[House Report 106-744]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     106-744

======================================================================



 
       LAND CONVEYANCE SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA

                                _______
                                

 July 17, 2000.--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. 3657]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 3657) to provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of 
public domain land in the San Bernardino National Forest in the 
State of California, and for other purposes, 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 AND SETTLEMENT, SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL 
                    FOREST, CALIFORNIA.

  (a) Conveyance Required.--Subject to valid existing rights and 
settlement of claims as provided in this section, the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall convey to KATY 101.3 FM (in this section referred to 
as ``KATY'') all right, title and interest of the United States in and 
to a parcel of real property consisting of approximately 1.06 acres 
within the San Bernardino National Forest in Riverside County, 
California, generally located in the north \1/2\ of section 23, 
township 5 south, range 2 east, San Bernardino meridian.
  (b) Legal Description.--The Secretary and KATY shall, by mutual 
agreement, prepare the legal description of the parcel of real property 
to be conveyed under subsection (a), which is generally depicted as 
Exhibit A-2 in an appraisal report of the subject property dated August 
26, 1999, by Paul H. Meiling.
  (c) Consideration.--Consideration for the conveyance under subsection 
(a) shall be equal to the appraised fair market value of the parcel to 
be conveyed. Any appraisal to determine the fair market value of the 
parcel shall be prepared in conformity with the Uniform Appraisal 
Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions and approved by the Secretary.
  (d) Settlement.--In addition to the consideration referred to in 
subsection (c), upon the receipt of $16,600 paid by KATY to the 
Secretary, the Secretary shall release KATY from any and all claims of 
the United States arising from the occupancy and use of the San 
Bernardino National Forest by KATY for communication site purposes.
  (e) Access Requirements.--Notwithstanding section 1323(a) of the 
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3210(a)) or 
any other law, the Secretary is not required to provide access over 
National Forest System lands to the parcel of real property conveyed 
under subsection (a).
  (f) Administrative Costs.--Any costs associated with the creation of 
a subdivided parcel, recordation of a survey, zoning, and planning 
approval, and similar expenses with respect to the conveyance under 
this section, shall be borne by KATY.
  (g) Indemnification.--By acceptance of the conveyance under this Act, 
KATY agrees--
          (1) to indemnify for any buildings or personal property 
        belonging to GTE (also known as General Telephone and 
        Electronics Corporation) and any other third party which are 
        located on the parcel referred to in subsection (a) as of the 
        date the acceptance of the conveyance by KATY; and
          (2) to indemnify and hold harmless the United States for 
        liability to GTE and any third party for any buildings or 
        personal property located on the parcel referred to in 
        subsection (a).
  (h) Treatment of Receipts.--All funds received pursuant to this 
section shall be deposited in the fund established under Public Law 90-
171 (16 U.S.C. 484a; commonly known as the Sisk Act), and the funds 
shall remain available to the Secretary, until expended, for the 
acquisition of lands, waters, and interests in land for the inclusion 
in the San Bernardino National Forest.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 3657 is to provide for the conveyance 
of a small parcel of public domain land in the San Bernardino 
National Forest in the State of California, and for other 
purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    KATY 101.3 is a small radio station that serves a number of 
people living in the mountainous region of Idyllwild, 
California. In 1995, KATY subleased a small wooden 
communications tower that had been operated by GTE for 30 years 
under a Forest Service special use permit in the San Bernardino 
National Forest. The Forest Service claimed this was in 
violation of GTE's special use permit and asked KATY to vacate 
the site.
    In 1996, the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act 
included a provision requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to 
consider whether maintaining the KATY site was in the public 
interest and to report his findings to Congress. This report 
was never submitted because the draft suggested that KATY move 
to another site which was in violation of several Federal 
Communications Commission regulations.
    Finally, the Forest Service approached KATY about the 
prospect of purchasing the land. KATY agreed to pay the Forest 
Service fair market value for 1.06 acres of federal land 
located in the San Bernardino National Forest. Congressional 
action is required for land conveyances by the Forest Service.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 3657 was introduced on February 15, 2000, by 
Congresswoman Mary Bono (R-CA). The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. On May 3, 2000, the 
Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On May 16, 2000, the 
Subcommittee met to mark up the bill. Congressman Helen 
Chenoweth-Hage (R-ID) offered an amendment to require KATY to 
provide the Forest Service with evidence that it has clear 
title to all structures on the site to be conveyed (as 
requested by the Forest Service) and correct a technical error 
in the description of the radio station. It was adopted by 
voice vote. The bill was then ordered favorably reported to the 
Full Committee. On June 7, 2000, the Full Resources Committee 
met to consider the bill. No further amendments were offered 
and the bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported 
to the House of Representatives by voice vote.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII 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 this bill.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) 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 this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
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 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in tax expenditures. 
According to the Congressional Budget Office, enactment of this 
bill could result in offsetting receipts of approximately 
$150,000 which can be spent by the Secretary of Agriculture 
without further appropriation.
    3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause 
3(c)(4) of rule XIII 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 on this bill.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII 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 this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, June 15, 2000.
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. 3657, a bill to 
provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of public domain 
land in the San Bernardino National Forest in the state of 
California, and for other purposes.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan Carrol.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 3657--A bill to provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of 
        public domain land in the San Bernardino National Forest in the 
        state of California, and for other purposes

    CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would have no 
significant net affect on the federal budget. Because the bill 
would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures would 
apply, but the impact on direct spending would be negligible. 
H.R. 3657 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would have no significant impact on the budgets of state, 
local, or tribal governments.
    Since 1995, KATY 101.3 FM (KATY), a small radio station, 
has operated a communication tower on approximately 1 acre of 
land that it leases within the San Bernardino National Forest 
in California. H.R. 3657 would direct the Secretary of 
Agriculture to convey that property to KATY in return for a 
payment equal to the land's appraised full market value. The 
bill also would require the Secretary, upon receipt of a 
payment by KATY of $16,600 (the estimated amount of arrears 
owed by KATY to the federal government), to release KATY from 
all claims arising from its lease of the site. Under the bill, 
the Secretary would not be required to provide access to the 
site. KATY would bear all administrative costs associated with 
the conveyance and would have to agree to indemnify the United 
States against future claims regarding the property.
    H.R. 3657 would authorize the Secretary to spend, without 
further appropriation, funds received from KATY to acquire 
other property for the San Bernardino National Forest. Based on 
information from the Forest Service, CBO expects that the 
federal government would receive as much as $150,000 from KATY 
in 2001. Those payments would be recorded as offsetting 
receipts (a credit against direct spending), and would be spent 
over the 2001-2002 period.
    The CBO staff contact is Megan Carroll. This estimate was 
approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Assistant Director for Budget 
Analysis.

                    compliance with public law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                preemption of state, local or tribal law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        changes in existing law

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                
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