House Report 106-847 - LINCOLN COUNTY LAND ACT OF 2000

[House Report 106-847]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-847

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LINCOLN COUNTY LAND ACT OF 2000

_______

September 14, 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. 2752]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 2752) to give Lincoln County, Nevada, the right to
purchase at fair market value certain public land located
within that county, 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 all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Lincoln County Land Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) Lincoln County, Nevada, encompasses an area of 10,132
square miles of the State of Nevada;
(2) approximately 98 percent of the County is owned by the
Federal Government;
(3) the city of Mesquite, Nevada, needs land for an organized
approach for expansion to the north;
(4) citizens of the County would benefit through enhanced
county services and schools from the increased private property
tax base due to commercial and residential development;
(5) the County would see improvement to the budget for the
county and school services through the immediate distribution
of sale receipts from the Secretary selling land through a
competitive bidding process;
(6) a cooperative approach among the Bureau of Land
Management, the County, the City, and other local government
entities will ensure continuing communication between those
entities;
(7) the Federal Government will be fairly compensated for the
sale of public land; and
(8) the proposed Caliente Management Framework Amendment and
Environmental Impact Statement for the Management of Desert
Tortoise Habitat Plan identify specific public land as being
suitable for disposal.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to provide for the orderly disposal of certain public
land in the County; and
(2) to provide for the acquisition of environmentally
sensitive land in the State of Nevada.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) City.--The term ``City'' means the city of Mesquite,
Nevada.
(2) County.--The term ``County'' means Lincoln County,
Nevada.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior.
(4) Special account.--The term ``special account'' means the
account in the Treasury of the United States established under
section 5.

SEC. 4. DISPOSAL OF LAND.

(a) Disposal.--
(1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of this Act, notwithstanding the land use planning
and land sale requirements contained in sections 202 and 203 of
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
1711, 1712), the Secretary, in cooperation with the County and
the City, in accordance with this Act, the Federal Land Policy
and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), and other
applicable law, and subject to valid existing rights, shall
dispose of the land described in subsection (b) in a
competitive bidding process, at a minimum, for fair market
value.
(2) Timing.--The Secretary shall dispose of--
(A) the land described in subsection (b)(1)(A) not
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act; and
(B) the land described in subsection (b)(1)(B) not
later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this
Act.
(b) Land Description.--
(1) In general.--The land referred to in subsection (a) is
the land depicted on the map entitled ``Public Lands Identified
for Disposal in Lincoln County, Nevada'' and dated July 24,
2000, consisting of--
(A) the land identified on the map for disposal
within 1 year, comprising approximately 4,817 acres;
and
(B) the land identified on the map for disposal
within 5 years, comprising approximately 8,683 acres.
(2) Map.--The map described in paragraph (1) shall be
available for public inspection in the Ely Field Office of the
Bureau of Land Management.
(c) Segregation.--Subject to valid existing rights, the land
described in subsection (b) is segregated from all forms of entry and
appropriation (except for competitive sale) under the public land laws,
including the mining laws, and from operation of the mineral leasing
and geothermal leasing laws.
(d) Compliance With Local Planning and Zoning.--The Secretary shall
ensure that qualified bidders intend to comply with--
(1) County and City zoning ordinances; and
(2) any master plan for the area developed and approved by
the County and City.

SEC. 5. DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.

(a) Land Sales.--Of the gross proceeds of sales of land under this
Act in a fiscal year--
(1) 5 percent shall be paid directly to the State of Nevada
for use in the general education program of the State;
(2) 10 percent shall be returned to the County for use as
determined through normal county budgeting procedures, with
emphasis given to support of schools, of which no amount may be
used in support of litigation against the Federal Government;
and
(3) the remainder shall be deposited in a special account in
the Treasury of the United States (referred to in this section
as the ``special account'') for use as provided in subsection
(b).
(b) Availability of Special Account.--
(1) In general.--Amounts in the special account (including
amounts earned as interest under paragraph (3)) shall be
available to the Secretary ofthe Interior, without further Act
of appropriation, and shall remain available until expended, for--
(A) inventory, evaluation, protection, and management
of unique archaeological resources (as defined in
section 3 of the Archaeological Resources Protection
Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470bb)) in the County;
(B) development of a multispecies habitat
conservation plan in the County;
(C)(i) reimbursement of costs incurred by the Nevada
State Office and the Ely Field Office of the Bureau of
Land Management in preparing sales under this Act, or
other authorized land sales within the County,
including the costs of land boundary surveys,
compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), appraisals,
environmental and cultural clearances, and any public
notice; and
(ii) processing public land use authorizations and
rights-of-way stemming from development of the conveyed
land; and
(D) the cost of acquisition of environmentally
sensitive land or interests in such land in the State
of Nevada, with priority given to land outside Clark
County.
(2) Acquisition from willing sellers.--An acquisition under
paragraph (1)(D) shall be made only from a willing seller and
after consultation with the State of Nevada and units of local
government under the jurisdiction of which the environmentally
sensitive land is located.
(c) Investment of Special Account.--All funds deposited as principal
in the special account shall earn interest in the amount determined by
the Secretary of the Treasury on the basis of the current average
market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States
of comparable maturities.

