[House Report 104-307]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



104th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                    104-307
_______________________________________________________________________


 
           MODOC NATIONAL FOREST BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT ACT

                                _______


November 6, 1995.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1585]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1585) to expand the boundary of the Modoc National Forest 
to include lands presently owned by the Bank of California, 
N.A. Trustee, to facilitate a land exchange with the Forest 
Service, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that 
the bill do pass.

                          purpose of the bill

    The purpose of H.R. 1585 is to expand the boundary of the 
Modoc National Forest to include lands presently owned by the 
Bank of California, N.A. Trustee, to facilitate a land exchange 
with the Forest Service.

                  background and need for legislation

    H.R. 1585 would expand the boundary of the Modoc National 
Forest to include lands presently owned by the Bank of 
California, N.A., Trustee, and to facilitate a land exchange 
with the Forest Service.
    The Ash Creek Exchange was entered into by the Bank of 
California, N.A., Trustee, and the Forest Service to 
consolidate their respective holdings in parts of the Lassen, 
Modoc and Plumas National Forests. Because certain private 
lands subject to the exchange were outside but contiguous to 
the boundary of the Modoc National Forest, the exchange was 
structured in two phases. The first phase was completed in June 
of 1993.
    In phase 1 of the transaction, 11,044 acres of private land 
were exchanged for 3,757 acres of Forest Service land. Phase 2 
of the transaction, which is the subject of this legislation, 
would transfer approximately 11,804 acres of private land to 
the Forest Service and approximately 4,240 acres of Forest 
Service land to private ownership. The remaining 760 acres of 
private land is located outside, but contiguous to, the 
proclamation boundary of the Modoc National Forest. The 
proposed boundary adjustment will provide for these lands to be 
acquired by the Forest Service.

                            committee action

    Congressman Wally Herger introduced H.R. 1585 on May 9, 
1995. The bill was referred to the Committee on Resources, and 
within the Committee, to the Subcommittee on National Parks, 
Forests and Lands. The Subcommittee held a hearing on various 
land exchange bills, including H.R. 1585, on July 20, 1995.
    Consideration and mark-up of H.R. 1585 was held on October 
17, 1995, in the Subcommittee. The bill was ordered favorably 
reported to the Full Committee by voice vote. Full Committee 
consideration and mark-up was held on H.R. 1585 on October 25, 
1995. The bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by unanimous consent.

                      section-by-section analysis

Section 1. Short title

    This Act may be cited as the ``Modoc National Forest 
Boundary Adjustment Act.''

Section 2. Findings

    This section contains the findings for the bill.

Section 3. Boundary adjustment

    Under subsection (a), the boundary of the Modoc National 
Forest is modified to include and encompass 760 acres, as 
described. Subsection (b) clarifies that for the purposes of 
section 7 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, 
the boundary of the Modoc National Forest is adjusted and shall 
be considered the boundary of the Modoc National Forest as of 
January 1, 1965.

            committee oversight findings and recommendations

    With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of rule 
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                     inflationary impact statement

    Pursuant to clause 2(l)(4) of rule XI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee estimates that the 
enactment of H.R. 1585 will have no significant inflationary 
impact on prices and costs in the operation of the national 
economy.

                        cost of the legislation

    Clause 7(a) 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 
H.R. 1585. However, clause 7(d) 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 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                     compliance with house rule xi

    1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R. 
1585 does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of 
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and 
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and 
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 1585.
    3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of 
rule XI 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 H.R. 
1585 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               congressional budget office cost estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, November 3, 1995.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed H.R. 1585, the Modoc National Forest Boundary 
Adjustment Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on 
Resources on October 25, 1995. Enacting H.R. 1585 would affect 
direct spending by less than $500,000 annually. Therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures would apply to the bill.
    The bill would expand the boundary of the Modoc National 
Forest to include another 760 acres. The boundary expansion 
would facilitate a land exchange between the Forest Service and 
the Bank of California, N.A. The planned land exchange would 
transfer about 11,800 acres of private land to the Forest 
Service in return for the transfer of about 4,240 acres of 
Forest Service land to private ownership. Although most of the 
land can be exchanged under the current authority of the 
Secretary of Agriculture, another 760 acres of private land in 
the planned exchange lies outside but adjacent to the boundary 
of the Modoc National Forest and could not be incorporated into 
the Modoc National Forest without this legislation.
    Based on information from the Forest Service, we estimate 
no significant effect on offsetting receipts from timber 
harvesting or grazing as a result of this land exchange. The 
Forest Service does expect a small savings in management costs 
as a result of clearer ownership patterns at the boundary of 
the forest, but these savings are expected to be insignificant.
    Enacting H.R. 1585 also would not significantly affect the 
budgets of state or local governments. H.R. 1585 could affect 
payments in lieu of taxes (PILT), which are based in part on 
the amount of federally owned acreage within a county, but we 
do not expect any significant changes to PILT as a result of 
enacting the bill.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Victoria V. 
Heid.
            Sincerely,
                                 June E. O'Neill, Director.

                        changes in existing law

    If enacted, H.R. 1585 would make no changes in existing 
law.

                          departmental reports

    The Committee has received no departmental reports on H.R. 
1585.

                                
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