Park Renewal Fund Act

Summary

Park Renewal Fund Act - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act (the Act) to authorize the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture to determine the conditions of, and the annual permit fee for, the Golden Eagle Passport for admission to units of the National Park System (NPS) and other specified areas. Eliminates provisions that limit the annual fee to $15 for admission permits to NPS units or into several specific units located in a particular geographic area. Redefines "single visit" as a continuous (currently, more or less continuous) stay within a designated NPS unit. Eliminates the maximum 15-day period for such visit and the admission fee of five dollars per vehicle or three dollars per person, depending upon the circumstances, for persons who choose not to purchase the Golden Eagle Passport. Continues the authority of the administering Secretary to establish such fee and to define the period of time for such visit. Repeals provisions prohibiting admission fees to NPS units which provide significant outdoor recreation opportunities in an urban environment and to which access is publicly available at multiple locations. Authorizes the Secretaries to establish procedures for discounted admission fees in lieu of issuing the Golden Age Passport for any citizen of, or person legally domiciled in, the United States who is 62 years of age or older, to be received upon proof of age. Makes such discount nontransferable. Applies it only to the individual qualifying based on his or her age and not on the method of travel used by such individual to enter the area. Limits the issuance of lifetime admission permits for NPS units to certain individuals who are medically determined to be permanently disabled (currently, blind or permanently disabled for purposes of receiving Federal benefits as a result of such blindness or disability). Allows entrance to such designated area to the permittee and one accompanying individual regardless of the method of travel. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees within six months after enactment of this Act on the entrance fees proposed to be charged at NPS units. Repeals provisions prohibiting admission fees for the following NPS units: (1) U.S.S. Arizona Memorial; (2) Independence National Historical Park; (3) District of Columbia NPS units; (4) Arlington House-Robert E. Lee National Memorial; (5) San Juan National Historic Site; and (6) Canaveral National Seashore. Strikes provisions concerning the fee for a single-visit permit applicable to those persons entering Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and Grand Canyon National Park. Allows the charge of a recreation use fee at federally-operated campgrounds without the personal collection of such fee by a Federal employee or agent. Eliminates the 50 percent discount on such fee for Golden Age Passport permittees. Provides that comparison of recreation use fees charged by other public and private entities (currently, non-Federal public agencies) should be considered in establishing such fees. Removes the $100 penalty for violation of the Act and imposes such fine as provided by law. Authorizes the National Park Service (Service) to charge a fee for fishing in those park areas under partial (if applicable) or exclusive U.S. jurisdiction where State fishing licenses are not required. Allows the 15 percent authorized to be retained by the Secretaries for fee collection costs to be figured on the collection of the immediately previous fiscal year instead of the current one. Requires: (1) all additional fee revenue generated by the Service through enactment of this Act beginning in FY 1996 and each fiscal year thereafter, to be covered into a special fund established in the Treasury known as the National Park Renewal Fund; and (2) beginning in FY 1997 and each fiscal year thereafter, the amount of such revenue generated in the immediately preceding fiscal year to be made available to the Secretary, without further provision in appropriations Acts, for park infrastructure needs such as facility refurbishment, repair and replacement, interpretive media and exhibit repair and replacement, and infrastructure projects associated with park resource protection. Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop procedures for the use of the Fund that ensure accountability and demonstrated results consistent with this Act; and (2) report annually on the expenditures of such receipts on a unit-by-unit basis. Requires, in FY 1996 only, fees authorized to be collected pursuant to the Act to be collected only to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts. Allows amounts covered into the existing special account for the Service that are generated from the collection of admission fees to be used for park operations in NPS units in lieu of resource protection, research, and interpretation purposes. Prohibits the sale of annual admission permits and Golden Eagle Passports by public and private entities under arrangements with collecting agency heads. Allows the total charge (currently, 50 percent) imposed by the Service in lieu of an admission fee when it provides transportation to persons visiting all or a portion of a NPS unit to be retained by such unit for expenditures associated with its transportation system. Requires the Secretary to establish a flat fee that reflects the commercial tour use fee rate and the current admission rates for vehicles entering NPS units where an admission fee is charged. Requires the Secretary to establish reasonable fees for nonrecurring commercial or nonrecreational uses of NPS units that require special arrangements and permits to cover all cost associated with such use except that the Secretary may waive or reduce such fees in the case of any organization using an NPS area for activities which further Service goals. Allows: (1) such fees to be retained at the park unit in which the use takes place and to remain available, without further appropriation, to cover the cost of providing such services; and (2) the remaining portion of the fees that exceeds such cost to be deposited into the Fund. Prohibits an admission or recreation use fee of any kind from being charged or imposed for entrance into, or use of, any federally- owned area operated and maintained by a Federal agency and used for outdoor recreation purposes, except as provided for by the Act. (Sec. 3) Prohibits, as of noon on September 30, 2005, the use of Highway 209 within Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area by commercial vehicles when such use is not connected with the operation of the Area. Allows an exception for commercial vehicles serving businesses located within or in the vicinity of the Area. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, until such time, to collect a commercial user fee of up to $25 per trip from commercial vehicles using the Highway. (Sec. 4) Authorizes: (1) the Secretary to enter into challenge cost-share agreements with cooperators (any State or local government, public or private agency, organization, institution, corporation, individual, or other entity) for the purpose of sharing costs or services in carrying out authorized functions and responsibilities of the Secretary concerning any NPS unit or program, any affiliated area, or designated National Scenic or Historic Trail; and (2) the Secretary and certain Service employees to seek donations for NPS purposes, subject to established guidelines and specified restrictions. (Sec. 6) Redefines "park system resource" as any living or nonliving resource that is located within the boundaries of a NPS unit, except for resources owned by a non-Federal entity, for purposes of making a person who destroys, causes the loss of, or injures any park system resource liable for response costs and resulting damages.

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3 official files

• Introduced in Senate (text)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 23 June 1995

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• Introduced in Senate (PDF)

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 23 June 1995

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• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 23 June 1995

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