National Park System Long-Term Lease Investment Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill gives the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the National Park Service Director, discretionary authority to extend certain leases governed by 36 C.F.R. part 18 without following sections 18.7 or 18.8 of those regulations. An extension is available only when the lessee entered the lease at least five years before the extension takes effect, remains in compliance with all lease terms, and the Secretary finds the extension to be in the best interests of the affected National Park System unit. Interior must revise part 18 within 90 days to reflect the new authority. The bill streamlines qualifying extensions but does not guarantee any lessee an extension or remove the Secretary's park-interest review.
Who Benefits and How
Qualifying National Park Service lessee businesses benefit from a path to longer tenure without undergoing the ordinary procedures in sections 18.7 and 18.8, which can support investment in leased park properties. Park concession employers and employees may benefit from greater operating continuity when a compliant, established lease is extended rather than allowed to expire or be re-competed immediately.
Who Bears the Burden and How
National Park Service realty administrators must determine lease age and compliance, make and document the park-interest finding, and revise the governing regulations within 90 days. Prospective park lease applicants may lose a near-term opportunity to compete for a location when an incumbent receives an extension outside the ordinary extension procedures, although the Secretary retains discretion to deny it.
Key Provisions
- Authorizes Interior to extend a qualifying National Park Service lease without complying with 36 C.F.R. sections 18.7 or 18.8.
- Limits eligibility to leases at least five years old whose lessees comply with all existing terms and conditions.
- Requires the Secretary to determine that an extension serves the best interests of the applicable National Park System unit.
- Directs Interior to revise the part 18 leasing regulations within 90 days of enactment.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Allow the National Park Service to extend qualifying leases without the usual 36 C.F.R. part 18 extension procedures and require conforming regulations.
Key Policy Areas
Public Lands, Government Operations
Primary Purpose
Allow the National Park Service to extend qualifying leases without the usual 36 C.F.R. part 18 extension procedures and require conforming regulations.
Policy Domains
National Park System Long-Term Lease Investment Act
Identified Gains
- Qualifying National Park Service lessee businesses
- Park concession employers and employees
Identified Costs
- National Park Service realty administrators
- Prospective park lease applicants
Sponsors
Thom Tillis
R-NC | Primary Sponsor
Legislative Progress
ReportedCommittee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported …
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. …
Mr. Tillis (for himself and Mr. Budd) introduced the following …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and …
Introduced in Senate
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_lessee"
- → National Park Service lessee seeking an extension
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior acting through the National Park Service Director
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A part 18 lease entered at least five years before extension, with a compliant lessee and a favorable park-interest determination.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology