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STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - January 19, 1999)

   (3) However, because of competition for limited Federal moneys and the need for an annual appropriation, this original intention has been abandoned and, in recent years, the States have not received an equitable proportion of funds.

   (4) Nonetheless, with population growth and urban sprawl, the demand for recreation and conservation areas, at the State and local level, including urban localities, remains a high priority for our citizens.

   (5) In addition to the demand at the State and local level, there has been an increasing unmet need for Federal moneys to be made available for Federal purposes, with lands identified as important for Federal acquisition not being acquired for several years due to insufficient funds.

   (6) A new vision is called for--a vision that encompasses a multilevel; national network of parks, recreation and conservation areas that reaches across the country to touch all communities. National parks are not enough; the federal government alone cannot accomplish this. A national vision, backed by realistic national funding support, to stimulate State, local and private sector, as well as Federal efforts, is the only way to effectively address our ongoing outdoor recreation and conservation needs.

   (b) PURPOSE.--The purpose of this title is to provide a secure source of funds available for Federal purposes authorized by the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 and to revitalize and complement State, local and private commitments envisioned in the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 and the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 by providing grants for State, local and urban recreation and conservation needs.

   SEC. 203. LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND AMENDMENTS.

   (a) REVENUES.--Section 2(c)(1) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. §460l-5(c)(1)) is amended as follows:

   (1) By inserting ``(A)'' after ``(c)(1)''.

   (2) By striking ``there are authorized'' and all that follows and inserting ``from 16 percent of the revenues, as that term is defined in the Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999, shall be deposited in the Land and Water Conservation Fund in the Treasury and shall be available, without further appropriation, to carry out this Act for each fiscal year thereafter through September 30, 2015.''

   (3) By adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

   ``(B) In those instances where through judicial decision, administrative review, arbitration, or other means there are royalty refunds owed to entities generating revenues available for purposes of this Act, 16 percent of such refunds shall be paid from amounts available under this subsection.''.

   (b) AUTHORIZATION.--Section 2(c)(2) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. §460l-5(c)(2)) is amended by striking ``equivalent amounts provided in clause (1)'' and inserting ``$900,000,000''.

   (c) APPROPRIATION.--Section 3 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. §460l-6) is amended by striking ``Moneys'' and inserting ``Except as provided under section 460l-5(c)(1), moneys''.

   (d) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.--Section 5 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. §460l-7) is amended as follows:

   (1) by inserting ``(a)'' at the beginning:

   (2) by striking ``Those appropriations from the fund'' and all that follows; and

   (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

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   ``(b) Moneys credited to the fund under section 2(c)(1) of this Act (16 U.S.C. §460l-5(c)(1)) for obligation or expenditure may be obligated or expended only as follows--

   ``(1) 45 percent shall be available for Federal purposes. Notwithstanding section 7 of this Act (16 U.S.C. §460l-9), 25 percent of such moneys shall be made available to the Secretary of Agriculture for the acquisition of lands, waters, or interests in land or water within the exterior boundaries of areas of the National Forest System or any other land management unit established by an Act of Congress and managed by the Secretary of Agriculture and 75 percent of such moneys shall be available to the Secretary of the Interior for the acquisition of lands, waters, or interests in land or water within the exterior boundaries of areas of the National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, or other land management unit established by an Act of Congress; Provided, that at least two-thirds of the moneys available under this paragraph for Federal purposes shall be spent east of the 100th meridian; Provided further, no moneys available under this paragraph for Federal purposes shall be used for condemnation of any interest of property.

   ``(2) 45 percent shall be available for financial assistance to the States u nder section 6 of this Act (16 U.S.C. §460l-8) distributed according to the following allocation formula;

   ``(A) 60 percent shall be apportioned equally among the several States;

   ``(B) 20 percent shall be apportioned on the basis of the ratio which the population of each State bears to the total population of the United States;

   ``(C) 20 percent shall be apportioned on the basis of the urban population in each State (as defined by Metropolitan Statistical Areas).

   ``(3) 10 percent shall be available to local governments through the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery Program (16 U.S.C. §2501-2514) of the Department of the Interior.''.

   ``An amount, not to exceed 2 percent, of the total of such moneys covered to the fund under section 2(c)(1) of this Act (16 U.S.C. §460l-5(c)(1)) in each fiscal year as the Secretary of the Interior may estimate to be necessary for expenses in the administration and execution of this subsection shall be deducted for that purpose, and such amount is authorized to be made available therefor until the expiration of the next succeeding fiscal year. Within 60 days after the close of such fiscal year, the Secretary shall apportion any portion thereof as remains unexpended, if any, on the same basis and in the same manner as is provided under paragraphs (1), (2) and (3).