SEC. 6. ACQUISITIONS.

(a) Definition of Environmentally Sensitive Land.--In this section,
the term ``environmentally sensitive land'' means land or an interest
in land, the acquisition of which by the United States would, in the
judgment of the Secretary--
(1) promote the preservation of natural, scientific,
aesthetic, historical, cultural, watershed, wildlife, and other
values contributing to public enjoyment and biological
diversity;
(2) enhance recreational opportunities and public access;
(3) provide the opportunity to achieve better management of
public land through consolidation of Federal ownership; or
(4) otherwise serve the public interest.
(b) Acquisitions.--
(1) In general.--After the consultation process has been
completed in accordance with subsection (c), the Secretary may
acquire with the proceeds of the special account
environmentally sensitive land and interests in environmentally
sensitive land. Land may not be acquired under this section
without the consent of the landowner.
(2) Use of other funds.--Funds made available from the
special account may be used with any other funds made available
under any other provision of law.
(c) Consultation.--Before initiating efforts to acquire land under
this subsection, the Secretary shall consult with the State of Nevada
and with local government within whose jurisdiction the land is
located, including appropriate planning and regulatory agencies, and
with other interested persons, concerning the necessity of making the
acquisition, the potential impacts on State and local government, and
other appropriate aspects of the acquisition.
(d) Administration.--On acceptance of title by the United States,
land and interests in land acquired under this section that is within
the boundaries of a unit of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System,
National Trails System, National Wilderness Preservation System, any
other system established by Act of Congress, or any national
conservation or national recreation area established by Act of
Congress--
(1) shall become part of the unit or area without further
action by the Secretary; and
(2) shall be managed in accordance with all laws and
regulations and land use plans applicable to the unit or area.

Amend the title so as to read:

A bill to direct the Secretary of Interior to sell certain public
land in Lincoln County through a competitive process.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 2752 is to give Lincoln County, Nevada,
the right to purchase at fair market value certain public land
located within that county, and for other purposes.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

H.R. 2752 would grant Lincoln County, Nevada, the exclusive
right to purchase pieces of public land, at fair market value,
for a ten-year period. The bill would also withdraw such land
from all forms of entry and appropriation under public land
laws, including the mining laws, and from operation of the
mineral leasing and geothermal laws during the ten years.
The gross proceeds of these sales would then be placed in
several funds to be used for a number of purposes: (1) five
percent of the proceeds would be paid directly to the State of
Nevada for use in the general education program of the State;
(2) ten percent shall be returned to Lincoln County to be used
for normal budgeting procedures, with emphasis given to
supporting public schools; and (3) the remainder shall be
deposited in a special account in the Treasury of the United
States.
Located in southeastern Nevada, Lincoln County encompasses
6.8 million acres, making it the third largest in the State.
Despite its size, Lincoln County remains sparsely populated,
and nearly 90 percent of the land is under federal ownership.
This pattern of private ownership mixed with public lands poses
many problems for land managers. H.R. 2752 would help resolve
this problem by allowing some of these lands to be made
available to the private sector. The increase of private lands
would also increase the revenue for county tax rolls, thereby
providing much needed resources to Lincoln County's
schoolchildren.

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 2752 was introduced by Congressman Jim Gibbons (R-NV)
on August 5, 1999. 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 Energy
and Mineral Resources. On July 13, 2000, the Subcommittee on
National Parks and Public Lands held a hearing on the bill. On
July 26, 2000, the Resources Committee met to consider the
bill. Both Subcommittees were discharged from further
consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. Mr. Gibbons
offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute that expands
the amount of land available for sale and requires the Bureau
of Land Management to sell the land to the highest bidder, not
necessarily the Lincoln County government. The amendment was
adopted by voice vote. No further amendments were offered and
the bill, as amended was 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 will yield offsetting receipts over the 2001-2005 time
period, and increase net direct spending over the 2001-2010
time period.
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:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, August 31, 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. 2752, the Lincoln
County Land Act of 2000.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan
Carroll.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.

