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Seal

H.R. ---- (111th Congress)

Title 54, United States Code
National Park System



Background

Since the mid-19th century, numerous laws relating to the organization and management of the National Park System by the National Park Service have been enacted. The Service also is responsible for carrying out the Historic Sites, Buildings, and Antiquities Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and other laws relating to protecting and preserving sites that illustrate America’s history. These laws have been classified as part of title 16, ``Conservation’’, but are classified throughout title 16 rather than being in one distinct place in the title. Furthermore, as laws relating to the National Park System are amended and new laws are enacted that relate closely to these laws, the Code classifications have become cumbersome to use.

The bill gathers provisions relating to the National Park System and restates these provisions as a new positive law title of the United States Code. The new positive law title replaces the former provisions, which are repealed by the bill.

The bill was prepared by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel as part of the Office's ongoing responsibility under section 205(c) of House Resolution No. 988, 93d Congress, as enacted into law by Public Law 93-554 (2 U.S.C. 285b), ``[t]o prepare, and submit to the Committee on the Judiciary one title at a time, a complete compilation, restatement, and revision of the general and permanent laws of the United States’’.

All changes in existing law made by the bill are purely technical in nature. The bill was prepared in accordance with the statutory standard for codification legislation, which is that the restatement of existing law shall conform to the understood policy, intent, and purpose of the Congress in the original enactments, with such amendments and corrections as will remove ambiguities, contradictions, and other imperfections.

The bill was delivered to the Committee on the Judiciary on August 11, 2009. The bill has not yet been introduced.

PDF files

(1) draft bill (not yet introduced)

(2) explanation of draft bill (includes disposition table and section-by-section summary)

Questions and Comments

Questions and comments about this proposed codification bill should be directed to:

     Kenneth I. Paretzky, Senior Counsel
     Office of the Law Revision Counsel
     H2-308 Ford House Office Building
     United States House of Representatives
     Washington, DC 20515

     email: Ken Paretzky      telephone: 202-226-9061