[Senate Report 110-380]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 812
110th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 110-380
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NEVADA CANCER INSTITUTE EXPANSION ACT
_______
June 16, 2008.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1311]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 1311) to provide for the conveyance of
the Alta-Hualapai Site to the Nevada Cancer Institute, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon without amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of H.R. 1311 is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey approximately 25 acres of public land in Las
Vegas, Nevada, to the Nevada Cancer Institute for use as a non-
profit cancer institute.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The 80-acre Alta-Hualapai site in Las Vegas is part of a
320-acre parcel that was patented to the City of Las Vegas,
Nevada (City) by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in 1963
under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act (R&PP) (43 U.S.C.
869 et seq.) for ``recreational area site purposes only.'' Much
of the parcel was developed into a golf course. However, the
Alta-Hualapai site remains mostly undeveloped. The City has
proposed using this site to develop the Nevada Cancer Institute
and campus.
R&PP patents, such as the one held by the City, contain
provisions requiring title to revert to the Secretary of the
Interior if the lands are devoted to a use other than that for
which the lands were conveyed, or if the patentee fails to
follow the development plans which were presented as part of
the original application.
H.R. 1311 requires the City to first relinquish the Alta-
Hualapai site to the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary
would then be directed to convey approximately 25 acres, for no
consideration, to the Nevada Cancer Institute for development
of the Institute, and to the City for development of ancillary
medical facilities consistent with the mission of the
Institute.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 1311, sponsored by Representative Berkley, passed the
House of Representatives by a vote of 377-0 on March 4, 2008. A
companion measure, S. 758, was introduced by Senators Ensign
and Reid on March 5, 2007. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and
Forests held a hearing on both bills on April 15, 2008. At its
business meeting on May 7, 2008, the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources ordered H.R. 1311 favorably reported, without
amendment.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on May 7, 2008, by a voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1311.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 provides the short title, the ``Nevada Cancer
Institute Expansion Act''.
Section 2 defines key terms used in the bill.
Section 3(a) directs the City of Las Vegas, Nevada, to
prepare a survey and legal description of the Alta-Hualapai
site in accordance with Bureau of Land Management standards.
Subsection (b) authorizes the Secretary to accept the
relinquishment by the City of all or part of the Alta-Haulapai
site.
Subsection (c) directs the Secretary, upon relinquishment
of the site, and not later than 180 days after a request from
the Nevada Cancer Institute, to convey the portion of the site
(subject to valid existing rights) that is necessary for the
development of a non-profit cancer institute.
Subsection (d) directs the Secretary, not later than 180
days after a request from the City, to convey any remaining
portion of the Alta-Hualapai site necessary for ancillary
medical or non-profit use compatible with the mission of the
Nevada Cancer Institute.
Subsection (e) requires that any conveyance to the City
shall be for no less than fair market value, with the proceeds
to be distributed in accordance with Public Law 105-263, the
Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act.
Subsection (f) provides that the Secretary may require the
recipient to bear any costs associated with the transfer of
title or any necessary land surveys.
Subsection (g) states that the Secretary shall submit a
report to the Committee and the House Committee on Natural
Resources on all transactions conducted under Public Law 105-
263. The report is to be submitted not later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this Act.
Section 4 authorizes the Secretary to grant rights-of-way
to the Las Vegas Valley Water District across a portion of the
Alta-Hualapai site for a flood control project and water
pumping facility.
Section 5 provides that any property conveyed under this
act which is not used for the purposes specified in this Act
may revert to the United States, at the discretion of the
Secretary.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 1311--Nevada Cancer Institute Expansion Act
H.R. 1311 would authorize the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) to accept 80 acres of land from the city of Las Vegas,
Nevada, and convey that land to the Nevada Cancer Institute to
expand the institute. Some of the property may be returned to
the city for related purposes. If the city does not use all of
the land conveyed for the purposes described in the bill, it
would be allowed to sell the unused portion and split the
proceeds with BLM.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1311 would have a
negligible impact on the federal budget. The recipients of the
land would pay for the cost of the conveyance. Further, if any
land is sold by the city, those proceeds would be divided
between Nevada and BLM and BLM's portion would be available for
expenditure without appropriation in accordance with the
Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998. Enacting
the legislation would not affect revenues.
H.R. 1311 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.
On February 27, 2008, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
H.R. 1311, the Nevada Cancer Institute Expansion Act, as
ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on
February 13, 2008. The versions of the legislation are similar,
and the estimated costs of enacting them are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Tyler Kruzich.
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out H.R. 1311. The Act is not a regulatory measure in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals
and businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of H.R. 1311, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
H.R. 1311, as reported, does not contain any
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits,
or limited tariff benefits as defined by rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The testimony provided by the Bureau of Land Management at
the April 15, 2008 hearing on H.R. 1311 follows:
Statement of Elena Daly, Director, National Landscape Conservation
System, Bureau of Land Management
Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for
the opportunity to testify on S. 758, the Nevada Cancer
Institute Expansion Act. H.R. 1311, the companion bill to S.
758, passed the House on March 4, 2008 and, as requested by the
Committee, I'll also address H.R. 1311, as amended. While we
support the goals of S. 758 and H.R. 1311, as amended, we
cannot support the bills without modifications.
s. 758
S. 758 would convey without consideration approximately 80
acres of public lands (the ``Alta-Hualapai'' site) to the City
of Las Vegas, Nevada, for the development of a cancer treatment
facility, an adjoining park, a flood control project, a water
pumping facility, and other commercial projects. While the BLM
supports the goals of S. 758, we cannot support the bill unless
there are major clarifications and modifications to make it
consistent with our existing conveyance authorities and
standard BLM practices.
