Comprehensive Preservation Act of 1988

Comprehensive Preservation Act of 1988 - Title I: Historic Preservation Agency - Establishes a Historic Preservation Agency to preserve U.S. historic resources. Provides that the Preservation Agency shall be headed by an Administrator, to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Transfers all functions and authorities contained in the National Historic Preservation Act of the Secretary of the Interior and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to the Preservation Agency. Sets forth such transferred responsibilities.

Prohibits the Preservation Agency from owning or managing land. Provides that any real property acquired by the Preservation Agency shall be transferred to an owner who will ensure the preservation of such historic property. Requires proceeds from such property to be deposited in a specified trust fund.

Establishes the Federal Preservation Coordinating Committee to assist the Preservation Agency in coordinating Federal preservation activities.

Establishes the Archeology Advisory Board to advise the Preservation Agency on Federal archaeology policies and to define the standards for federally sponsored archaeology.

Creates the Preservation Advisory Committee to advise the Administrator on national preservation policy.

Establishes a National Center for Preservation Technology as a private, nonprofit subsidiary of the Preservation Agency for the development and transfer of preservation technologies for the evaluation and conservation of prehistoric and historic resources. Provides that the Center shall be headed by an Executive Director, to be appointed by the Administrator. Outlines the responsibilities of the Board of Trustees of the Center, including the submission of an annual report to the President and the Congress.

Authorizes the Center to establish Preservation Technology Centers, which are analytical or technical research laboratories and service facilities, to further the purpose of the Center. Requires the Center to select Preservation Technology Centers from among those applicants with a demonstrated institutional commitment to continuing preservation. Authorizes the Center to seek funding from grants, donations, contracts, and matching grants from the Historic Preservation Fund established under this Act.

Establishes a National Park Service within the Department of the Interior to be headed by a Director who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice of the Senate, from among persons qualified to administer, protect, and preserve the natural and cultural resources of the United States. Transfers all functions and authorities of the Secretary of the Interior which are carried out through the National Park Service as of July 1, 1988, to the Director, except the authority and responsibility of the Secretary to convey information regarding the National Park System to the cabinet.

Requires the Director to develop and implement a plan to increase the effectiveness of the remaining external programs in the National Park Service.

Transfers all functions and authorities of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee (created under the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act) from the Agency for International Development to the Preservation Agency. Requires the Cultural Property Advisory Committee to oversee the registration of antiquities established in this Act.

Authorizes the Preservation Agency to secure information from any instrumentality of the Federal Government for the purpose of this title.

Prohibits any U.S. officer or agency from requiring the Preservation Agency to submit to such officer or agency its legislative recommendations, testimony, or comments on legislation, prior to the submission of such recommendations, testimony, or comments to the Congress.

Exempts the Preservation Agency from the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act and provides that the Administrative Procedure Act shall govern such agency.

Requires the Preservation Agency to submit any regulation required by this Act, prior to publication, to specified House and Senate committees.

Directs the Preservation Agency to submit an annual budget as a related agency of the Department of the Interior. Requires the Preservation Agency, upon submitting a budget to the President or the Office of Management and Budget, to concurrently transmit such budget to specified House and Senate committees.

Provides that financial and administrative services shall be provided to the Preservation Agency by the Department of the Interior, for which payments may be made in advance or by reimbursement from funds of the Preservation Agency.

Provides for the transfer of personnel, property, and funds to be made available by the Department of the Interior and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to the Preservation Agency.

Title II: State Preservation Programs - Provides that each State historic preservation program shall be administered by a State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) to be appointed by the governor of such State. Outlines the responsibilities of the SHPO, including: (1) the identification and nomination of properties to the National Register and as National Historic Landmarks; (2) the implementation of a comprehensive statewide historic preservation plan; and (3) the administration of the program for Federal assistance for historic preservation within the State.

Requires each SHPO to submit a State historic preservation program to the Preservation Agency which shall approve such program if it: (1) provides for the appointment of an SHPO to administer such program; (2) provides for a qualified State historic preservation review board which is responsible for reviewing National Register and National Historic Landmark nominations; (3) provides for adequate local government and public participation; and (4) demonstrates the intent and capability to carry out the State's preservation responsibilities in a timely manner.

Directs the Preservation Agency, with respect to State historic preservation programs, to delegate to any SHPO its authority within the State to: (1) identify and preserve historic properties; (2) determine the eligibility of properties for listing on the National Register and to expand the National Register; (3) maintain any archaeological data bases; (4) certify eligibility for Federal preservation incentives; and (5) comment on, approve, and enforce actions of Federal, State, and local governments and private individuals or corporations pursuant to this Act, the Internal Revenue Code, or any other authority of Federal law. Subjects such delegation of authority to the condition that: (1) the SHPO has requested the additional authority and agrees to carry out the responsibilities in a timely manner; (2) the Preservation Agency has certified the State historic preservation program; and (3) the Preservation Agency provides full compensation to the State for carrying out such responsibilities.

Requires the Preservation Agency to: (1) establish regulations for the content, submission, and approval of State historic preservation programs; (2) review periodically the approved State programs to ensure that such programs remain in compliance with this Act; (3) administer a program of matching grants to the States, subject to certain conditions; and (4) develop guidelines for the apportionment of funds appropriated to carry out the purposes of this Act, on the basis of need as disclosed in approved State historic preservation plans.

Title III: Tribal Preservation Programs - Requires tribal historic preservation programs to be administered by a Tribal Preservation Officer (TPO), to be appointed by the tribe's chief governing authority. Authorizes a TPO, after informing the appropriate SHPO and upon the request of the tribe's chief governing authority and the approval of the Preservation Agency, to assume all responsibility of the SHPO on lands held by, or on behalf of, the tribe.

Requires the Preservation Agency, with respect to tribal preservation programs, to: (1) enter into cooperative agreements with Indian tribes to carry out the purposes of this Act on tribal lands; (2) provide full compensation to the tribe for carrying out preservation responsibilities; (3) ensure that the Indian tribal historic preservation program is sufficient to carry out the purposes of this Act and the provisions of the cooperative agreement; (4) assure that such agreement is coordinated with the statewide historic preservation plans of any State involved in such agreement; (5) specify continuing responsibilities of any SHPO; (6) encourage the Bureau of Indian Affairs to delegate its preservation responsibilities for tribal lands to the appropriate TPO or SHPO; (7) provide for the participation of the traditional cultural authorities of the tribe; and (8) provide for the use of Federal funds to serve as tribal matching funds for any purpose of this Act.

Title IV: Local Preservation Programs - Provides that local historic preservation programs shall be administered by any local government certified by the SHPO.

Provides that Certified Local Government (CLG) preservation programs must demonstrate to the SHPO a commitment to the preservation of historic properties and satisfactory performance of any responsibilities delegated to it under this Act.

Authorizes local governments to: (1) appeal to the Preservation Agency any denial of certification or the apportionment of Historic Preservation Trust funds; and (2) comment to the SHPO on any proposed nomination of a property within its jurisdiction on the National Register.

Directs the SHPOs, with respect to local preservation programs, to: (1) assist in the development of, and certify, local government preservation programs; (2) delegate any authority in a local jurisdiction to any CLG preservation program if the CLG program has requested the additional authority and agrees to carry out additional responsibilities in a timely manner and the SHPO compensates the CLG for carrying out such responsibilities; (3) promote an appropriate level of funding to CLG preservation programs; and (4) notify the owner, chief local elected official, and local historic preservation commission of any property within the local government's jurisdiction which may be nominated to the National Register or as a National Historic Landmark.

Provides that if the chief local elected official and the local historic preservation commission object to a proposed nomination, the SHPO will take no further action on such nomination, unless an appeal is filed with the Preservation Agency within 30 days of the receipt of such objection.

Authorizes the Preservation Agency to provide direct assistance to any CLG preservation program to carry out this Act.

Title V: Historic Preservation Trust Fund - Establishes the Historic Preservation Trust Fund. Provides that the Fund shall constitute a principal mechanism for funding the preservation and use of America's historic heritage. Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to extend the Historic Preservation Fund through 2015. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to invest a portion of such Fund in public debt securities.

Requires that the interest from such investments be used for the preservation of historic sites.

Limits annual appropriations from such Fund. Authorizes Fund monies to be used for: (1) contracts, cooperative agreements, and grants to States, local governments, Indian tribes, and nonprofit organizations for carrying out preservation activities; (2) the U.S. assessment for the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property; (3) direct grants and loan guarantees; and (4) supplements to the preservation activities of the National Park Service, the National Center for Preservation Technology, and other Federal agencies.

Provides that funding apportionment for State, local, and tribal governments shall be determined by the Preservation Agency.

Sets forth the activities eligible for Preservation Agency direct grants.

Title VI: Taxes - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make certified preservation expenditures for archaeological sites and historic landscapes eligible for the 20 percent preservation tax credit.

Directs the Preservation Agency to establish standards for determining the cost of realizing an archaeological site's scientific potential to establish the tax value of a donated site. Denies a tax deduction for the donation of archaeological artifacts not registered under the artifact registration program under this Act.

Title VII: Community Revitalization Tax Act of 1988 - Amends Internal Revenue Code income tax accounting rules limiting passive activity losses and credits to eliminate the disallowance of credits in this context.

Revises the limitation on the general business credit to allow a maximum annual credit equal to the first $20,000 of an individual taxpayer's income tax liability plus 20 percent of any excess liability.

Amends provisions that reduce the investment credit base by nonqualified nonrecourse financing amounts to apply them to certain qualified rehabilitation property as if the property were subject to the at-risk rules associated with the low-income housing credit.

Permits a tax-exempt organization to offset the amount of any general business credit against its unrelated business income tax liability.

Revises the definition of "qualifying distribution" for purposes of the tax on a private foundation's failure to distribute income. Includes as qualifying any amount of interest foregone on a below-market loan made to a tax-exempt organization to operate a qualified low-income building.

Includes as a qualified rehabilitation expenditure for tax credit purposes any expenditure in connection with the rehabilitation of a low-income building leased to a tax-exempt entity.

Permits a pooled income fund having substantially all of its assets invested exclusively in qualified low-income buildings to have one or more corporations as income beneficiaries, each with a 20-year life.

Title VIII: Education and Training - Directs the Preservation Agency to implement a comprehensive preservation education and training program to include: (1) new standards and increased training opportunities for Federal workers involved in preservation-related functions and for other individuals with an avocational interest in preservation; (2) opportunities in federally-sponsored survey and excavation work for avocational archaeologists; (3) assistance to historically black colleges and to colleges with a high enrollment of American Indians to establish preservation degree programs; (4) dissemination of information on preservation technologies and the implementation of a national media program on preservation topics; (5) distribution of model preservation curricula for schools and adult education programs; (6) preservation internship programs for U.S. and foreign students; (7) training and skill development in trades and crafts related to historic preservation in Federal training programs; and (8) support for analysis, curation, and display related to preservation.

Requires at least ten percent of the annual appropriations from the Historic Preservation Trust Fund to be for matching grants to be used for such programs.

Title IX: Federal Preservation Programs - Requires all Federal agencies having jurisdiction over land or that provide grants, licenses, or other forms of assistance to undertakings and that cooperate with State, local, or tribal governments in planning and land use activities to: (1) establish internal preservation policies and designate an official within the agency as a preservation officer; (2) identify and notify the Preservation Agency of all sites under their jurisdiction that appear to qualify for the National Register or as a National Historic Landmark; and (3) establish a management program for all historic properties which the agency owns or controls. Requires such program to: (1) provide for the protection and restoration of such properties; (2) establish a preservation maintenance plan for the agency's historic buildings and structures; and (3) cooperate with nonfederal agencies in the use of such buildings and ensure coordination with nonfederal preservation plans.

Directs the Federal agency having jurisdiction over any undertaking which might affect historic properties to: (1) consult with the State, tribal, or local preservation officer to establish methods to minimize harm to the properties and make productive use of such properties to promote their preservation; (2) provide an opportunity for the Preservation Agency and other interested parties to participate in the consultation process; (3) document that such properties have been evaluated and that the undertaking will not adversely affect such properties or that an agreement has been reached with the appropriate preservation officer and the Preservation Agency to minimize harm or, where no agreement has been reached, that there was no feasible way to follow the Preservation Agency's recommendations; (4) provide that the agency will undertake remedial measures or request the Preservation Agency to undertake such measures if unanticipated adverse effects develop on such properties.

Requires any Federal agency involved in an undertaking where an historic property is threatened with destruction to make records of such property for future public use. Directs the Federal agency, in the case of a threatened archaeological resource, to conduct the archaeological recovery.

Authorizes appropriations and authorizes each Federal agency to charge applicants for assistance and permits.

Authorizes Federal agencies, with the approval of the Preservation Agency, to delegate preservation responsibilities to the Preservation Agency, SHPOs, or TPOs.

Requires Federal agencies to withhold from the public information about the location or character of historic resources when it is determined that a disclosure may create a risk of harm to such resources or impede the use of a traditional religious site by practitioners.

Authorizes any Federal agency to lease or exchange a historic property under its jurisdiction if such agency: (1) determines that the transfer will ensure the preservation of the property; and (2) uses the proceeds from such transfer to defray preservation costs associated with such property or any other historic property under its jurisdiction and on the National Register. Authorizes the agency to contract out the management of such property, provided that the contract complies with the requirements of this Act.

Directs all Federal agencies having jurisdiction over undertakings carried out outside the United States to ensure that: (1) the preservation authorities in the host country are consulted during the planning of an undertaking; (2) properties which might be affected by a U.S. undertaking and that are included on the host country's equivalent of the National Register are identified; and (3) reasonable steps are taken to avoid adverse effects on such properties. Allows the Federal Preservation Coordinating Committee and the Preservation Advisory Committee to comment on such undertakings.

Requires the Preservation Agency to: (1) expand and maintain the National Register and establish criteria for properties to be listed on, or removed from, the Register; (2) identify and preserve such properties; (3) nominate properties for the World Heritage List; (4) consider appeals of nominations or removals of properties for the National Register and the World Heritage List; (5) notify the owner and any local or tribal government when a property is being considered for the National Register or World Heritage List; (6) cooperate with SHPOs, TPOs, CLGs, the National Park Service, other appropriate organizations, and the general public in the National Register program; (7) oversee the review of effects on such properties; and (8) assess the National Register, at least every three years, to determine what properties are being endangered or underrepresented.

Directs the Preservation Agency to maintain the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER).

Declares that if the owners of any property object to such property's proposed inclusion on the National Register or nomination to the World Heritage List, such action will not be taken unless the objection is withdrawn.

Amends the Historic Sites Act of 1935 to require the National Park Service to: (1) expand and maintain the list of National Historic Landmarks and establish criteria for properties to be designated or removed as National Historic Landmarks; (2) preserve and establish boundaries for such landmarks; (3) consider appeals of all designations or removals of National Historic Landmarks; (4) notify the owner and any local or tribal government when a property is being considered as a National Historic Landmark; (5) cooperate with SHPOs, TPOs, CLGs, the Preservation Agency, other appropriate organizations, and the general public in the National Historic Landmarks program; and (6) report annually to the Congress on the condition of National Historic Landmarks and units of the National Park System.

Directs the National Park Service to develop protection standards for threatened National Historic Landmarks and National Parks and to take remedial action if such units are threatened.

Declares that if the owners of any property object to such property's designation as a National Historic Landmark, such action will not be taken unless the objection is withdrawn.

