[House Report 107-639]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 107-639
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GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK LAND EXCHANGE ACT
_______
September 4, 2002.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1105]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill (S.
1105) to provide for the expeditious completion of the
acquisition of State of Wyoming lands within the boundaries of
Grand Teton National Park, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment
and recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of S. 1105 is to provide for the expeditious
completion of the acquisition of State of Wyoming lands within
the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park, and for other
purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
When Wyoming was granted statehood, they were given
scattered parcels of trust lands for the benefit of Wyoming
schools. Some of these lands were within what would eventually
become Grand Teton National Park. The State of Wyoming is
required by law to derive revenues from the lands for their
public schools. However, due to their location within a
national park, the state has only been able to realize minimal
revenue from these trust lands by allowing them to be leased
for grazing and wildlife purposes.
The legislation would provide the process by which the
Secretary of Interior would acquire approximately 1,366 acres
of land and subsurface mineral interests on 39 acres of land
within the Grand Teton National Park. The 39 acre mineral
interest is located in the northern part of the park near
Jackson Lake. The smallest land parcel of state land comprises
86 acres and is located across the Snake River from the Jackson
Hole Airport. The two largest parcels, 640 acres in size each,
are in the southern and eastern portion of the park close to
some of the park's developed road system. These lands, rich in
wildlife habitat, would be exchanged for other federal lands or
assets of equal value. The legislation details the process
under which the exchange would take place, including the
selection of an appraiser, approval of the values of lands, and
the opportunity for appeals. In turn, the state would be able
to acquire lands that have greater potential to generate
revenue for public schools.
COMMITTEE ACTION
S. 1105 was introduced on March 1, 2001 by Senator Craig
Thomas (R-WY). The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources. On July 31, 2001, the
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the bill. On
August 2, 2001, the Committee reported the bill favorably, with
an amendment, to the Senate during its business meeting. On
October 17, 2001, the Senate passed the bill, as amended, by
unanimous consent. On October 23, 2001, the bill was received
in the House and referred to the Committee on Resources. On
November 5, 2001, the bill was referred within the Committee to
the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public
Lands. On July 24, 2002, the Full Resources Committee met to
markup the bill and the Subcommittee on National Parks,
Recreation, and Public Lands was discharged from further
consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. No amendments
were offered and the bill, as forwarded by the Senate, was
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by
unanimous consent.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of theHouse of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations are
reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the
Constitution of the United States, grant Congress the authority
to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures. According to the Congressional
Budget Office, enactment of this legislation is estimated to
cost $1 million, subject to appropriations.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the general performance goal and objective of
this legislation is to provide for the expeditious completion
of the acquisition of State of Wyoming lands within the
boundaries of Grand Teton National Park, and for other
purposes.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, July 31, 2002.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1105, the Grand
Teton National Park Land Exchange Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan
Carroll.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
S. 1105--Grand Teton National Park Land Exchange Act
Summary: S. 1105 would authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to acquire about 1,400 acres of state-owned lands and
associated interests that lie within the boundaries of the
Grand Teton National Park in Teton County, Wyoming. The
Secretary could acquire those lands by donation, purchase, or,
under certain conditions, by exchanging them for other federal
lands and interests. The Secretary would manage any lands
acquired under S. 1105 as part of the Grand Teton National
Park.
CBO estimates that implementing S. 1105 would cost $1
million in 2003, assuming appropriation of the necessary
amounts. The legislation could affect direct spending
(including offsetting receipts); therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures would apply, but we estimate that any net change in
direct spending would be negligible.
S. 1105 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments. This exchange would be voluntary on the part of
the Wyoming state government.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: For this
estimate, CBO assumes that S. 110-5 will be enacted near the
start of fiscal year 2003 and that amounts necessary to
implement this legislation will be provided soon thereafter.
The estimated budgetary impact of S. 1105 is shown in the
following table. The costs of this legislation fall within
budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
--------------------------------------------
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
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CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION \1\
Estimated authorization level...................................... 1 0 0 0 0
Estimated outlays.................................................. 1 0 0 0 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Enacting S. 1105 also could affect direct spending, but CBO estimates that any such effects would be
negligible.
Basis of estimate
S. 1105 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
acquire state-owned lands through donation or purchase, or,
under certain conditions, by exchanging them for other federal
lands. The act does not specify the federal lands to be
exchanged but does require that they be identified for disposal
under approved land use plans in effect on the date of the
legislation's enactment. If lands eligible for exchange under
S. 1105 are not sufficient to acquire the state's lands, S.
1105 would authorize the Secretary to identify other federal
lands or interior, including mineral rights, that may be used
to complete the exchange. Under S. 1105, however, a subsequent
act of the Congress would be necessary to authorize the
Secretary to proceed with an exchange of other such lands or
interests.
Spending subject to appropriation
Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts and based
on information from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), CBO
estimates that the agency would spend $1 million for
administrative and analytical work associated with the
acquisition authorized by S. 1105. We estimate that most of
that spending would occur during 2003.
Direct spending (including offsetting receipts)
Based on information from BLM, CBO assumes that the agency
would most likely attempt to acquire the state's lands through
an exchange of federal lands that have been identified for
disposal. Under current law, the agency has authority to sell
such lands and to keep and spend the proceeds for various
purposes. Hence, we estimate that conveying lands that have
been identified for disposal as part of a land exchange with
Wyoming would result inforgone offsetting receipts from the
sale of such lands, but that any such forgone receipts would be fully
offset by a corresponding decrease in direct spending of sale proceeds.
Thus, CBO estimates that the net change in spending under S. 1105 would
be negligible.
Alternatively, CBO estimates that conveying other federal
lands and interests that are not identified for disposal could
result in a net increase in direct spending. Because S. 1105
does not authorize the conveyance of such lands and interests,
however, any such effects would be contingent on a future act
of Congress.
Pay-as-you-go considerations
The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act sets
up pay-as-you-go procedures for legislation affecting direct
spending or receipts. CBO estimates that enacting S. 1105 could
result in forgone receipts from the sale of federal lands
identified for disposal. Because BLM has authority to spend
such receipts, we also estimate that any such forgone receipts
would be fully offset by a corresponding decrease in direct
spending. Hence, we estimate that the net change in direct
spending would be negligible.
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact
S. 1105 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state,
local, or tribal governments. This exchange would be voluntary
on the part of the Wyoming state government.
Previous CBO estimate
On September 10, 2001, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
S. 1105 as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources on August 2, 2001. Differences in our
estimates of spending subject to appropriation reflect a change
in our assumption regarding when the legislation will be
enacted.
Unlike the House Resources Committee's version of S. 1105,
the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources' version
of S. 1105 would authorize the Secretary to convey federal
lands and interests that are not identified for disposal as
part of a land exchange to acquire Wyoming's lands. As a
result, for that version of the legislation, CBO assumed the
Secretary would convey to the state the reserved royalty
interest in one or more oil or gas leases that are expected to
produce a stream of royalties with a net present value equal to
the estimated value of the state lands. Hence, we estimated
that the previous version of this legislation would result in a
net increase in direct spending of $23.5 million over the 2003-
2011 period.
Estimate prepared by
Federal costs: Megan Carroll impact on state, local, and
tribal governments: Marjorie Miller; impact on the private
sector: Lauren Marks.
Estimate approved by
Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget
Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.