H.R. 2752--Lincoln County Land Act of 2000

Summary: H.R. 2752 would accelerate the timing of certain
land sales in Nevada and would allow the proceeds to be spent
without further appropriation. CBO estimates that enacting this
bill would increase net direct spending by $2 million over the
2001-2005 period and by a total of $16 million over the next 15
years. Because the bill would affect direct spending, pay-as-
you-go procedures would apply. We estimate that implementing
H.R. 2752 would not have a significant impact on discretionary
spending.
H.R. 2752 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: For this
estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 2752 will be enacted near the
start of fiscal year 2001. The estimated budgetary impact of
H.R. 2752 is shown in the following table. The costs of this
legislation fall within budget functions 300 (natural resources
and environment) and 800 (general government).

Net receipts from sale of Federal lands: \1\
Estimated budget authority..................................... -4 -1 -2 -1 -1
Estimated outlays.............................................. -4 -1 -2 -1 -1
New direct spending:
Estimated budget authority..................................... 1 2 2 3 3
Estimated outlays.............................................. 1 2 2 3 3
Net change in direct spending:
Estimated budget authority..................................... -3 1 0 2 2
Estimated outlays.............................................. -3 1 0 2 2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Estimates of net receipts include payments to the state of Nevada as authorized under current law.

Basis of estimate
H.R. 2752 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to
sell, for fair market value through a competitive bidding
process, approximately 13,500 acres of federal lands located
within Lincoln County, Nevada, and administered by the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM). The bill would require the Secretary
to sell 4,817 acres of those lands within one year and the rest
within five years. The bill would direct the Secretary to pay 5
percent of the proceeds from those sales to the state of Nevada
(as provided under current law) and another 10 percent to
Lincoln County. The rest would be deposited in an interest-
bearing account and could be spent by the Secretary, without
further appropriation, for acquiring environmentally sensitive
lands in Nevada and other resource management activities.
Based on information from BLM, CBO estimates that enacting
H.R. 2752 would increase net direct spending by $2 million over
the 2001-2005 period and by a total of $16 million over the
next 15 years. This estimate includes the impact of provisions
that would accelerate land sales that otherwise would occur
over a longer period, as well as the cost of provisions that
would result in new direct spending. In particular, the bill
would incur net direct spending costs because it would allow
the Secretary of the Interior to spend receipts from land sales
that could not be spent under current law.
Acceleration of land sales
According to BLM, the lands that would be sold under this
bill already have been identified for disposal under current
law, and the agency plans to sell those lands over the next 15
years. Based on information from BLM, we estimate that, under
current law, net proceeds from the sale of those lands would
total about $15 million, of which about $5 million would be
collected over the 2001-2005 period and $10 million in later
years.
By directing the Secretary to sell all the lands within
five years, H.R. 2752 would accelerate the collection of those
proceeds and subsequent payments to Nevada. Based on
information from BLM, we estimate that the sales would yield
net offsetting receipts totaling about $14 million over the
2001-2005 period. (That amount is lower than our estimate of
receipts under current law because we expect that the sales
price of the lands would increase in future years due to
inflation and appreciation.) Thus, we estimate that enacting
this bill would result in a near-term increase in offsetting
receipts of $9 million, which would be more than offset by
forgone receipts of $10 million over the 2006-2015 period.
CBO's estimate of the annual change in net proceeds reflects
the timing of the sales outline in the bill.
New direct spending
CBO estimates that spending the proceeds from the
accelerated land sales (plus interest) would cost about $15
million over the 2001-2010 period. Under current law, net
proceeds from the sale of federal lands are deposited in the
Treasury and are unavailable for spending. H.R. 2752 contains
two provisions that would increase direct spending of those net
receipts. First, the bill would require that 10 percent of the
gross proceeds from the sale of land under the bill be paid to
Lincoln County. CBO estimates that such payments would total
about $1 million over the 2001-2005 period. Second, under H.R.
2752, the remaining sale proceeds would be deposited in an
interest-bearing account and could be spent by the Secretary,
without further appropriation. The Secretary could use this
money to cover certain administrative costs, support activities
related to archaeological resources and habitat conservation in
the county, and acquire environmentally sensitive land in
Nevada. Based on information from BLM, CBO estimates that the
agency would spend a total of $14 million over the 2001-2010
period for those activities.
Pay-as-you-go considerations: The Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act sets up pay-as-you-go procedures
for legislation affecting direct spending or receipts. The new
changes in outlays that are subject to pay-as-you-go procedures
are shown in the following table. For the purposes of enforcing
pay-as-you-go procedures, only the effects in the current year,
the budget year, and the succeeding four years are counted.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Changes in outlays................. 0 -3 1 0 2 2 3 2 2 1 1
Changes in receipts................ Not applicable
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 2752
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or
tribal governments. Lincoln County would benefit from enactment
of this bill, because it would receive a portion of the
proceeds from the land sales, and because the land, if sold to
private parties, would be added to the county's tax base.
Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Megan Carroll; Impact
on State, local, and tribal governments: Marjorie Miller;
Impact on the private sector; Lauren Marks.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 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 State, local, or
tribal law.

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

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