The 80 acres proposed for conveyance under S. 758 are part
of a larger parcel of land totaling 320 acres that was patented
to the City in 1963 under the Recreation and Public Purposes
Act (R&PP). The Federal government retains a reversionary
interest in these lands if they are not used for the specific
purposes for which they were transferred. A significant portion
of this parcel of land was developed as the Angel Park Golf
Course; however, the 80 acres proposed for conveyance under
this bill remain undeveloped.
S. 758 provides that the City may convey without
consideration portions of these lands to the Nevada Cancer
Institute for the development of a new treatment facility and
to the Las Vegas Valley Water District for the development of
the pumping facility. The United States would retain a
reversionary interest only for the portions the City conveys.
The bill also provides that if the City conveys portions of
the site for the other purposes specified in section 3(a) of
the bill that it must receive not less than fair market value
and that the revenues received from the sales of these lands be
distributed according to the formula outlined in Section
4(e)(1) of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act
(SNPLMA), which allows for 85 percent of the proceeds from the
land sales to be deposited in the special account established
under SNPLMA; 10 percent paid directly to the Southern Nevada
Water Authority; and 5 percent paid directly to the State of
Nevada for use in the state's general education program. It is
unclear whether or not the development of an adjacent park and
the flood control project would involve the City selling the
land.
While BLM is generally supportive of the intentions of S.
758, we believe that the bill should be modified to ensure that
the conveyances outlined in Section 3(a) guarantee a fair
return to the public and are consistent with existing
conveyance authorities. Where the conveyances are for public
purposes, they should be done consistent with the R&PP Act. The
R&PP Act provides for conveyances at less than fair market
value in certain circumstances. For example, the provisions in
the R&PP Act provide for a 50 percent reduction in value of
conveyances to non-profit entities, such as the Nevada Cancer
Institute. However, the Administration recognizes that there
may, indeed, be circumstances in which the public benefits of a
proposed transfer outweigh financial considerations.
For the portions of land that are intended to be used for
the development of commercial projects, we recommend that S.
758 be amended to direct the BLM to sell the identified lands
at auction or through a modified competitive sale and
consistent with SNPLMA. In contrast, the bill, as drafted,
would require that the Secretary convey the property to the
City of Las Vegas, which, in turn, could convey it for ``not
less than fair market value.'' Such an amendment would
eliminate the unnecessary step of conveying the land to the
City, would ensure a fair return to the public, and would be
consistent with standard BLM practices.
It is also possible that the specified uses identified in
Section 3(a), such as the flood control project and the water
pumping facility, can be administratively accomplished through
the granting of rights-of-ways. The BLM would be happy to work
with the City, the Flood Control District, and others in this
effort.
h.r. 1311
H.R. 1311 was introduced in the House of Representatives on
March 5, 2007. The BLM testified on H.R. 1311, a companion bill
to S. 758, on October 23, 2007. The bill, as amended, passed
the House on March 4, 2008, incorporating some but not all of
our suggested changes.
Section 3 of H.R. 1311 requires the Secretary to convey to
the Nevada Cancer Institute the portion of the 80 acre Alta-
Hualapai Site needed for a cancer facility. It also requires
the Secretary to convey to the City the remaining portion of
the site needed for ancillary medical or nonprofit uses. All
conveyances by the Secretary are at no cost, except for costs
associated with title transfers or land surveys, at the
discretion of the Secretary. Further conveyances by the City
shall be ``for no less than fair market value'' and the
proceeds are to be distributed in accordance with SNPLMA. To
implement the conveyances, the bill directs the City to prepare
a land survey that conforms to BLM's cadastral survey
standards, and it provides for relinquishment of the R&PP site.
The bill in Section 4 authorizes the Secretary to grant rights-
of-way to the Las Vegas Water District for a flood control
project and water pumping facility. Under Section 5, the United
States retains a reversionary interest on all conveyed lands.
Consistent with our views on S. 758 and prior testimony on
H.R. 1311, as amended, our overarching interest is that
conveyances of public lands be in accordance with existing
conveyance authorities. and guarantee a fair return to the
public. H.R. 1311, as passed, partially fulfills these
objectives. The bill provides for administrative grants of
rights-of-way to the Water District, consistent with FLPMA, to
authorize the flood control project and water pumping facility.
We are pleased this provision utilizes BLM's existing
conveyance practices and authorities, and reflects the comments
raised in our previous testimony on H.R. 1311. The bill also
directs the City to conduct a land survey that conforms with
the BLM's cadastral survey standards. We support this provision
because it applies standard administrative practices.
However, other key provisions of H.R. 1311, as amended, are
not consistent with existing authorities and we cannot support
the bill without additional modifications. Consistent with our
views on S.758, we support the purpose of the conveyance to the
Nevada Cancer Institute, but it should be done in accordance
with the R&PP Act to ensure a fair return to the public. While
the bill provides for lands to be conveyed to the City at no
cost, and for further conveyance by the City at ``no less than
fair market value'', it is not clear if the lands conveyed to
the City are intended to be used for non-profit or commercial
purposes. Again, to ensure a fair return to the public, we
believe that conveyances for public purposes should be
consistent with the R&PP Act, while conveyances for commercial
purposes should be consistent with SNPLMA and offered by the
BLM at auction or through a modified competitive sale.
Finally, H.R. 1311, as amended, requires the Secretary to
report to Congress, within 180 days of enactment, on all
transactions conducted under SNPLMA.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on S. 758 and H.R.
1311, as amended. I will be happy to answer any questions.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the Act, H.R. 1311, as
ordered reported.