[House Report 109-418]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 109-418
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PARK CITY, UTAH, CONVEYANCES
_______
April 25, 2006.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
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Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3462]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 3462) to provide for the conveyance of the Bureau of Land
Management parcels known as the White Acre and Gambel Oak
properties and related real property to Park City, Utah, and
for other purposes, 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:
SEC. 1. CONVEYANCE OF LAND BY THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT TO PARK
CITY, UTAH.
(a) Land Transfer.--Subject to the conditions set forth in
subsections (b) and (c), and notwithstanding the planning requirements
of sections 202 and 203 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712, 1713), the Secretary of the Interior shall
convey within 180 days of enactment of this Act, to Park City, Utah,
all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to two
parcels of real property located in Park City, Utah, that are currently
under the management jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management and
designated as parcel 8 (commonly known as the White Acre parcel) and
parcel 16 (commonly known as the Gambel Oak parcel). The conveyance
shall be subject to all valid existing rights.
(b) Deed Restriction.--The conveyance of the lands under subsection
(a) shall be made by a deed or deeds containing a restriction requiring
that the lands be maintained as open space and used solely for public
recreation purposes or other purposes consistent with their maintenance
as open space. This restriction shall not be interpreted to prohibit
the construction or maintenance of recreational facilities, utilities,
or other structures that are consistent with the maintenance of the
lands as open space or its use for public recreation purposes.
(c) Consideration.--In consideration for the transfer of the land
under subsection (a), Park City shall pay to the Secretary of the
Interior an amount consistent with conveyances to governmental entities
for recreational purposes under the Act of June 14, 1926 (commonly
known as the Recreation and Public Purposes Act; 43 U.S.C. 689 et
seq.).
SEC. 2. SALE OF LANDS AT AUCTION.
(a) Sale of Lane.--Notwithstanding the planning provisions of
sections 202 and 203 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712, 1713), the Secretary of the Interior shall, in
accordance with that Act and other applicable law, and subject to valid
existing rights, offer for sale within 180 days of enactment of this
Act, any right, title or interest in and to two parcels of real
property located in Park City, Utah, that are currently under the
management jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management and are
designated as parcels 17 and 18 in the Park City, Utah, area.
(b) Method of Sale.--The sale of land under subsection (a) shall be
consistent with subsections (d) and (f) of section 203 of the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1713) through a
competitive bidding process and for not less than fair market value.
SEC. 3. DISPOSITION OF LAND SALES PROCEEDS.
(a) In General.--All proceeds derived from the sale of the lands
described in this Act shall be deposited in a special account in the
treasury of the United States and shall be available without further
appropriation to the Secretary of the Interior until expended for--
(1) the reimbursement of costs incurred by the Bureau of Land
Management in implementing the provisions of this Act,
including surveys, appraisals, and compliance with applicable
Federal laws; and
(2) environmental restoration projects on Bureau of Land
Management administered public lands within the Salt Lake City
Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management.
(b) Investment of Special Account.--Any amounts deposited in the
special account shall earn interest in an amount determined by the
Secretary of the Treasury on the basis of the current average market
yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of
comparable maturities, and may be expended according to the provisions
of this section.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 3462 is to provide for the conveyance
of the Bureau of Land Management parcels known as the White
Acre and Gambel Oak properties and related real property to
Park City, Utah, and for other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Park City, Utah currently holds a 25 year Recreation and
Public Purposes Act lease on Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
lands within the city limits. Consistent with Park City's long-
term management plan for sensitive lands, the City has begun
purchasing large blocks of environmentally-sensitive land and
has placed those lands in conservation status. Park City
recently approved a $20 million bond for the purchase of such
lands.
H.R. 3462 as ordered reported, authorizes the Secretary of
the Interior, under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, to
convey to Park City, Utah, two parcels totaling 88.5 acres for
recreational open space. Additionally, H.R. 3462 instructs the
Secretary to sell at public auction one smaller parcel of land,
which has already been marked for disposal by BLM. The proceeds
of the sale of this land will be used to enhance existing BLM
resources in the State of Utah.
H.R. 3462 enjoys wide support in the State of Utah from a
variety of stakeholders, including Park City, Summit County,
and local conservation and environmental organizations.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 3462 was introduced on July 27, 2005, by Congressman
Rob Bishop (R-UT). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
Forests and Forest Health. On September 27, 2005, the
Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On March 29, 2006, the
Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The
Subcommittee was discharged from further consideration of the
bill by unanimous consent. Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR)
offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to make
minor technical modifications to the bill. 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 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, credit
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the
sale of the parcels authorized in this bill would generate
offsetting receipts which could then be spent by the Secretary
of the Interior without appropriation. The Congressional Budget
Office concludes that because these proceeds would be spent
soon after they are received, ``any resulting change in direct
spending would be insignificant in any year.''
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:
H.R. 3462--A bill to provide for the conveyance of the Bureau of Land
Management parcels known as the White Acre and Gambel Oak
properties and related real property to Park City, Utah, and
for other purposes
H.R. 3462 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to
convey to the city of Park City, Utah, two parcels of federal
land located in that state. The city would pay a negligible
amount to the federal government to acquire those parcels. H.R.
3462 also would direct the Secretary to sell, at public
auction, two other parcels of federal land in Utah. The
Secretary could use, without further appropriation, proceeds
from those sales to offset the cost of the proposed land
transactions and to restore federal land in Utah.
Based on information from the Bureau of Land Management,
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3462 would have no significant
impact on the federal budget. The bill would not affect
revenues. According to the agency, the affected federal parcels
currently generate no significant receipts and are not expected
to do so over the next 10 years; therefore, we estimate that
conveying them would not result in forgone offsetting receipts
(a credit against direct spending) from programs to develop
natural resources. Based on information about the value of
federal land to be auctioned, we estimate that offsetting
receipts from sale proceeds could total more than $500,000 in
2007. However, because we expect that those proceeds would be
spent soon after they are received, we estimate that any
resulting change in direct spending would be insignificant in
any year.
H.R. 3462 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.
Enacting this legislation would benefit Park City, Utah. Any
costs incurred by the city to comply with the conditions
established by the bill would be incurred voluntarily.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
This estimate was approved by Paul R. Cullinan, Chief, Human
Resources Cost Estimates Unit for the Budget Analysis Division.
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.