Title 54National Park Service and Related ProgramsRelease 119-73

§302902 Grants to States

Title 54 › Subtitle Subtitle III— - National Preservation Programs › Chapter CHAPTER 3029— - GRANTS › § 302902

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must run a matching-grant program to help States carry out historic preservation work. To get a grant, a State’s application must follow the Statewide historic preservation plan approved by the Secretary, agree to give reports the Secretary asks for, agree to take on ongoing upkeep and management of the property after the project is done, and meet any other conditions the Secretary sets. The Secretary can waive the plan and upkeep rules for grants to the National Trust. A federal grant can pay no more than 60 percent of the total costs for projects run by the State Historic Preservation Officer in any one fiscal year. The State must pay the rest from non‑Federal sources unless another law says otherwise. States cannot count the value of real property obtained before October 15, 1966, toward the non‑Federal share. The money for grants is divided among the States by the Secretary based on need and as the Secretary decides. The Secretary must tell each State its share within 30 days after Congress approves the money. Any share not paid or obligated in that fiscal year or in the next 2 fiscal years will be given out again. The Secretary will publish the apportionment method and any changes. At least 10 percent of each State’s yearly share must be passed to certified local governments for historic preservation. If total yearly apportionments to States exceed $65,000,000, half of the amount above $65,000,000 must also go to certified local governments. The Secretary will set rules so no local government gets a disproportionate amount and may set limits per local government, but cannot stop a State from giving more than 10 percent or force a State to give more than the 10 percent minimum. Administrative costs charged to State projects may not exceed 25 percent of total project costs, except for grants to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Republic of Palau.

Full Legal Text

Title 54, §302902

National Park Service and Related Programs — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary shall administer a program of matching grants to the States for the purposes of carrying out this division.
(b)(1)No grant may be made under this division—
(A)unless the application is in accordance with the comprehensive statewide historic preservation plan that has been approved by the Secretary after considering its relationship to the comprehensive statewide outdoor recreation plan prepared pursuant to chapter 2003 of this title;
(B)unless the grantee has agreed to make reports, in such form and containing such information, as the Secretary may from time to time require;
(C)unless the grantee has agreed to assume, after completion of the project, the total cost of the continued maintenance, repair, and administration of the property in a manner satisfactory to the Secretary; or
(D)until the grantee has complied with such further terms and conditions as the Secretary may consider necessary or advisable.
(2)The Secretary may waive the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (C) of paragraph (1) for any grant under this division to the National Trust.
(3)(A)No grant may be made under this division for more than 60 percent of the aggregate costs of carrying out projects and programs under the administrative control of the State Historic Preservation Officer as specified in section 302303 of this title in any one fiscal year.
(B)Except as permitted by other law, the State share of the costs referred to in subparagraph (A) shall be contributed by non-Federal sources.
(4)No State shall be permitted to utilize the value of real property obtained before October 15, 1966, in meeting the non-Federal share of the cost of a project for which a grant is made under this division.
(c)(1)The amounts appropriated and made available for grants to the States—
(A)for the purposes of this division shall be apportioned among the States by the Secretary on the basis of needs as determined by the Secretary; and
(B)for projects and programs under this division for each fiscal year shall be apportioned among the States as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
(2)The Secretary shall notify each State of its apportionment under paragraph (1)(B) within 30 days after the date of enactment of legislation appropriating funds under this division.
(3)Any amount of any apportionment that has not been paid or obligated by the Secretary during the fiscal year in which the notification is given or during the 2 fiscal years after that fiscal year shall be reapportioned by the Secretary in accordance with paragraph (1)(B). The Secretary shall analyze and revise as necessary the method of apportionment. The method and any revision shall be published by the Secretary in the Federal Register.
(4)Not less than 10 percent of the annual apportionment distributed by the Secretary to each State for the purposes of carrying out this division shall be transferred by the State, pursuant to the requirements of this division, to certified local governments for historic preservation projects or programs of the certified local governments. In any year in which the total annual apportionment to the States exceeds $65,000,000, 50 percent of the excess shall also be transferred by the States to certified local governments.
(5)The Secretary shall establish guidelines for the use and distribution of funds under paragraph (4) to ensure that no certified local government receives a disproportionate share of the funds available, and may include a maximum or minimum limitation on the amount of funds distributed to any single certified local government. The guidelines shall not limit the ability of any State to distribute more than 10 percent of its annual apportionment under paragraph (4), nor shall the Secretary require any State to exceed the 10 percent minimum distribution to certified local governments.
(d)The total direct and indirect administrative costs charged for carrying out State projects and programs shall not exceed 25 percent of the aggregate costs (except in the case of a grant to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Republic of Palau).

