LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: P.L. 79-732 HOUSE REPORT: No. 79-1944, April 17, 1946 (To accompany H.R. 6097) No. 79-1698, July 10, 1946 (To accompany H.R. 6097) LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: P.L. 80-697 HOUSE REPORT: No. 80-504, June 3, 1947 (To accompany H.R. 2721) SENATE REPORT: No. 80-1448, June 2, 1948 (To accompany H.R. 2721) LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: P.L. 85-624 HOUSE REPORT: No. 85-2183, July 16, 1958 (To accompany H.R. 13138) SENATE REPORT: No. 85-1981, July 28, 1958 (To accompany H.R. 13138) LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: P.L. 89-72 HOUSE REPORTS: No. 254 accompanying H.R. 5269 (Comm. on Interior & Insular Affairs) and No. 538 (Comm. of Conference). SENATE REPORT: No. 149 (Comm. on Interior & Insular Affairs). CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: Vol. 111, (1965): Apr. 13, considered and passed Senate. May 18, considered and passed House, amended, in lieu of H.R. 5269. June 23, House agreed to conference report. June 25, Senate agreed to conference report. Q. Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, Public Law 88-578, 78 Stat. 897, September 3, 1964 (16 USC 4601-4/4601-11), as amended by: Public Laws 89-72, 79 Stat. 213, July 9, 1965; 90-401, 82 Stat. 354, July 15, 1968; 91-308, 84 Stat. 410, July 7, 1970; 91-485, 84 Stat. 1084, October 22, 1970; 91-605, 84 Stat. 1713, December 31, 1970; 92-347, 86 Stat. 459, July 11, 1972; 93-81, 87 Stat. 178, August 1, 1973; 93-205, 87 Stat. 884, December 28, 1973; 93-303, 88 Stat. 192, June 7, 1974; 94-273, 90 Stat. 375, April 21, 1976; 94-280, 90 Stat. 425, May 5, 1976; 94-422, 90 Stat. 1313, September 28, 1976; 95-42, 91 Stat. 210, June 10, 1977; 95-599, 92 Stat. 2689, November 6, 1978; and 95-625, 92 Stat. 3467, November 10, 1978. An Act To establish a land and water conservation fund to assist the States and Federal agencies in Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Section 1. TITLE I-LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION PROVISIONS Short Title and Statement of Purposes (a) Citation; Effective Date.-This Act may be cited as the "Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965" and shall become effective on January 1, 1965. (b) Purposes.-The purposes of this Act are to assist in preserving, developing, and assuring accessibility to all citizens of the United States of America of present and future generations and visitors who are lawfully present within the boundaries of the United States of America such quality and quantity of outdoor recreation resources as may be available and are necessary and desirable for individual active participation in such recreation and to strengthen the health and vitality of the citizens of the United States by (1) providing funds for and authorizing Federal assistance to the States in planning, acquisition, and development of needed land and water areas and facilities and (2) providing funds for the Federal acquisition and development of certain lands and other areas. Sec. 2. Separate Fund.-During the period ending September 30, 1989, there shall be covered into the land and water conservation fund in the Treasury of the United States, which fund is hereby established and is hereinafter referred to as the "fund", the following revenues and collections: (a) Surplus Property Sales.-All proceeds (except so much thereof as may be otherwise obligated, credited, or paid under authority of those provisions of law set forth in section 485(b)(e), title 40, United States Code, or the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1963 (76 Stat. 725) or in any later appropriation Act) hereafter received from any disposal of surplus real property and related personal property under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended, notwithstanding any provision of law that such proceeds shall be credited to miscellaneous receipts of the Treasury. Nothing in this Act shall affect existing laws or regulations concerning disposal of real or personal surplus property to schools, hospitals, and States and their political subdivisions. (b) Motorboat Fuels Tax.-The amounts provided for in section 201 of this Act. (c) (1) Other Revenues.-In addition to the sum of the revenues and collections estimated by the Secretary of the Interior to be covered into the fund pursuant to this section, as amended, there are authorized to be appropriated annually to the fund out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated such amounts as are necessary to make the income of the fund not less than $300,000,000 for fiscal year 1977, and $900,000,000 for fiscal year 1978 and for each fiscal year thereafter through September 30, 1989. Land and Water Fund Act of 1965. 40 USC 471 note. 16 USC 4601-11. Appropriation authorization. (2) To the extent that any such sums so appropriated are not sufficient to make the total annual income of the fund equivalent to the amounts provided in clause (1), an amount sufficient to cover the remainder thereof shall be credited to the fund from revenues due and payable to the United States for deposit in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, as amended (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.): Provided, That notwithstanding the provisions of section 3 of this Act, moneys covered into the fund under this paragraph shall remain in the fund until appropriated by the Congress to carry out the 16 USC 4601-6. purpose of this Act. (As amended by P.L. 89-72, 79 Stat. 213, July 9, 1965; P.L. 90-401, 82 Stat. 354, July 15, 1968; P.L. 91-308, 84 Stat. 410, July 7, 1970; P.L. 91-485, 84 Stat. 1084, October 22, 1970; P.L. 94-273, 90 Stat. 375, April 21, 1976; P.L. 94-422, 90 Stat. 1313, September 28, 1976; and P.L. 95-42, 91 Stat. 210, June 10, 1977) Golden Eagle "Single visit". Fee-free travel areas. 