Requires the Archeology Advisory Board to periodically define ten to 20 archaeological research questions.

Directs the Preservation Agency to establish Regional Archeological Review Groups to identify regional research problems. Requires each federally-funded archaeological project to address one or more regional research problem.

Requires the Preservation Agency to provide staff support for the Archeology Advisory Board, establish guidelines for the implementation of the research questions, and provide for the analysis and reporting of research findings.

Directs the Preservation Agency to establish a program for the voluntary registration of all artifacts removed from archaeological sites in the United States and abroad. Allows qualified Federal agencies, Indian tribes, SHPOs, or local governments to administer such program. Limits eligibility for registration to artifacts which: (1) were excavated in accordance with the standards of the archaeological profession or with standards to be established by the Archeological Advisory Board; (2) are held by a museum or other institution meeting standards to be established by the Preservation Agency; and (3) are documented to have been lawfully obtained by the individual or organization requesting registration.

Directs the Preservation Agency to organize U.S. participation in an international conference on the international antiquities trade. Provides that the focus of such conference will be on providing proper controls and incentives to ensure that traded artifacts are the products of properly conducted excavations. Sets forth as the goal of such conference the establishment of a more effective program for controlling looting and trafficking in stolen artifacts in time for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Columbus discovery voyage in 1992.

Requires all archaeologists wishing to do work for the Federal Government to be certified in accordance with standards to be established by the Preservation Agency.

Vests jurisdiction over submerged historic properties in waters beyond three miles offshore but within the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone in the Preservation Agency.

Directs the Preservation Agency to establish regulations authorizing Federal and Indian land managers to issue permits for the excavation of archaeological resources on Federal or Indian lands. Exempts from such permit requirement any person conducting archaeological recovery work on threatened archaeological resources. Provides that a permit may be granted only when the land manager determines that: (1) the applicant is qualified to do the permitted activity; (2) the activity will further scientific knowledge or protect the archaeological resource; (3) any artifacts and other material removed from public lands will remain the property of the United States; (4) the applicant demonstrates conservational skills and identifies curational facilities for all artifacts and records produced by the excavation; and (5) the activity is not inconsistent with the land management plan. Authorizes tribal authorities to assume permit authority for non-Federal excavations on tribal lands, provided that the tribe requests such authority and the Preservation Agency determines that such a permit is consistent with a Federal permit. Provides that Indian tribes will be notified of any permit applied for and of any undertaking which may harm a religious or cultural site associated with the tribe.

Requires the Preservation Agency to develop a comprehensive policy on the reburial of human remains and grave-associated artifacts.

Directs the Preservation Agency to establish standards to govern the ultimate disposition of archaeological resources removed from public and Indian lands.

Requires the Preservation Agency, in order to promote the preservation of high-priority archaeological resources on private land, to develop a plan to: (1) identify significant archaeological resources which are in danger of destruction; (2) provide information to the owners of such sites on the need for protection of such resources; (3) offer information to such owners on the tax and grant assistance available for the donation of the site, its archaeological resources, or a preservation easement; and (4) provide for the site owner to retain ownership of any artifacts found on such site and for the artifacts to be registered by the antiquities registration program.

Prohibits the excavation or alteration of any archaeological resource located on public or Indian lands unless such activity is permissible under this Act. Prohibits the exchange of any archaeological resource which was excavated in violation of this Act or any other Federal, State, or local law. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties.

Authorizes U.S. particpation in the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property. Directs the Secretary of State to appoint U.S. delegates to the Centre based on the recommendations of the Preservation Agency. Provides that the assessment for U.S. membership in the Centre will be paid out of the Historic Preservation Trust, provided that no payment will exceed 25 percent of the Centre's total annual assessment.

Authorizes the Preservation Agency and the National Park Service to accept gifts and donations for the purposes of this Act.

Authorizes the Preservation Agency to establish annual preservation awards to recognize special achievements in the field of preservation.