[House Report 105-705]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 2d Session                                                     105-705
_______________________________________________________________________


 
             SALE, LEASE, OR EXCHANGE OF IDAHO SCHOOL LAND

                                _______
                                

 September 11, 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. 4166]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 4166) to amend the Idaho Admission Act regarding the sale 
or lease of school land, 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. 4166 is to amend the Idaho Admission 
Act regarding the sale or lease of school land.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    In 1996, Idaho Governor Phil Batt appointed a Committee on 
Endowment Fund Investment Reform to look into ways to improve 
returns to the State's permanent endowment fund on Idaho's 2.5 
million acres of endowment lands. The Committee worked for 
several months and recommended that the separate parts of the 
endowment--the land trust and financial trust--should be 
organized, invested, and managed as a whole.
    In 1997, the Idaho Legislature passed an extensive 
legislative package based on the recommendations and designed 
to generate additional income from the endowment lands for 
public schools and other beneficiaries. The package included 
provisions to allow the Board of Land Commissioners to exercise 
its fiduciary responsibility as manager of the endowment by 
treating State endowments as one trust, create an Earnings 
Reserve Account that will serve as a ``shock absorber'' to 
allow endowments to provide a more predictable income stream to 
the beneficiaries, provide increased and stable funding for 
public education and other beneficiaries by allowing 
investments in assets that result in a higher rate of return, 
and establish a ``land bank'' account for proceeds from the 
sale of endowment lands.
    Although a number of changes have already been adopted by 
the State legislature, the federal Idaho Admission Act (26 
Stat. 215, Chapter 656) must be amended to fully implement 
these reforms. H.R. 4166 strictly follows the Commission's 
recommendations by allowing proceeds from the sale of endowment 
lands be placed into a land bank to be used to acquire, in 
strict accordance with Idaho law, other land in the State for 
the benefit of the public school permanent endowment fund.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 4166 was introduced on June 25, 1998, by Congressman 
Michael Crapo (R-ID) and Congressman Helen Chenoweth (R-ID). 
The bill was referred to the Committee on Resources, and within 
the Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public 
Lands. On August 5, 1998, the Full Resources Committee met to 
consider H.R. 4166. H.R. 4166 was discharged from the 
Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands by unanimous 
consent. No amendments were offered. The bill was then ordered 
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by voice 
vote.

            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, 
theCommittee 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 grants Congress the authority 
to enact H.R. 4166.

                        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. 4166. 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. 
4166 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. 4166.
    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. 
4166 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                   Washington, DC, August 12, 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. 4166, a bill to 
amend the Idaho Admission Act regarding the sale or lease of 
school land.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Theresa 
Gullo.
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 4166--A bill to amend the Idaho Admission Act regarding the sale 
        or lease of school land

    H.R. 4166 would amend the Idaho Admission Act to provide 
the state with greater flexibility in managing lands given to 
it by the federal government in 1890 and placed in an endowment 
to benefit public education. These changes would conform 
federal statute to recent amendments to the state constitution 
enacted by the Idaho State Legislature.
    CBO estimates that enacting this bill would have no impact 
on the federal budget. Because H.R. 4166 would not affect 
direct spending or receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would not 
apply. H.R. 4166 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.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Theresa Gullo. 
This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    H.R. 4166 contains no unfunded mandates.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3 of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the 
bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed 
to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is 
printed in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed 
is shown in roman):

                          ACT OF JULY 3, 1890

            (Commonly Known as the ``Idaho Admission Act'')

 CHAP. 656.--An act to provide for the admission of the State of Idaho 
into the Union.

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  [Sec. 5. That all lands herein granted for educational 
purposes shall be disposed of only at public sale, the proceeds 
to constitute a permanent school fund, the interest of which 
only shall be expended in the support of said schools. But said 
lands may, under such regulations as the legislature shall 
prescribe, be leased for periods of not more than five years, 
and such lands shall not be subject to pre-emption, homestead 
entry, or any other entry under the land laws of the United 
States, whether surveyed or unsurveyed, but shall be reserved 
for school purposes only.]

SEC. 5. SALE, LEASE, OR EXCHANGE OF SCHOOL LAND.

  (a) Sale.--
          (1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection 
        (c), all land granted under this Act for educational 
        purposes shall be sold only at public sale.
          (2) Use of proceeds.--
                  (A) In general.--Proceeds of the sale of 
                school land--
                          (i) except as provided in clause 
                        (ii), shall be deposited in the public 
                        school permanent endowment fund and 
                        expended only for the support of public 
                        schools; and
                          (ii)(I) may be deposited in a land 
                        bank fund to be used to acquire, in 
                        accordance with State law, other land 
                        in the State for the benefit of the 
                        beneficiaries of the public school 
                        permanent endowment fund; or
                          (II) if the proceeds are not used to 
                        acquire other land in the State within 
                        a period specified by State law, shall 
                        be transferred to the public school 
                        permanent endowment fund.
                  (B) Earnings reserve fund.--Earnings on 
                amounts in the public school permanent 
                endowment fund shall be deposited in an 
                earnings reserve fund to be used for the 
                support of public schools of the State in 
                accordance with State law.
  (b) Lease.--Land granted under this Act for educational 
purposes may be leased in accordance with State law.
  (c) Exchange.--
          (1) In general.--Land granted for educational 
        purposes under this Act may be exchanged for other 
        public or private land.
          (2) Valuation.--The values of exchanged lands shall 
        be approximately equal, or, if the values are not 
        approximately equal, the values shall be equalized by 
        the payment of funds by the appropriate party.
          (3) Exchanges with the united states.--
                  (A) In general.--A land exchange with the 
                United States shall be limited to Federal land 
                within the State that is subject to exchange 
                under the law governing the administration of 
                the Federal land.
                  (B) Previous exchanges.--All land exchanges 
                made with the United States before the date of 
                enactment of this paragraph are approved.
  (d) Reservation for School Purposes.--Land granted for 
educational purposes, whether surveyed or unsurveyed, shall not 
be subject to preemption, homestead entry, or any other form of 
entry under the land laws of the United States, but shall be 
reserved for school purposes only.

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