72 Stat. 885. Smoky National Park. Lifetime admission permit. Sec. 3. Appropriations.-Moneys covered into the fund shall be available for expenditure for the purposes of this Act only when appropriated therefor. Such appropriations may be made without fiscal year limitation. Moneys covered into this fund not subsequently authorized by the Congress for expenditures within two fiscal years following the fiscal year in which such moneys had been credited to the fund, shall be transferred to miscellaneous receipts of the Treasury. Sec. 4. Admission and Use Fees; Establishment and Regulations (a) Admission Fees.-Entrance or admission fees shall be charged only at designated units of the National Park System administered by the Department of the Interior and National Recreation Areas administered by the Department of Agriculture. No admission fees of any kind shall be charged or imposed for entrance into any other federally owned areas which are operated and maintained by a Federal agency and used for outdoor recreation purposes. (1) For admission into any such designated area, an annual admission permit (to be known as the Golden Eagle Passport) shall be available, for a fee of not more than $10. The permittee and any person accompanying him in a single, private, noncommercial vehicle, or alternatively, the permittee and his spouse, children, and parents accompanying him where entry to the area is by any means other than private, noncommercial vehicle, shall be entitled to general admission into any area designated pursuant to this subsection. The annual permit shall be valid during the calendar year for which the annual fee is paid. The annual permit shall not authorize any uses for which additional fees are charged pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) of this section. The annual permit shall be nontransferable and the unlawful use thereof shall be punishable in accordance with regulations established pursuant to subsection (e). The annual permit shall be available for purchase at any such designated area. (2) Reasonable admission fees for a single visit at any designated area shall be established by the administering Secretary for persons who choose not to purchase the annual permit. A "single visit" means that length of time a visitor remains within the exterior boundary of a designated fee area beginning from the day he first enters the area until he leaves, except that on the same day such admission fee is paid, the visitor may leave and reenter without the payment of an additional admission fee to the same area. (3) No admission fee shall be charged for travel by private, non-commercial vehicle over any national parkway or any road or highway established as a part of the National Federal Aid System, as defined in section 101, title 23, United States Code, which is commonly used by the public as a means of travel between two places either or both of which are outside the area. Nor shall any fee be charged for travel by private, noncommercial vehicle over any road or highway to any land in which such person has any property right if such land is within any such designated area. In the Smoky Mountains National Park, unless fees are charged for entrance into said park on main highways and thoroughfares, fees shall not be charged for entrance on other routes into said park or any part thereof. years (4) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish procedures providing for the issuance of a lifetime admission permit (to be known as the "Golden Age Passport") to any citizen of, or person domiciled in, the United States sixty-two of age or older applying for such permit. Such permit shall be non-transferable, shall be issued without charge, and shall entitle the permittee and any person accompanying him in a single, private, non-commercial vehicle, or alternatively, the permittee and his spouse and children accompanying him where entry to the area is by any means other than private, non-commercial vehicle, to general admission into any area designated pursuant to this subsection. No other free permits shall be issued to any person: Provided, That no fees of any kind shall be collected from any persons who have a right of access for hunting or fishing privileges under a specific provision of law or treaty or who are engaged in the conduct of official Federal, State, or local Government business and Provided further, That for no more than three years after the date of enactment of this Act, visitors to the United States will be granted entrance, without charge, to any designated admission fee area upon presentation of a valid passport. (b) Recreation Use Fees.-Each Federal agency developing, administering, providing or furnishing at Federal expense, specialized outdoor recreation sites, facilities, equipment, or services shall, in accordance with this subsection and subsection (d) of this section, provide for the collection of daily recreation use fees at the place of use or any reasonably convenient location: Provided, That in no event shall there be a charge by any such agency for the use, either singly or in any combination, of drinking water, wayside exhibits, roads, overlook sites, visitors' centers, scenic drives, toilet facilities, picnic tables, or boat ramps: Provided, however, That a fee shall be charged for boat launching facilities only where specialized facilities or services such as mechanical or hydraulic boat lifts or facilities are provided: And provided further, That in no event shall there be a charge for the use of any campground not having the following-tent or trailer spaces, drinking water, access road, refuse containers, toilet facilities, personal collection of the fee by an employee or agent of the Federal agency operating the facility, reasonable visitor protection, and simple devices for containing a campfire (where campfires are permitted). At each lake or reservoir under the jurisdiction of the Corps of Engineers, United States Army, where camping is permitted, such agency shall provide at least one primitive campground, containing designated campsites, sanitary facilities, and vehicular access, where no charge shall be imposed. Any Golden Age Passport permittee shall be entitled upon presentation of such permit to utilize such special recreation facilities at a rate of 50 per centum of the established use fee. (c) Recreation Permits.