relief and not subject to any limitation on that relief based on market
prices that are equal to or less than the price thresholds described in clauses
(v) through (vii) of section 8(a)(3)(C) of that Act (43 U.S.C.
1337(a)(3)(C))—
(i)for
fiscal year 2008 in excess of $7,040,270,000;
(ii)for fiscal year
2009 in excess of $9,058,330,000;
(iii)for fiscal year
2010 in excess of $8,386,780,000;
(iv)for fiscal year
2011 in excess of $9,085,130,000; and
(v)for
fiscal year 2012 in excess of $8,909,990,000.
(C)All fees received
from leases covered by subparagraph (B)—
(i)for
fiscal year 2008 in excess of $705,000,000;
(ii)for fiscal year
2009 in excess of $360,000,000;
(iii)for fiscal year
2010 in excess of $465,000,000;
(iv)for fiscal year
2011 in excess of $520,000,000;
(v)for
fiscal year 2012 in excess of $570,000,000;
(vi)for fiscal year
2013 in excess of $620,000,000;
(vii)for fiscal year
2014 in excess of $835,000,000;
(viii)for fiscal
year 2015 in excess of $790,000,000;
(ix)for fiscal year
2016 in excess of $720,000,000; and
(x)for
fiscal year 2017 in excess of $725,000,000.
(2)
(A)The Secretary of the Treasury shall terminate making
deposits into the Fund under paragraph (1) if the total amount deposited into
the Fund under this section and the amendment made by this section equals
$1,000,000,000.
(B)There
shall be available to the Secretary to carry out this section from the Fund,
without further appropriation, $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008
through 2017.
(C)If
there is not a sufficient amount in the Fund for any fiscal year for
$100,000,000 to be made available to the Secretary to carry out this
section—
(i)all
amounts in the Fund shall be made available to the Secretary for that fiscal
year to carry out this section; and
(ii)the difference
between the amount that is made available for the fiscal year and $100,000,000
shall be carried over and made available to the Secretary to carry out this
section, if in the Fund, through fiscal year 2017.
(3)Relationship to
other uses of fundsThis subsection shall not affect the amount
or distribution of funds from bonuses, rents, royalties, and fees received from
leases sales held pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C.
1331 et seq.) under any other program or provision of law in effect on the date
of enactment of this Act.
(b)National Park
Centennial Fund stampsChapter 4 of title 39, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following:
417.Special postage stamps for National Park
Centennial Fund
(a)In order to afford
the public a convenient way to contribute funding to the National Park
Centennial Fund established by section 3 of the
National Park Centennial Fund
Act (referred to in this section as the Fund
), the
Postal Service shall establish a special rate of postage for first-class mail
under this section.
(b)(1)The rate of postage
established under this section—
(A)shall be equal to the regular
first-class rate of postage, plus a differential of not less than 15
percent;
(B)shall be set by the Governors in
accordance with such procedures as the Governors shall by regulation prescribe
(in lieu of the procedures under chapter 36); and
(C)shall be offered as an alternative to
the regular first-class rate of postage.
(2)The use of the special rate of
postage established under this section shall be voluntary on the part of postal
patrons.
(3)The special rate of postage of an
individual stamp under this section shall be an amount that is evenly divisible
by 5.
(c)(1)Subject to paragraphs (2)
and (3), of the amounts becoming available for the Fund pursuant to this
section, the Postal Service shall pay 100 percent to the Fund.
(2)Payments under this paragraph to the
Fund shall be made under such arrangements as the Postal Service shall by
mutual agreement with the Secretary of the Interior establish in order to carry
out the purposes of this section, except that, under those arrangements,
payments to the Fund shall be made at least twice a year.
(3)The amount paid to the Fund pursuant
to this section shall equal—
(A)the total amounts received by the
Postal Service that the Postal Service would not have received but for the
enactment of this section, reduced by
(B)an amount sufficient to cover
reasonable costs incurred by the Postal Service in carrying out this section,
including those attributable to the printing, sale, and distribution of stamps
under this section, as determined by the Postal Service under regulations that
the Postal Service shall prescribe.
(d)It is the sense of
the Congress that nothing in this section should—
(1)directly or
indirectly cause a net decrease in total funds received by the Fund below the
level that would otherwise have been received but for the enactment of this
section; or
(2)affect regular
first-class rates of postage or any other regular rates of postage.
(e)Special postage
stamps under this section shall be made available to the public beginning on
such date as the Postal Service shall by regulation prescribe, but in no event
later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this section.
(f)The Postmaster
General shall include in each report provided under section 2402 with respect
to any period during any portion of which this section is in effect information
concerning the operation of this section, except that, at a minimum, each
report shall include—
(1)the total amount
described in subsection (c)(3)(A) which was received by the Postal Service
during the period covered by the report; and
(2)of the amount under
paragraph (1), how much (in the aggregate and by category) was required for the
purposes described in subsection (c)(3)(B).
(g)For purposes of
section 416 (including any regulation prescribed under subsection (e)(1)(C) of
that section), the special postage stamp issued under this section shall not
apply to any limitation relating to whether more than 1 semipostal may be
offered for sale at the same time.
(h)This section shall
cease to be effective after September 30,
2017.
.
(c)
(1)The
amounts received under this section and the amendments made by this section
shall, in the aggregate, result in the receipt by the United States of a total
of $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2017.
(2)Amounts received by the United States under this section
and the amendments made by this section shall be treated as offsetting receipts
for the purposes of this Act.
(3)Deposit of
amounts in general fundAmounts received by the United States as
fees under the amendment made by subsection (b) shall be deposited in the
general fund of the Treasury.
(d)This section and the amendments made by this section take
effect on October 1, 2008.
(e)Termination of
effectivenessThe authority provided by this section and the
amendments made by this section terminates effective September 30, 2017.