54 U.S.C. § 101917 — Franchise fees
submitted 12 years ago by Pub. L. 113-287 to r/title-54-NATIONAL-PARK-SERVICE-AND-RELATED-PROGRAMS · 492 words · no verdicts yet
Concession contracts must include a franchise fee paid to the government, set based on how profitable the deal is for the business, not to maximize government revenue. Most of that fee, usually 80 percent, stays at the park where it was collected, and the rest funds parks system-wide.
(a) In General. Every concession contract must require payment of a franchise fee or other payment to the federal government. The Secretary* sets the amount by looking at how valuable the contract's privileges probably are to the concessioner — based on a reasonable chance of making a net profit relative to the money invested and the contract's obligations. Getting revenue for the United States always matters less than protecting and preserving System* units and giving visitors necessary services at reasonable rates.
(b) Provisions To Be Specified in Contract. The contract must spell out the franchise fee for its whole term, and that amount can only change to reflect extraordinary, unanticipated changes from what was expected when the contract started. For any contract lasting more than 5 years, the Secretary must include a clause letting either side ask to reconsider the fee if such extraordinary changes happen. That clause must require binding arbitration if the Secretary and the concessioner can't agree on how to adjust the fee.
(c) Special Account in Treasury. (1) All franchise fees collected go into a special Treasury account. Twenty percent of that money is available for the Secretary to spend, without needing further appropriation, on activities anywhere in the System — no matter which unit originally collected the fee. This money stays available until spent. (2) The account also has a separate subaccount for each System unit*. Eighty percent of the fees collected at a given unit go into that unit's own subaccount. The Secretary can spend that money, without further appropriation, on visitor services at that unit and on urgent, high-priority resource management there. This money also stays available until spent. (3) The Secretary can lower a unit's 80-percent share for a given year, if the Secretary decides that unit is collecting more revenue than it reasonably needs that year — but the share can never be cut below 60 percent.
A concession contract shall provide for payment to the Federal Government of a franchise fee or other monetary consideration as determined by the Secretary*, on consideration of the probable value to the concessioner of the privileges granted by the particular contract involved. Probable value shall be based on a reasonable opportunity for net profit in relation to capital invested and the obligations of the concession contract. Consideration of revenue to the United States shall be subordinate to the objectives of protecting and preserving System* units and of providing necessary and appropriate services for visitors at reasonable rates.
The amount of the franchise fee or other monetary consideration paid to the United States for the term of the concession contract shall be specified in the concession contract and may be modified only to reflect extraordinary unanticipated changes from the conditions anticipated as of the effective date of the concession contract. The Secretary shall include in concession contracts with a term of more than 5 years a provision that allows reconsideration of the franchise fee at the request of the Secretary or the concessioner in the event of extraordinary unanticipated changes. The provision shall provide for binding arbitration in the event that the Secretary and the concessioner are unable to agree on an adjustment to the franchise fee in those circumstances.
All franchise fees (and other monetary consideration) paid to the United States pursuant to concession contracts shall be deposited in a special account established in the Treasury. Twenty percent of the funds deposited in the special account shall be available for expenditure by the Secretary, without further appropriation, to support activities throughout the System regardless of the System unit* in which the funds were collected. The funds deposited in the special account shall remain available until expended.
There shall be established within the special account a subaccount for each System unit. Each subaccount shall be credited with 80 percent of the franchise fees (and other monetary consideration) collected at a single System unit under concession contracts. The funds credited to the subaccount for a System unit shall be available for expenditure by the Secretary, without further appropriation, for use at the System unit for visitor services and for purposes of funding high-priority and urgently necessary resource management programs and operations. The funds credited to a subaccount shall remain available until expended.
The Secretary may reduce the percentage allocation otherwise applicable under paragraph (2) to a unit or area of the National Park Service* for a fiscal year if the Secretary determines that the revenues collected at the unit or area exceed the reasonable needs of the unit or area for which expenditures may be made for that fiscal year. In no event may a percentage allocation be reduced below 60 percent.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 113–287, § 3, Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3146; Pub. L. 118–42, div. E, title I, § 121, Mar. 9, 2024, 138 Stat. 249.)
- 2014Enacted · Pub. L. 113-287 · 128 Stat. 3146
- 2024Amended · Pub. L. 118-42 · 138 Stat. 249
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 113-287 on 2014-12-19.
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