[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

                                _______
                                

 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.

                                
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