   (e) REHABILITATION.--Subsection 6(a) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. §460l-8(a)) is amended by deleting ``(3) development.'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``(3) development, including the facility rehabilitation.''

   (f) Tribes and Alaska Native Village Corporations.--Subsection 6(b)(5) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. §460l-8(b)(5)) is amended as follows:

   (1) By inserting ``(A)'' after ``(5)''.

   (2) By adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

   ``(B) For the purposes of paragraph (1), all federally recognized Indian tribes and Alaska Native Village Corporations (as defined in section 3(j) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(j)) shall be treated collectively as 1 State, and shall receive shares of the apportionment under paragraph (1) in accordance with a competitive grant program established by the Secretary by rule. Such rule shall ensure that in each fiscal year no single tribe or Village Corporation receives more than 10 percent of the total amount made available to all tribes and Village Corporations pursuant to the apportionment under paragraph (1). Funds received by an Indian tribe or Village Corporation under this subparagraph may be expended only for the purposes specified in paragraphs (1) and (3) of subsection (b).''

   ``(g) LOCAL ALLOCATION.--Subsection 6(b) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. §460l-8(b)(5)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

   ``(6) Absent some compelling and annually documented reason to the contrary acceptable to the Secretary, each State (other than an area treated as a State under paragraph (5)) shall make available as grants to local governments at least 50 percent of the annual State apportionment, or an equivalent amount made available from other sources.''

   ``(h) MATCH.--Subsection 6(c) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. §460l-8(c)) is amended to read as follows:

   ``(c) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.--Payments to any State shall cover not more than 50 percent of the cost of outdoor recreation and conservation planning, acquisition or development projects that are undertaken by the State.''

   ``(i) STATE ACTION AGENDA.--Subsection 6(d) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. §460l-8(d)) is amended to read as follows:

   ``(d) STATE ACTION AGENDA REQUIRED.--Each State may define its own priorities and criteria for selection of outdoor recreation and conservation acquisition and development projects eligible for grants under this Act so long as it provides for public involvement in this process and publishes an accurate and current State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation indicating the needs it has identified and the priorities and criteria it has established. In order to assess its needs and establish its overall priorities, each State, in partnership with its local governments and Federal agencies, and in consultation with its citizens, shall develop a State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation, within five years of enactment, that meets the following requirements:

   ``(1) The agenda must be strategic, originating in broad-based and long-term needs, but focused on actions that can be funded over the next 4 years.

   ``(2) The agenda must be updated at least once every 4 years and certified by the Governor that the State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation conclusions and proposed actions have been considered in an active public involvement process.

   ``State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation shall take into account all providers of recreation and conservation lands within each State, including Federal, regional and local government resources and shall be correlated whenever possible with other State, regional, and local plans for parks, recreation, open space and wetlands conservation.

   ``Each State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation shall specifically address wetlands within that State as important outdoor recreation and conservation resources. Each State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation shall incorporate a wetlands priority plan developed in consultation with the State agency with responsibility for fish and wildlife resources which is consistent with that national wetlands priority conservation plan developed under section 301 of the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act.

   ``Recovery action programs developed by urban localities under section 1007 of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 shall be used by a State as one guide to the conclusions, priorities and action schedules contained in the State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation. Each State shall assure that any requirements for local outdoor recreation and conservation planning that are promulgated as conditions for grants minimize redundancy of local efforts by allowing, wherever possible, use of the findings, priorities, and implementation schedules of recovery action programs to meet such requirements.''

   ``(j) Comprehensive State Plans developed by any State under section 6(d) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. §460l-8(d)) before the enactment of this Act shall remain in effect in that State until or State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation has been adopted pursuant to the amendment made by this subsection, but no later than 5 years after the enactment of this Act.

   ``(k) STATE PLANS.--Subsection 6(e) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. §460l-8(e)) is amended--

   (1) by striking ``State comprehensive plan'' at the end of the first paragraph and inserting ``State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation'';

   (2) by striking ``State comprehensive plan'' in paragraph (1) and inserting ``State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation''; and

   (3) by striking ``but not including incidental costs related to acquisition'' at the end of paragraph (1).

