[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 1, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H2534-H2535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REASONABLE RIGHT-OF-WAY FEES ACT OF 2003
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 762) to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
and the Mineral Leasing Act to clarify the method by which the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture determine
the fair market value of certain rights-of-way granted, issued, or
renewed under these Acts.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 762
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Reasonable Right-of-Way Fees
Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF FAIR MARKET RENTAL VALUE
DETERMINATIONS FOR PUBLIC LANDS AND FOREST
SERVICE RIGHTS-OF-WAY.
(a) Linear Rights-of-Way Under Federal Land Policy and
Management Act.--Section 504 of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
``(k) Determination of Fair Market Value of Linear Rights-
of-Way.--(1) Effective upon the issuance of the rules
required by paragraph (2), for purposes of subsection (g),
the Secretary concerned shall determine the fair market
rental for the use of land encumbered by a linear right-of-
way granted, issued, or renewed under this title using the
valuation method described in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4).
``(2) Not later than one year after the date of enactment
of the Reasonable Right-of-Way Fees Act of 2003, and in
accordance with subsection (k), the Secretary of the Interior
shall amend section 2803.1-2 of title 43, Code of Federal
Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of such
Act, to revise the
[[Page H2535]]
per acre rental fee zone value schedule by State, county, and
type of linear right-of-way use to reflect current values of
land in each zone. The Secretary of Agriculture shall make
the same revisions for linear rights-of-way granted, issued,
or renewed under this title on National Forest System lands.
``(3) The Secretary concerned shall update annually the
schedule revised under paragraph (2) by multiplying the
current year's rental per acre by the annual change, second
quarter to the second quarter (June 30 to June 30) in the
Gross National Product Implicit Price Deflator Index
published in the Survey of Current Business of the Department
of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
``(4) Whenever the cumulative change in the index referred
to in paragraph (3) exceeds 30 percent, or the change in the
3-year average of the 1-year Treasury interest rate used to
determine per acre rental fee zone values exceeds plus or
minus 50 percent, the Secretary concerned shall conduct a
review of the zones and rental per acre figures to determine
whether the value of Federal land has differed sufficiently
from the index referred to in paragraph (3) to warrant a
revision in the base zones and rental per acre figures. If,
as a result of the review, the Secretary concerned determines
that such a revision is warranted, the Secretary concerned
shall revise the base zones and rental per acre figures
accordingly.''.
(b) Rights-of-Way Under Mineral Leasing Act.--Section 28(l)
of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185(l)) is amended by
inserting before the period at the end the following: ``using
the valuation method described in section 2803.1-2 of title
43, Code of Federal Regulations, as revised pursuant to
section 504(k) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764(k))''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Renzi) and the gentlewoman from Guam (Mr. Bordallo) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi).
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin).
Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 762, the Reasonable
Right-of-Way Fees Act of 2003, which I introduced February 13, 2003.
{time} 1330
This bill will help to facilitate the deployment of critical
infrastructure to States that are made up largely of Federal lands,
such as Wyoming and almost every western State. While exploring ways to
bring advanced telecommunications services and pipeline infrastructure
to Wyoming, I found that Federal land management agencies were
considering ways which would actually discourage deployment of critical
infrastructure. The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest
Service had started down a road to abandon a commonsense right-of-way
fee schedule that had been in place for many years by charging a per-
line fee for fiberoptic deployment instead of a fee based on linear
footage of the pipe. In other words, when fiberoptics were being
deployed to rural areas, the agencies wanted to charge a right-of-way
fee for every single line that went down the pipe which would obviously
make it financially impossible to deploy fiberoptics to rural areas. My
bill ensures that rights-of-way fees are reasonable and that private
users of public lands pay a fair price for that privilege.
This bill creates a policy that protects the value of our Federal
lands and at the same time helps to ensure that these Federal lands
continue to be available to a multitude of compatible uses. This bill
will not increase the environmental impact of the rights-of-way
corridors, nor will it reduce any environmental monitoring. I am
confident as we work to place the Reasonable Right-of-Way Fee Act into
law that there is little public interest in turning our Federal lands
into roadblocks on the information superhighway or along the path of
any of our Nation's critical infrastructures.
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Ms. BORDALLO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her
remarks.)
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, investigations conducted by the Department
of the Interior's Inspector General and the General Accounting Office
have provided ample evidence that the right-of-way fees currently being
charged by the Federal land management agencies are far below fair
market values. States, local governments, and private individuals all
charge significantly more than the Federal Government for rights-of-way
across lands that they own. This undercharging for the use of Federal
public lands means that large corporations, who stand to make vast
profits from the use of those lands, are not being required to pay the
American people a fair rate of return for that privilege.
As a result, we share, the gentlewoman from Wyoming's desire to
correct this problem. This legislation will require the agencies to
review their existing fee schedules and the land valuations which
underlie them to ensure that they represent current values. In
addition, Mr. Speaker, this measure will ensure that once these new
fees have been promulgated, they will be adjusted annually for
inflation. This approach is a significant improvement over the status
quo and should move us closer to a system that adequately compensates
the taxpayers for the use of their lands.
We would like to thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin) for
her willingness to work together on this legislation, and we do support
H.R. 762.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Miller of Florida). The question is on
the motion offered by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi) that the
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 762.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________