November 17, 2014 - On November 13, 2014, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (Archived Video) (Landrieu) approved the following bills of interest to the National Park Service.
- S. 1750 (Flake, R-AZ), to authorize the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into agreements with States and political subdivisions of States providing for the continued operation, in whole or in part, of public land, units of the National Park System, units of the National Wildlife Refuge System, and units of the National Forest System in the State during any period in which the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture is unable to maintain normal level of operations at the units due to a lapse in appropriations, and for other purposes. The committee approved the bill by a vote of 12-10. The Department strongly opposes the bill.
- S. 2104 (Flake, R-AZ), to require the Director of the National Park Service to refund to States all State funds that were used to reopen and temporarily operate a unit of the National Park System during the October 2013 shutdown. The bill would require the payment of a total of about $2 million. The Department did not take a position on the bill.
Source: NPS
S. 1750 Public Access to Public Land Guarantee Act
Public Access to Public Land Guarantee Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to land under their respective jurisdictions, pursuant to a state or local government offer, to enter into an agreement under which the United States may accept funds from the state or local government to reopen any unit of the National Park System, the National Wildlife Refuge System, or the National Forest System within the state or local government during any period in which there is a lapse in appropriations for that unit.
Makes such authority effective only during a period in which the Secretary is unable to operate and manage covered units at normal levels.
Requires the appropriate Secretary to refund to the state or local government all amounts it provided to the United States under such an agreement: (1) upon enactment of an Act retroactively appropriating amounts sufficient to maintain normal operating levels at the reopened covered unit, or (2) on the date on which the state or local government establishes that the Secretary collected entrance or user fees for the covered units during the period in which the agreement was in effect.
Allows the appropriate Secretary, if such refund requirements are not met, to reimburse the state or local government voluntarily for any amounts it provided to the United States under such an agreement.
S. 2104 National Park Access Act
National Park Access Act - Requires the Director of the National Park Service to refund to each state all of the funds that it used to reopen and temporarily operate a unit of the National Park System during the period in October 2013 in which there was a lapse in appropriations for that unit.
