[House Report 108-512] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] 108th Congress Report HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 108-512 ====================================================================== TO CONVEY FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES CERTAIN FEDERAL LANDS IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED FOR DISPOSAL _______ May 20, 2004.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed _______ Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following R E P O R T [To accompany H.R. 3874] [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 3874) to convey for public purposes certain Federal lands in Riverside County, California, that have been identified for disposal, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. The amendment is as follows: Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE OF BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LAND IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. (a) In General.-- (1) Conveyance.--The Secretary of the Interior shall convey, without consideration and subject to valid existing rights, to S.V.D.P. Management Inc-DBA Father Joe's Villages (referred to in this section as the ``Villages''), all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the parcel described in paragraph (2) for use by the Villages for the purposes described in subsection (b). (2) parcel.--The parcel referred to in paragraph (1) is the parcel of land identified for disposal and consisting of approximately 44 acres under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, as generally depicted on the map entitled ``H.R. 3874 Coachella Valley Land Transfer'' and dated March 5, 2004. (b) Purposes of Conveyance.--The purposes of the conveyance under section (a) are to provide a homeless shelter, a training center, and affordable housing. (c) Reverter.--If the Villages or any subsequent owner of the land transferred under this section uses that land for purposes other than those described in subsection (b), all right, title, and interest to the land (and any improvements thereon) shall revert to the United States to be administered by the Bureau of Land Management if the Secretary of the Interior determines that such a reversion is in the best interests of the United States. PURPOSE OF THE BILL The purpose of H.R. 3874 is to convey for public purposes certain federal lands in Riverside County, California, that have been identified for disposal. BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION Father Joe's Villages, a nonprofit organization whose mission ``is to help people in need from all over America turn their lives around and regain independence,'' operates seven ``villages'' in the southwest including Martha's Village and Kitchen that serves the greater Coachella Valley--Indio, Indian Wells and Palm Springs--in California. Today, Martha's Village and Kitchen offers 120 beds of transitional housing, a primary care medical clinic, case management, career and education services and emergency assistance, not to mention 700 meals a day/250,000 meals every year. In addition, the Village operates a retail store that distributes clothing and furniture to families in need as well as canned goods and food packages to the poor three times a week. Today, Palm Springs has one year-around 30-day emergency shelter, Nightengale Manor, which houses families for up to 30 days and has a capacity of 45 people. Meanwhile, no facility exists for single homeless adults in Palm Springs. According to Father Joe's Villages, the land identified by the Bureau of Land Management as excess to its needs would greatly assist the Village in meeting the comprehensive needs of the growing homeless population in the Coachella Valley. H.R. 3874 will convey this 44-acre parcel to Father Joe's Villages. The Secretary of the Interior may reclaim any or part of the parcel if it is not used for a homeless shelter, training center or affordable housing. COMMITTEE ACTION H.R. 3874 was introduced on March 2, 2004, by Congresswoman Mary Bono (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on Resources and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands. On March 25, 2004, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On April 22, 2004, the Subcommittee met to mark up the bill. No amendments were offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee by unanimous consent. On May 5, 2004, the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. Congressman George Radanovich (R-CA) offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute that added a map name and date to the bill and modified the reverter language to reflect changes recommended by the Administration. It was adopted by unanimous consent. The bill as amended was then 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 the House 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 grants 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. 3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not apply. 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, May 19, 2004. Hon. Richard W. Pombo, Chairman, Committee on Resources, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3874, a bill to convey for public purposes certain federal lands in Riverside County, California, that have been identified for disposal. If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan Carroll. Sincerely, Elizabeth Robinson (For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director). Enclosure. H.R. 3874--A bill to convey for public purposes certain federal lands in Riverside County, California, that have been identified for disposal H.R. 3874 would convey 44 acres of federal lands in Riverside County, California, to a private nonprofit organization for no consideration. The organization would use those lands to provide shelter, training, and other assistance to homeless individuals. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3874 would not significantly affect the federal budget. According to the Bureau of Land Management, the lands to be conveyed currently generate no significant receipts and are not expected to do so over the next 10 years; hence, CBO estimates that conveying them would not affect offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending). Based on information from the agency, we also estimate that the agency's administrative costs to complete the conveyance would not be negligible. Enacting H.R. 3874 would not affect revenues. H.R. 3874 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. This estimate was 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.