[Senate Report 106-17]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




                                                        Calendar No. 42

106th Congress                                                   Report
  1st Session                    SENATE                          106-17

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                      SAN JUAN COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

                                _______
                                

                 March 16, 1999.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______


  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 293]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 293) to direct the Secretaries of 
Agriculture and Interior to convey certain lands in San Juan 
County, New Mexico, to San Juan College, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                         PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

    S. 293, as ordered reported, directs the Secretaries of 
Agriculture and Interior to convey certain lands in San Juan 
County, New Mexico, to San Juan College.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The purpose of this bill is to direct the Secretary of 
Agriculture to convey a ten acre parcel of land, including 
facilities located thereon, known as the ``Old Jicarilla 
Administrative Site,'' to San Juan College. The bill requires 
that the site continue to be used for public purposes, 
including educational and recreational purposes. The bill 
directs that consideration for the property shall be an amount 
consistent with the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. The 
Forest Service has determined that this site is of no further 
use to the agency, since the Jicarilla District Ranger moved 
into a new administratively facility in the town of Bloomfield, 
New Mexico. The facility has had no occupants for several 
years. The Forest Service reported to the general Services 
Administration that the improvements on the site were 
considered surplus, and would be available for disposal under 
its administrative procedures.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 293 was introduced by Senators Domenici and Bingaman on 
January 21, 1999. An identical version of this bill (S. 2402) 
was considered by the Committee during the 105th Congress. The 
Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management held a 
hearing on S. 2402 on October 1, 1998; and the bill was 
favorably reported, as amended, on October 6, 1998. The bill 
passed the Senate on October 9, 1998, but no further action was 
taken in the House.
    At the business meeting on March 4, 1999, the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 293 favorably reported.

           COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS AND TABULATIONS OF VOTES

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on March 4, 1999, by unanimous voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommendations that the Senate pass S. 293.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Old Jicarilla Administrative Site

    Section 1(a) states that, not later than one year after the 
date of enactment, the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior 
shall convey San Juan College approximately ten acres known as 
the Old Jicarilla Administrative Site.
    Subsection (b) states that exact acreage and legal 
description of the property conveyed shall be determined by a 
survey satisfactory to the Secretaries and the President of San 
Juan College, and that the cost of the survey shall be borne by 
San Juan College.
    Subsection (c) provides that, notwithstanding exceptions 
under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, conveyance shall 
be consistent with the Bureau of Land Management special 
pricing program for Government entities under the Recreation 
and Public Purposes Act and an agreement between the 
Secretaries and San Juan College indemnifying the United States 
for all liability. This subsection requires that the lands 
conveyed by this Act be used for educational and recreational 
purposes and states that, if the lands are not used for such 
purposes, at the option of the United States, such lands will 
revert to the United States.
    Subsection (d) states that Public Order 3443 shall be 
revoked simultaneously with the conveyance of the property.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, March 10, 1999.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 293, a bill to 
direct the Secretaries of Agriculture and the interior to 
convey certain lands in San Juan County, New Mexico, to San 
Juan College.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Victoria 
Heid Hall (for federal costs) and Marjorie Miller (for the 
state and local impact).
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).

               congressional budget office cost estimate

S. 293--A bill to direct the Secretaries of Agriculture and the 
        Interior to convey certain lands in San Juan County, New 
        Mexico, to San Juan College

    S. 293 would direct the Secretaries of Agriculture and the 
Interior to convey to San Juan College in Farmington, New 
Mexico, a ten-acre parcel of federal property, including 
improvements on the land. As consideration for the conveyance, 
the bill would require San Juan College to pay an amount 
consistent with the Bureau of Land Management's special pricing 
program for governmental entities under the Recreation and 
Public Purposes Act, and to indemnify the federal government 
from all liability arising from the property.
    CBO estimates that enacting S. 293 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. Based on information 
from the Forest Service and San Juan College, we estimate that 
the college would pay less than $1,000 to acquire the property, 
including improvements. The agencies do not have any plans to 
sell the land under current law. Because S. 293 would increase 
offsetting receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply; 
however, we estimate that the impact on direct spending would 
be negligible.
    S. 293 contains an intergovernmental mandate as defined in 
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA), but the costs of that 
mandate would be far less than the threshold established by 
that act ($50 million per year in 1996, adjusted annually for 
inflation). The bill would require San Juan College, a public 
institution, to pay for a survey of the property to be 
conveyed. CBO estimates that this mandate would not impose 
substantial costs on the college. Any other costs that the 
college might incur as a result of this bill would be 
voluntary. S. 293 contains no new private-sector mandate as 
defined in UMRA.
    The CBO staff contacts are Victoria Heid Hall (for federal 
costs) and Marjorie Miller (for the state and local impact). 
This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                      regulatory impact evaluation

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 293. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 293, as ordered reported.

                        executive communications

    On March 8, 1999, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
the Interior and the Department of Agriculture and the Office 
of Management and Budget setting forth Executive agency 
recommendations on S. 293. These reports had not been received 
at the time the report on S. 293 was filed. When the reports 
become available, the Chairman will request that they be 
printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of the 
Senate.

                        changes in existing law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 293, as ordered 
reported.

                                
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