H.R. 2888 would establish the Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park as a unit of the National Park System in the state of Missouri. The act would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to acquire approximately 13 acres of land, including historic houses, for inclusion in the park by donation, exchange, or purchase.
Once the necessary parcels of land are acquired, the NPS would be authorized to establish the park and would incur costs to operate and maintain the park’s properties and facilities. The act would require the agency to develop a management plan for the park and would authorize the agency to provide interpretive tours and educational programs within the park. Finally, H.R. 2888 would authorize the NPS to provide technical assistance and to enter into cooperative agreements with nonfederal entities to preserve historically significant property related to the park.
Using information from the NPS and from local officials in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, about the properties in question, CBO estimates that acquiring the 13 acres of property would cost less than $500,000. CBO expects that the property owned by the state of Missouri would likely be donated to the NPS and property owned by private individuals would be purchased by the NPS with appropriated funds over the next five years.
In addition, CBO estimates that the NPS would spend about $1 million per year on maintenance and operating costs for the park once the properties are acquired for a total cost of $6 million over the 2019-2023 period; such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Enacting H.R. 2888 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2888 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 2888 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
On December 15, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 2888, the Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park Establishment Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on December 13, 2017. On April 10, 2018, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 1335, the Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park Establishment Act, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on March 8, 2018. The pieces of legislation are similar, and CBO’s estimates of their budgetary effects are the same.
