[House Report 105-693]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
105th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 105-693
_______________________________________________________________________
USE OF NATIONAL FOREST LANDS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL PURPOSES
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September 9, 1998.--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. 2223]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 2223) to amend the Act popularly known as the Recreation
and Public Purposes Act to authorize transfers of certain
public lands or national forest lands to local education
agencies for use for elementary or secondary schools, including
public charter schools, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof the following:
SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION OF USE OF NATIONAL FOREST LANDS FOR PUBLIC
SCHOOL PURPOSES.
(a) Transfers.--The Secretary of Agriculture may, upon a finding
that the transfer of certain National Forest lands for local public
school purposes would serve the public interest, authorize the transfer
of up to 40 acres of National Forest lands to a local governmental
entity for public school purposes. The Secretary may make available
only those National Forest lands that have been identified for disposal
or exchange or are not otherwise needed for National Forest purposes.
The Secretary shall make such transfers using the least amount of land
required for the efficient operation of the project involved.
(b) Costs.--Such transfers may be made at discounted or no-cost.
The Secretary shall provide for a no-cost transfer to a local
governmental entity for public school purposes if the Secretary
determines that the charges for such lands would impose an undue
hardship on the local governmental entity.
(c) Conditions.--Such transfers shall be conditioned on the
requirement that the lands so transferred will be used solely for
public school purposes.
(d) Deadline for Consideration of Application for Use for School.--
If the Secretary receives an application from a duly qualified
applicant that is a local education agency seeking a conveyance of land
under this Act for use for an elementary or secondary school, including
a public charter school, the Secretary shall--
(1) before the end of the 10-day period beginning on the date
of that receipt, provide notice of that receipt to the
applicant; and
(2) before the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date
of that receipt--
(A) determine whether or not to convey land pursuant
to the application, and notify the applicant of that
determination; or
(B) report to the Congress and the applicant the
reasons that determination has not been made.
Amend the title so as to read:
A bill to provide for the use of certain National Forest
lands for public school purposes.
purpose of the bill
H.R. 2223 would amend the Act popularly known as the
Recreation and Public Purposes Act to authorize transfers of
certain public lands or national forest lands to local
education agencies for use for elementary or secondary schools,
including public charter schools, and for other purposes.
background and need for legislation
In 1954 Congress passed the Recreation and Public Purposes
Act (R&PPA). The Act authorized the sale or lease of Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) land to state and local governments and
qualified non-profit organizations for public purposes.
Typically, the R&PPA is used for schools, parks, fairgrounds,
campgrounds, historic monument sites, hospitals, and municipal
facilities.
The R&PPA has served the public well. It has allowed many
communities to build needed public facilities that couldn't
have been built otherwise. Unfortunately, many of the
``landlocked'' towns of the west (those that are completely
surrounded by federal land) are surrounded by U.S. Forest
Service land, not BLM land. Since Forest Service land may not
be conveyed under the R&PPA, these towns are at a disadvantage.
Private land within National Forests is becoming extremely
expensive, and often school districts can't afford to purchase
private land for schools.
While under certain statutes the U.S. Forest Service has
the authority to sell land, they must do so at full market
value. School districts are still, therefore, often priced out
of the market just as they would be if they had to buy private
land.
On numerous occasions Congress has passed individual bills
that have transferred Forest Service Land to local governments
or education agencies for public purposes. Unfortunately,
passing individual legislation for each community in need of
Forest Service land is inefficient and burdensome on Congress.
Congress could solve this issue and benefit rural school
districts by delegating the authority to discretionarily make
such transfers to the Forest Service. H.R. 2223 was designed
for this purpose, and would accomplish it by bringing the
Forest Service under the R&PPA.
