[House Report 110-554]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 110-554
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UTAH NATIONAL GUARD READINESS ACT
_______
March 31, 2008.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3651]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 3651) to require the conveyance of certain public
land within the boundaries of Camp Williams, Utah, to support
the training and readiness of the Utah National Guard, 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Utah National Guard Readiness Act''.
SEC. 2. LAND CONVEYANCE, CAMP WILLIAMS, UTAH.
(a) Conveyance Required.--Not later than 120 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, acting
through the Bureau of Land Management, shall convey, without
consideration, to the State of Utah all right, title, and interest of
the United States in and to certain lands comprising approximately 431
acres, as generally depicted on a map entitled ``Proposed Camp Williams
Land Transfer'' and dated March 7, 2008, which are located within the
boundaries of the public lands currently withdrawn for military use by
the Utah National Guard and known as Camp Williams, Utah, for the
purpose of permitting the Utah National Guard to use the conveyed land
as provided in subsection (c).
(b) Revocation of Executive Order.--Executive Order 1922 of April 24,
1914, as amended by section 907 of the Camp W.G. Williams Land Exchange
Act of 1989 (title IX of Public Law 101-628; 104 Stat. 4501), shall be
revoked, only insofar as it affects the lands identified for conveyance
to the State of Utah under subsection (a).
(c) Reversionary Interest.--The lands conveyed to the State of Utah
under subsection (a) shall revert to the United States if the Secretary
of the Interior determines that the land, or any portion thereof, is
sold or attempted to be sold, or that the land, or any portion thereof,
is used for non-National Guard or non-national defense purposes. Any
determination by the Secretary of the Interior under this subsection
shall be made in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the
Governor of Utah and on the record after an opportunity for comment.
(d) Hazardous Materials.--With respect to any portion of the land
conveyed under subsection (a) that the Secretary of the Interior
determines is subject to reversion under subsection (c), if the
Secretary of the Interior also determines that the portion of the
conveyed land contains hazardous materials, the State of Utah shall pay
the United States an amount equal to the fair market value of that
portion of the land, and the reversionary interest shall not apply to
that portion of the land.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 3651 is to require the conveyance of
certain public land within the boundaries of Camp Williams,
Utah to support the training and readiness of the Utah National
Guard.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Camp W.G. Williams, located 25 miles south of Salt Lake
City, Utah, is comprised of 24,000 acres of both federal and
state lands. Of that acreage, some 18,000 acres of federal land
are withdrawn for military purposes and operated primarily by
the Utah Army National Guard; the U.S. Army also operates
there. Although Camp Williams was once considered remote, Salt
Lake City has grown significantly in the past few decades, and
residential development has encroached on the site resulting in
increased land values.
H.R. 3651, as amended, directs the Secretary of the
Interior to convey 431 acres of public land, administered by
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to the state of Utah,
without consideration, for use by the Utah National Guard. The
bill includes a provision directing that the land revert to
federal ownership if it stops being used for National Guard or
national defense purposes.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 3651 was introduced September 25, 2007, by
Representative Rob Bishop (R-UT). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. On
March 6, 2008, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill,
during which a representative from the Interior Department
testified that the BLM generally supports the bill and the
conveyance of the land at no cost if the land is used for
important national security and defense purposes. However, the
agency also expressed substantive and technical concerns with
the bill.
On March 12, 2008, the Natural Resources Committee met to
consider the bill. The subcommittee was discharged from further
consideration of H.R. 3651. Representative Rob Bishop (R-UT)
offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The
amendment clarified that the land conveyed under this Act would
revert to federal ownership if any portion of the land is sold,
or if it ever stops being used for National Guard or national
defense purposes. The amendment further provided that the State
of Utah shall pay fair market value to the U.S. for the land,
if the land, or any portion of it, is subject to reversion but
contains hazardous materials. The amendment also included
technical changes addressing the BLM's concerns. The Bishop
amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. The bill, as
amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 entitles this Act the ``The Utah National Guard
Readiness Act.''
Section 2. Land conveyance, Camp Williams, Utah
Subsection 2(a) requires that, not later than 120 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the
Interior shall convey, without consideration, to the State of
Utah, all right, title and interest of the United States in and
to 431 acres of public land. The land to be conveyed is
generally depicted on a map entitled ``Proposed Camp Williams
Land Transfer'' dated March 7, 2008 and is located within the
boundaries of the public lands currently withdrawn for military
uses by the Utah National Guard and known as ``Camp Williams,
Utah.'' The conveyed lands are then to be permitted to the Utah
National Guard, by the State of Utah, to be used for National
Guard or national defense purposes.
Subsection 2(b) revokes Executive Order 1922 of April 24,
1914 as amended by section 907 of the Camp W.G. Williams Land
Exchange Act of 1989 (title IX of Public Law 101-628; 104 Stat.
4501) as it applies to the lands identified for conveyance in
this Act. This subsection provides a technical fix. Since some
of the land to be conveyed under this Act were previously
withdrawn under Executive Order 1922 for military use, the BLM
does not have the authority to convey those withdrawn lands.
With revocation of the Executive Order, the Secretary can
convey all rights, interest, and title in the lands described
in subsection 2(a), unencumbered.
Subsection 2(c) is a reversionary clause that provides that
the lands conveyed under this Act shall revert to the Secretary
of the Interior if the land, or any portion of the land, is
sold or if it is not used for National Guard or national
defense purposes. This determination shall be made by the
Secretary of the Interior in consultation with the Secretary of
Defense and the Governor of Utah, and it shall be made on the
record and after an opportunity for comment.
Subsection 2(d) provides that the land, or any portion of
the land that would otherwise revert under this Act, contains
hazardous materials, the State of Utah shall pay the United
States an amount equal to the fair market value for that
portion of the land. Further the reversionary interest shall
not apply to that portion of the land that is found to contain
hazardous materials.
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 Natural 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. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to require the conveyance of certain
public land within the boundaries of Camp Williams, Utah to
support the training and readiness of the Utah National Guard.
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. 3651--Utah National Guard Readiness Act
H.R. 3651 would direct the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
to convey, without consideration, about 430 acres of land in
Utah to the state. The conveyed property would be used by Utah
for activities of the state national guard.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3651 would have no
effect on the federal budget. The land to be conveyed to Utah
is already reserved for military purposes of the U.S. Army and
the Utah National Guard and does not produce income for the
federal government.
H.R. 3651 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 bill would benefit the state of Utah.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
EARMARK STATEMENT
H.R. 3651 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9(d), 9(e) or 9(f) of rule XXI.
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.