-Special recreation permits for uses such as group activities, recreation events, motorized recreation vehicles, and other specialized recreation uses may be issued in accordance with procedures and at fees established by the agency involved. (d) All fees established pursuant to this section shall be fair and equitable, taking into consideration the direct and indirect cost to the Government, the benefits to the recipient, the public policy or interest served, the comparable recreation fees charged by non-Federal public agencies, the economic and administrative feasibility of fee collection and other pertinent factors. Clear notice that a fee has been established pursuant to this section shall be prominently posted at each area and at appropriate locations therein and shall be included in publications distributed at such areas. It is the intent of this Act that comparable fees should be charged by the several Federal agencies for comparable services and facilities. (e) In accordance with the provisions of this section, the heads of appropriate departments and agencies may prescribe rules and regulations for areas under their administration for the collection of any fee established pursuant to this section. Persons authorized by the heads of such Federal agencies to enforce any such rules or regulations issued under this subsection may, within areas under the administration or authority of such agency head and with or, if the offense is committed in his presence, without a warrant, arrest any person who violates such rules and regulations. Any person so arrested may be tried and sentenced by the United States magistrate specifically designated for that purpose by the court by which he was appointed, in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as provided in title 18, United States Code, section 3401, subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e), as amended. Any violations of the rules and regulations issued under this subsection shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $100. (f) Except as otherwise provided by law or as may be required by lawful contracts entered into prior to September 3, 1964, providing that revenues collected at particular Federal areas shall be credited to specific purposes, all fees which are collected by any Federal agency shall be covered into a special account in the Treasury of the United States to be administered in conjunction with, but separate from, the revenues in the Land and Water Conservation Fund: Provided, That the head of any Federal agency, under such terms and conditions as he deems appropriate, may contract with any public or private entity to provide visitor reservation services; and any such contract may provide that the contractor shall be permitted to deduct a commission to be fixed by the agency head from the amount charged the public for providing such services and to remit the net proceeds therefrom to the contracting agency. Revenues in the special account shall be available for appropriation, without prejudice to appropriations from other sources for the same purposes, for any authorized outdoor recreation function of the agency by which the fees were collected: Provided, however, That not more than forty per centum of the amount so credited may be appropriated during the five fiscal years following the enactment of this Act for the enhancement of the fee collection system established by this section, including the promotion and enforcement thereof. (g) Nothing in this Act shall authorize Federal hunting or fishing licenses or fees or charges for commercial or other activities not related to recreation, nor shall it affect any rights or authority of the States with respect to fish and wildlife, nor shall it repeal or modify any provision of law that permits States or political subdivisions to share in the revenues from Federal lands or any provision of law that provides that any fees or charges collected at particular Federal areas shall be used for or credited to specific purposes or special funds as authorized by that provision of law. (h) Periodic reports indicating the number and location of fee collection areas, the number and location of potential fee collection areas, capacity and visitation information, the fees collected, and other pertinent data, shall be coordinated and compiled by the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation and transmitted to the Committees on Interior and Insular Affairs of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate. Such reports, which shall be transmitted no later than March 31 annually, shall include any recommendations which the Bureau may have with respect to improving this aspect of the land and water conservation fund program. (As amended by P.L. 92-347, 86 Stat. 459, July 11, 1972; P.L. 93-81, 87 Stat. 178, August 1, 1973; and P.L. 93-303, 88 Stat. 192, June 7, 1974) Foreign visitors. Special permits. Fees, criteria, posting, uniformity. Rules and regulations. Enforcement. 82 Stat. 1115. Penalty. Annual reports to Congress. |