   (l) CONVERSION.--Paragraph 6(f)(3) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. §460l-8(f)(3)) is amended by striking the second sentence and inserting: ``With the exception of those properties that are no longer viable as an outdoor recreation and conservation facility due to changes in demographics or must be abandoned because of environmental contamination which endanger public health and safety, the Secretary shall approve such conversion only if the State demonstrates no prudent or feasible alternative exists. Any conversion must satisfy any conditions the Secretary deemed necessary to assure the substitution of other recreation and conservation properties of at least equal fair market value, or reasonably equivalent usefulness and location and which are in accord with the existing State Action Agenda for Community Recreation and Conservation: Provided, That wetland areas and interests therein as identified in the wetlands provisions of the action agenda and proposed to be acquired as suitable replacement property within that same State that is otherwise acceptable to the Secretary shall be considered to be of reasonably equivalent usefulness with the property proposed for conversion.''

   (m) COST LIMITATIONS.--Section 7 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. §460l-9) is amended by adding the following at the end thereof:

   ``(D) MAXIMUM FEDERAL COST PER PROJECT.--No expenditure shall be made to acquire any Federal land the cost of which exceeds $5,000,000 unless the funds for such acquisition have been specifically allocated to the acquisition in the report accompanying the legislation appropriating funds for the Federal agency concerned and such allocation has been approved by resolution adopted by the Committee on Resources of the United States House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate.''

   SEC. 204. URBAN PARK AND RECREATION RECOVERY ACT OF 1978 AMENDMENTS.

   (a) GRANTS.--Section 1004 of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act (16 U.S.C. §2503) is amended by redesignating subsections (d), (e), and (f) as subsections (f), (g),

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and (h) respectively, and by inserting the following after subsection (c):

   ``(d) `development grants' means matching capital grants to local units of government to cover costs of development and construction on existing or new neighborhood recreation sites, including indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, support facilities, and landscaping, but excluding routine maintenance and upkeep activities;'';

   ``(e) `acquisition grants' means matching capital grants to local units of government to cover the direct and incidental costs of purchasing new parkland to be permanently dedicated and made accessible for public recreation use;''.

   (b) ELIGIBILITY.--Subsection 1005(a) of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act (16 U.S.C. §2504) is amended to read as follows:

   ``(a) Eligibility of general purpose local governments to compete for assistance under this titl e shall be based upon need as determined by the Secretary. Generally, the list of eligible government shall include the following:

   ``(1) All central cities of Metropolitan, Primary or Consolidated Statistical Areas as currently defined by the census.

   ``(2) All political subdivisions included in Metropolitan, Primary or Consolidated Statistical Areas as currently defined by the census.

   ``(3) Any other city or town within a Metropolitan Area with a total population of 50,000 or more in the census of 1970, 1980 or 1990.

   ``(4) Any other county, parish or township with a total population of 250,000 or more in the census of 1970, 1980 or 1990.''

   (c) MATCHING GRANTS.--Subsection 1006(a) of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act (16 U.S.C. §2505(a)) is amended by striking all through paragraph (3) and inserting the following:

   ``SEC. 1006. (a) The Secretary is authorized to provide 70 percent matching grants for rehabilitation, innovation, development or acquisition purposes to eligible general purpose local governments upon his approval of applications therefor by the chief executives of such governments.

   ``(1) At the discretion of such applicants, and if consistent with an approved application, rehabilitation, innovation, development or acquisition grants may be transferred in whole or in part to independent special purpose local governments, private nonprofit agencies or county or regional park authorities; except that, such grantees shall provide assurance to the Secretary that they will maintain public recreation opportunities at assisted areas and facilities owned or managed by them in accordance with section 1010 of this Act.

   ``(2) Payments may be made only for those rehabilitation, innovation, development, or acquisition projects which have been approved by the Secretary. Such payments may be made from time to time in keeping with the rate of progress toward completion of a project, on a reimbursable basis.''.

   (d) COORDINATION.--Section 1008 of the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act (16 U.S.C. §2507) is amended by striking the last sentence and inserting the following: ``The Secretary and general purpose local governments are encouraged to coordinate preparation of recovery action programs required by this title with State Action Agendas for Community Recreation and Conservation required by section 6 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, including the allowance of flexibility in local preparation of recovery action programs so that they may be used to meet State or local qualifications for local receipt of Land and Water Conservation Fund grants or State grants for similar purposes or for other recreation or conservation purposes. The Secretary shall also encourage States to consider the findings, priorities, strategies and schedules included in the recovery action programs of their urban localities in preparation and updating of the State Action Agendas for Community Recreation and Conservation, in accordance with the public coordination and citizen consultation requirements of subsection 6(d) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965.''


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