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significant reforms in federal concessions policy. H.R. 2028, the 

 most comprehensive, would bring the six agencies' management of 

 concessioners under one law. H.R. 773 and title V of H.R. 721 

 propose significant changes in concessions policy for the Park 

 Service. H.R. 1527 proposes a new fee system for ski areas on 

 Forest Service lands. Overall, the changes proposed in these bills 

 are consistent with our past work and findings. Thus, overall we 

 support their objectives. 



Making Policies Consistent 



Our work has shown the need for one law to establish common 

 concessions policies so that similar concessions operations are 

 managed consistently throughout federal recreation lands. 



As noted earlier, one policy difference among agencies 

 concerns their treatment of possessory interest-- the concessioners' 

 right to be compensated for improvements constructed or acquired on 

 federal lands. Possessory interest was established by the 

 Concessions Policy Act of 1965, which affects only Park Service 

 concessioners. Possessory interest is not offered to concessioners 

 operating on lands administered by the other agencies. H.R. 2028 

 would encourage the private sector to build and maintain 

 concessions facilities but would not grant possessory interest for 

 these facilities. Under the bill, the head of an agency could 

 direct the concessioner, at the end of the term of a concessions 

 contract, to either remove the facilities and restore the site or 

 sell the facilities to the next concessioner at a price established 

 by an independent appraisal. 



H.R. 773 and title V of H.R. 721 take a different approach to 

 possessory interest. Under both of these proposed bills, the Park 

 Service would gradually extinguish possessory interest. As 

 existing contracts expired, the new contracts would contain 

 language directing the concessioner to depreciate the value of its 



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