[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 7 (Thursday, February 5, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S453-S454]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CAMPBELL:
  S. 1614. A bill to require a permit for the making of motion picture, 
television program, or other form of commercial visual depiction in a 
unit of the National Park System or National Wildlife Refuge System; to 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


             THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE IMAGE PERMIT FEE ACT

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, today I introduce a bill that gives our 
National Park Service the authority to require fee-based permits for 
the use of the parks in the making of motion pictures, television 
programs, advertisements or other commercial purposes.
  Our national parks are among our nation's most valuable resources. My 
``National Park Service Image Fee Permit Act'' would help us to protect

[[Page S454]]

them and ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy their 
beauty by making sure the parks are reimbursed for their commercial 
use.
  The Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service already have a 
similar permit and fee system for commercial filming on public lands. 
Rocky Mountain National Park in my home state of Colorado has had 
twenty-five commercial filming operations take place between 1996-1997. 
According to park supervisors many individuals in the entertainment 
business are shocked at the fact that they are not currently charged 
for the use of our great national parks.
  It makes no sense that our national parks' lands, that have been 
deemed to be even more precious by their designation, should be used 
commercially for free. This is especially important now when taxpayers 
are facing increased fees to enter the national parks and more and more 
people are enjoying our natural wonders every year in record numbers.
  As the Vice-Chairman of the Parks, Historic Preservation and 
Recreation Subcommittee of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee, I am concerned about the maintenance backlog that exists in 
most of our national parks. It is also no secret that the amount of 
federal tax dollars available for that maintenance has been dwindling 
for some time now.
  I offer this bill as a funding vehicle for our parks to reimburse 
them for the administrative costs they incur by allowing the images of 
our precious national parks to be used in commercial ventures. This 
bill will not provide all of the funds needed to address the 
maintenance backlog in our parks, nor do I intend it to, but it will 
defray the real costs associated with making our parks available for 
commercial enterprises such as the motion picture industry.
  We can all understand why Hollywood or book publishers want to use 
the spectacular beauty of our national parks as backdrops for their 
productions. My bill simply allows the National Park Service to recover 
the real costs of allowing such use and devoting those fees to the 
parks for their preservation. Common sense directs us to do this, and I 
believe this bill is fair for the commercial users of our parks and 
more importantly, for the American taxpayers.
  This bill is similar to legislation introduced in the House of 
Representatives by my friend and colleague from Colorado, Congressman 
Hefley.
  Mr. President, I have a letter from the National Parks and 
Conservation Association that has reviewed and endorsed this 
legislation. I look forward to working with the Association, other 
interested parties and, of course, the Committee, to deal with the 
maintenance backlog at our national parks.
  I ask unanimous consent that the National Parks and Conservation 
Association letter of support and my bill be inserted in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1614

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. PERMITS FOR MAKING COMMERCIAL VISUAL DEPICTIONS IN 
                   UNITS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM AND NATIONAL 
                   WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Commercial visual depiction.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``commercial visual depiction'' 
     means a visual depiction that a person produces with the 
     intention that the depiction (or reproductions of the 
     depiction) will be disseminated to the public in connection 
     with a for-profit enterprise.
       (B) Exclusions.--The term ``commercial visual depiction'' 
     does not include--
       (i) a visual depiction produced for dissemination to the 
     public as news; or
       (ii) a visual depiction produced by an individual in a 
     limited number and intended to be sold by the individual as a 
     work of art.
       (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (3) Visual depiction.--The term ``visual depiction'' means 
     a motion picture, television program, videotape, photograph, 
     or other form of visual depiction or any part of such a 
     depiction.
       (b) Permit Requirement.--A person shall not produce a 
     commercial visual depiction in a unit of the National Park 
     System or National Wildlife Refuge System without first 
     obtaining a permit from the Secretary and paying a permit 
     fee.
       (c) Regulation.--The Secretary shall by regulation 
     establish criteria and a procedure for determining the 
     conditions under which a person shall be permitted to produce 
     a commercial visual depiction in a unit of the National Park 
     System or National Wildlife Refuge System and the amount of a 
     permit fee.
       (d) Fee Amounts.--
       (1) Basis of imposition.--A permit fee may be imposed--
       (A) in a single amount for use of any part of a unit of the 
     National Park System and National Wildlife Refuge System or 
     in different amounts for use of different areas within a 
     unit;
       (B) in different amounts for different forms of visual 
     depiction; or
       (C) in a set amount applicable in all cases or in a 
     negotiated amount applicable in a particular case.
       (2) Amount.--
       (A) Minimum amount.--The amount of a permit fee shall be 
     not less than an amount that is sufficient to compensate the 
     Secretary for all direct and indirect costs to the Secretary 
     in accommodating the production of a commercial visual 
     depiction (including costs of ensuring compliance with any 
     conditions on the use of the area for production of the 
     commercial visual depiction and costs of cleanup and 
     restoration).
       (B) Other considerations.--In establishing the amount of a 
     permit fee, the Secretary shall take into consideration--
       (i) the extent of any inconvenience to the public that 
     production of the commercial visual depiction may cause; and
       (ii) an estimate of the amount that an owner of private 
     property would charge for use of property that is comparable 
     to the area in which the commercial visual depiction is to be 
     produced.
       (e) Civil Penalty.--A person that produces a commercial 
     visual depiction in a unit of the National Park System or 
     National Wildlife Refuge System without first obtaining a 
     permit and paying a permit fee or that fails to comply with 
     any condition stated in a permit shall be subject to 
     imposition by the Secretary, after notice and opportunity for 
     a hearing on the record, of a civil penalty in an amount not 
     exceeding 200 percent of the amount of the permit fee.
       (f) Use of Proceeds.--Each amount collected by the 
     Secretary as a permit fee or civil penalty under this section 
     shall be retained by the Secretary and shall be available, 
     without further Act of appropriation, for capital improvement 
     and restoration activities in the unit in which the 
     commercial visual depiction was produced.
                                  ____

                                                    National Parks


                                 and Conservation Association,

                                                 February 3, 1998.
     Hon. Ben Nighthorse Campbell,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Campbell: I am writing to applaud your efforts 
     to resolve a small but nettlesome issue affecting both the 
     national parks and the American taxpayer.
       For years, Hollywood and Madison Avenue production 
     companies have been able to avail themselves of the unique 
     resources of the national parks at well below market prices. 
     In fact, film production companies have been required to 
     cover only the physical cost of monitoring their activities 
     and any remediation necessary after they leave the site. In 
     many cases, this amount has totaled in the hundreds of 
     dollars, compared with production budgets that total in the 
     tens of millions of dollars and more.
       At a time when the Congress has directed the National Park 
     Service to do more in collecting entrance and recreation fees 
     from park visitors, the current requirements for film 
     production fees are patently unfair and must be changed. Your 
     legislation represents a step forward in this regard and will 
     contribute substantially to this issue as it is debated in 
     this congress.
       Again, I want to thank you for your efforts. With your 
     help, the parks will finally enjoy a more balanced financial 
     relationship with private film production companies.
           Sincerely,
                                                Thomas C. Kiernan,
                                                        President.
                                 ______