committee action
H.R. 2223 was introduced on July 23, 1997, 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 and Public Lands and the Subcommittee on Forests
and Forest Health. On February 24, 1998, the National Parks
Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R. 2223, where witnesses
testified in favor of the bill. The Forest Service testified in
opposition to the bill, citing policy reason why the Forest
Service should not transfer land at less than full market
value, no matter how good the cause. See Committee on Resources
Printed Hearing 105-71. On May 21, 1998, the Subcommittee met
to mark up H.R. 2223. An amendment to clarify that the
Secretary of Agriculture, not the Secretary of Interior, would
manage Forest Service lands under the Recreation and Public
Purposes Act was offered by Congressman James V. Hansen (R-UT),
and adopted by voice vote. The bill was then ordered favorably
reported to the Full Committee by voice vote. On July 29, 1998,
the Full Resources Committee met to consider H.R. 2223. The
Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health was discharged from
further consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. An
amendment in the nature of a substitute that would give the
Forest Service statutory authority separate from the R&PPA to
transfer Forest Service land to education agencies at less than
full market value was offered by Delegate Eni Faleomavaega (D-
AS). An amendment to the Faleomavaega amendment that would
ensure expedited review of applications from education agencies
and that would clarify that charter schools were included in
the definition of education agencies was offered by Congressman
Hansen and adopted by unanimous consent. The Faleomavaega
amendment in the nature of a substitute as amended was then
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. Authorization of use of National Forest lands for public
school purposes
Section 1(a) of the bill authorizes the transfer of up to
40 acres of certain National Forest lands for school purposes.
It is the intention of the Committee and the sponsor of the
legislation to include charter schools in the definition of
public schools.
Section 1(b) authorizes such transfers at a discounted cost
or no cost at all. It was the Committee's original intent to
convey this land at no cost to the local education agencies.
However, an agreement was reached to authorize the sale of
certain National Forest lands at a discounted price to local
education agencies. Nevertheless, it was the Committee's intent
to follow the guidelines established by the R&PPA. Under the
R&PPA, the BLM has set up a special pricing scale to determine
at what price the land will be sold.
The October 1994 BLM guide on the R&PPA clearly explains
the special pricing system. It states: ``Under special pricing
schedules, purchases may be made for $10 an acre, with a
minimum price per transfer of $50. * * * Special pricing
applies to land which will be government-controlled, used for
government purposes, and serve the general public. Examples
include * * * educational facilities.'' Therefore, it is the
Committee's conclusion that if the Secretary of Agriculture
chooses to sell National Forest land to a local education
agency at a discounted price, this land should be sold using
the special pricing system established by the R&PPA. Under the
bill, a local education agency should pay no more than $400 for
acreage to build school facilities.
Section 1(d)(2) amends the original bill's expedited review
provision from 60 to 90 days.
It was the intention of the sponsor and the Committee that
the original bill amend the Recreation and Public Purposes Act
(43 U.S.C. 869); the reported text is a stand-alone provision.
However, as noted above, it is the Committee's intent to use
established precedence under the R&PPA for carrying out this
legislation.
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.
constitutional authority statement
Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3, of the
Constitution of the United States grant Congress the authority
to enact H.R. 2223.
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. 2223. 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.
2223 does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in tax
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office,
enactment of H.R. 2223 could result in a loss of offsetting
receipts, but that any such loss would total less than $500,000
a year.
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. 2223.
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.
2223 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.
congressional budget office cost estimate
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, July 30, 1998.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2223, a bill to
provide for the use of certain National Forest lands for public
school purposes.
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.
Enclosure.
H.R. 2223--A bill to provide for the use of certain National Forest
lands for public school purposes
CBO estimates that enhancing H.R. 2223 would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. Because H.R. 2223
could result in a loss of offsetting receipts, pay-as-go
procedures would apply; however, CBO estimates that any such
effect would total less than $500,000 each year. H.R. 2223
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.
H.R. 2223 would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to
transfer up to 40 acres of land in the National Forest System
to a local government for public school purposes. Only land
identified for disposal or exchange, or not otherwise needed
for National Forest purposes, would be available for transfer.
The bill would allow the Secretary to transfer the land for a
payment less than fair market value or at no cost to the local
government. The bill would require the Secretary to notify
local education agencies applying for such transfers within 90
days of their application as to whether the land will be
conveyed, or report to the Congress and the applicant the
reasons that such a determination has not been made.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2223 would result in
forgone offsetting receipts if land that the Secretary would
likely sell at fair market value under current law would, under
the bill, be transferred to local governments at a discount or
at no cost. However, CBO estimates that any such loss of
receipts from land sales would total less than $500,000 each
year. This bill would benefit some local governments by giving
them the opportunity to acquire National Forest land for public
schools at no cost, or at prices below market value.
The CBO staff contact is Victoria V. Heid. This estimate
was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy Assistant Director
for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
H.R. 2223 contains no unfunded mandates.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, H.R. 2223 would make no changes in existing
law.