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 302902(a)16 U.S.C. 470a(e)(1).Pub. L. 89–665, title I, § 101(e)(1), formerly § 101(d)(1), Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 915; Pub. L. 91–383, § 11, as added Pub. L. 94–458, § 2, Oct. 7, 1976, 90 Stat. 1942; Pub. L. 93–54, § 1(d), July 1, 1973, 87 Stat. 139; Pub. L. 96–205, title VI, § 608(a)(1), (2), Mar. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 92; Pub. L. 96–515, title II, § 201(a), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2992; redesignated as § 101(e)(1) and amended, Pub. L. 102–575, title XL, §§ 4006(a)(1), 4007(1), Oct. 30, 1992, 106 Stat. 4755, 4758. 302902(b)(1)16 U.S.C. 470b(a) (1st sentence paragraphs (2), (4) through (6)).Pub. L. 89–665, title I, § 102(a) (1st sentence paragraphs (2), (4) through (6), (d) (relating to remaining cost of project)), Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 916; Pub. L. 94–422, title II, § 201(1), Sept. 28, 1976, 90 Stat. 1319. 302902(b)(2)16 U.S.C. 470b(b).Pub. L. 89–665, title I, § 102(b), Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 916; Pub. L. 94–422, title II, § 201(1), Sept. 28, 1976, 90 Stat. 1319; Pub. L. 102–575, title XL, § 4009(2), Oct. 30, 1992, 106 Stat. 4759. 302902(b) (3)(A)16 U.S.C. 470b(a) (1st sentence paragraph (3)).Pub. L. 89–665, title I, § 102(a) (1st sentence paragraph (3)), Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 916; Pub. L. 94–422, title II, § 201(1), Sept. 28, 1976, 90 Stat. 1319; Pub. L. 96–515, title II, § 202(a), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2993; Pub. L. 102–575, title XL, § 4009(1), Oct. 30, 1992, 106 Stat. 4759; Pub. L. 106–208, § 5(a)(5), May 26, 2000, 114 Stat. 318. 302902(b) (3)(B)16 U.S.C. 470b(a) (2d sentence).Pub. L. 89–665, title I, § 102(a) (2d sentence), as added Pub. L. 96–515, title II, § 202(b), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2993. 302902(b)(4)16 U.S.C. 470b(d) (relating to remaining cost of project). 302902(c)16 U.S.C. 470c.Pub. L. 89–665, title I, § 103, Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 916; Pub. L. 94–422, title II, § 201(2), Sept. 28, 1976, 90 Stat. 1319; Pub. L. 96–515, title II, § 203, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2993; Pub. L. 99–514, § 2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2095; Pub. L. 102–575, title XL, § 4010, Oct. 30, 1992, 106 Stat. 4759; Pub. L. 106–208, § 5(a)(6), May 26, 2000, 114 Stat. 318. 302902(d)16 U.S.C. 470b(e).Pub. L. 89–665, title I, § 102(e), as added Pub. L. 102–575, title XL, § 4009(3), Oct. 30, 1992, 106 Stat. 4759. In subsection (b)(4), the words “non-Federal share of the” are substituted for “remaining” for clarity.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

54 U.S.C. § 302902

Title 54National Park Service and Related Programs

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73