[House Report 104-759]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
104th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 104-759
_______________________________________________________________________
APACHE NATIONAL FOREST, ARIZONA
_______
September 4, 1996.--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. 3547]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 3547) to provide for the conveyance of a parcel of real
property in the Apache National Forest in the State of Arizona
to the Alpine Elementary School District 7 to be used for the
construction of school facilities and related playing fields,
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 out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof the following:
SECTION 1. LAND CONVEYANCE, APACHE NATIONAL FOREST, ARIZONA.
(a) Conveyance Required.--(1) The Secretary of Agriculture shall
convey, without consideration, to the Alpine Elementary School District
7 of the State of Arizona (in this section referred to as the ``School
District''), all right, title, and interest of the United States in and
to a parcel of real property, including any improvements thereon,
consisting of approximately 30 acres located in the Apache National
Forest, Apache County, Arizona, and further delineated as follows:
North \1/2\ of Northeast \1/4\ of Southeast \1/4\ of section 14,
Township 5 North, Range 30 East, Gila and Salt River meridian, and
North \1/2\ of South \1/2\ of Northeast \1/4\ of Southeast \1/4\ of
such section.
(2) The exact acreage and legal description of the real property to
be conveyed under paragraph (1) shall be determined by a survey
satisfactory to the Secretary. The cost of the survey shall be borne by
the School District.
(b) Condition of Conveyance.--The conveyance made under subsection
(a) shall be subject to the condition that the School District use the
conveyed property for public school facilities and related public
school recreational purposes.
(c) Right of Reentry.--The United States shall retain a right of
reentry in the property to be conveyed. If the Secretary determines
that the conveyed property is not being used in accordance with the
condition in subsection (b), the United States shall have the right to
reenter the conveyed property without consideration.
(d) Encumbrances.--The conveyance made under subsection (a) shall be
subject to all encumbrances on the property existing as of the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(e) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may require such
additional terms and conditions in connection with the conveyance under
subsection (a) as the Secretary considers appropriate to protect the
interests of the United States.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 3547 is to provide for the conveyance
of a parcel of real property in the Apache National Forest in
the State of Arizona to the Alpine Elementary School District 7
to be used for the construction of school facilities and
related public school recreation facilities.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H.R. 3547 would convey approximately 30 acres of land on
the Apache National Forest in Apache County, Arizona, to the
Alpine Elementary School District. The school district needs
the land to construct school facilities and related playing
fields. The Forest Service has the authority under the Townsite
Act of 1958 to sell the acreage to the school district because
no private lands exist for purchase. The school district is
willing to purchase the lands; however, at $7,500 per acre the
cost is prohibitive.
Eighty-five percent of Apache County is federally-
controlled land. As a result, school district budgets rely
heavily on proceeds from national forest timber harvests.
Unfortunately, appeals and litigation have halted all logging
in Arizona, and as a result the Alpine Elementary School
District's revenues have fallen sharply. Without this
conveyance, they would not be able to afford to construct any
facilities after acquiring the land.
H.R. 3547 stipulates that the land may only be used for
school facilities. In addition, the school district will bear
the costs of performing a survey to determine the exact acreage
and legal description of the property.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 3547 was introduced on May 29, 1996, by Congressman
J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
National Parks, Forests and Lands. On June 6, 1996, the
Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R. 3547, where the
Administration testified in support of the objectives, but
recommended changes to the details of the bill. On June 27,
1996, the Subcommittee met to mark up H.R. 3547. An amendment
to revise the acreage description and to retain a reversionary
interest and mineral rights for the Federal Government was
offered by Congressman Hayworth and adopted by voice vote. The
bill was then ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee.
On August 1, 1996, the Full Resources Committee met to consider
H.R. 3547. An amendment in the nature of a substitute to
specify the location of the property, delete the mineral
rights, and change the reversionary right to a right of re-
entry was offered by Congressman John T. Doolittle (R-CA), and
adopted by voice vote. The bill as amended was then ordered
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by voice
vote.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Land conveyance, Apache National Forest, Arizona
This section would convey land in the Apache National
Forest in Apache County, Arizona, without consideration to the
Alpine Elementary School District for public school facilities
and related recreational purposes. It describes the condition
of conveyance and encumbrances, a description of the property,
and additional terms and conditions.
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. 3547 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. 3547. 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.
3547 does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in tax
expenditures. Enacting H.R. 3547 could reduce offsetting
receipts to the Federal Government by as much as $250,000.
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. 3547.
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.
3547 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, August 8, 1996.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
reviewed H.R. 3547, a bill to provide for the conveyance of a
parcel of real property in the Apache National Forest in the
state of Arizona to the Alphine Elementary School District 7 to
be used for the construction of school facilities and related
playing fields. The bill was ordered reported by the House
Committee on Resources on August 1, 1996. Based on information
from the Forest Service, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3547
could reduce offsetting receipts by as much as $250,000.
Because the bill could affect direct spending by reducing
offsetting receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply.
H.R. 3547 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to
convey about 30 acres of federal land in the Apache National
Forest to the Alpine Elementary School District 7. The school
district would pay for a survey to determine the exact acreage
and legal description of the real property to be conveyed. If
this property is not conveyed to the school district, CBO
expects that the Forest Service would either exchange the land
for other lands of equal value or attempt to sell it at fair
market value. If the property were otherwise sold, enacting
H.R. 3547 would lead the government to forgo sale receipts
totaling not more than $250,000.
H.R. 3547 contains no private-sector or intergovernmental
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(Public Law 104-4) and would impose no significant costs on
state, local, or tribal governments.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The staff contacts are Victoria V.
Heid (for federal costs), and Marjorie Miller (for the state,
local, and tribal impact).
Sincerely,
James L. Blum
(For June E. O'Neill, Director).
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
H.R. 3547 contains no unfunded mandates.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, H.R. 3547 would make no changes in existing
law.