54 U.S.C. § 100904 — Admission and special recreation use fees

(a) System Units at Which Entrance Fees or Admissions Fees Cannot Be Collected. (1) Withholding of amounts. Despite section 107 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998, the Secretary must withhold, from the special account created by section 807(a) of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, 100 percent of the fees and charges collected at any unit where deed restrictions prevent charging entrance or admission fees. (2) Use of amounts. The Secretary keeps the amounts withheld under paragraph (1), and can spend them, without further appropriation, at the unit where they were collected. This money can go toward improving the visitor experience, protecting resources, repairs and maintenance, interpretation, signage, habitat or facility improvements, resource preservation, day-to-day operations (including collecting fees), maintenance, and law enforcement. (b) Allocation of Funds to System Units. (1) Allocation of funds on basis of need. Ten percent of the funds the Director gets under subsection (a) each fiscal year is divided among units based on need, in whatever way the Director decides. (2) Allocation of funds based on expenses and based on fees collected. (A) In general. Forty percent of the funds is divided among units following (B), and 50 percent following (C). (B) Allocation based on expenses. Each unit's share here is a fraction of the total: its operating expenses from the prior fiscal year, divided by the operating expenses of all units combined from that year. (C) Allocation based on fees collected. Each unit's share here is also a fraction of the total: the user and admission fees it collected under this section in the prior fiscal year, divided by the fees all units collected under this section that year. (3) Availability of amounts. Money allocated to a unit for a fiscal year that isn't spent that year stays available until it is spent. (c) Selling of Permits. (1) Authority to sell permits. If the Secretary allows it, volunteers at units may sell permits and collect fees under this section. The Secretary must make sure these volunteers are properly trained in: (A) selling permits and collecting fees; (B) the purposes and resources of the units where they work; and (C) helping and informing visitors. (2) Surety bond required. The Secretary must require a surety bond from any volunteer doing this work; Service funds may pay for the bond. The Secretary may also arrange with qualified public or private groups to sell annual admission permits (including Golden Eagle Passports) at appropriate locations, at no cost to the United States. These groups must pay the United States the full amount for the permits before or when the Secretary delivers the permits to them for sale. (d) Charge for Transportation Provided by Service for Viewing System Units. (1) Charge when transportation provided. Where the Service provides transportation to see all or part of a unit, the Director may charge for that transportation instead of an admission fee. (2) Retention of charge and use of retained amount. Despite any other law, half of this transportation charge stays with the unit where the service was given; the rest is deposited the same way as other fee receipts under this section. Of the half that's retained, 50 percent can only be spent maintaining transportation systems at that unit, and the other 50 percent can only be spent on resource protection at that unit. (e) Admission Fees. Where a concessioner provides the main public access to a unit, the Secretary may charge an admission fee only if the concessioner's access fee plus the admission fee together do not exceed the maximum admission fee that could otherwise be charged. (f) Commercial Tour Use Fees. (1) Establishment. For every unit that charges an admission fee under this section, the Secretary must set a commercial tour use fee. This fee applies to every vehicle entering the unit to provide commercial tour services there. (2) Amount. The fee per entry is: (A) $25 for a vehicle that carries 25 passengers or fewer; (B) $50 for a vehicle that carries more than 25 passengers. (3) Adjustments. The Secretary may periodically make reasonable changes to this fee. (4) Nonapplicability. This fee does not apply to: (A) a vehicle carrying an organized school group or outing run for educational purposes by a school or other genuine educational institution; or (B) a vehicle entering under a contract issued under subchapter II of chapter 1019 of this title. (5) Applicability. This subsection also applies to aircraft flying into the airspace of: (A) Haleakalā Crater, Crater Cabins, the Scientific Research Reserve, Halemauu Trail, Kaupo Gap Trail, or any designated tourist viewpoint in Haleakalā National Park, or of Grand Canyon National Park; or (B) any other unit, if the Secretary decides the level of commercial tour service there is equal to or greater than at the units named in (A).