[Senate Report 106-245]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 463
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     106-245

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                        LANDUSKY SCHOOL DISTRICT

                                _______
                                

                 March 20, 2000.--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. 1218]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1218) to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to issue to the Landusky School District, without 
consideration, a patent for the surface and mineral estates of 
certain lots, and for other purposes, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommends 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:

That subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary of the Interior 
shall issue to the Landusky School District, without consideration, a 
patent for the surface and mineral estates of approximately 2.06 acres 
of land, as follows: T.25 N, R.24 E, Montana Prime Meridian, section 27 
block 2, school reserve, and section 27, block 3, lot 13.

                         PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

    The purpose of S. 1218 is to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to issue to the Landusky School District, without 
consideration, a patent for the surface and mineral estates of 
certain lots.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Landusky is a small agricultural community in north central 
Montana. An oversight in the original transfer of land from the 
Bureau of Land Management did not convey the surface and 
mineral estates on the two lots that the school has now 
occupied for a number of decades. The legislation corrects the 
oversight.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 1218 was introduced on June 14, 1999, by Senator Burns. 
The Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management held a 
hearing on S. 1218 on October 14, 1999. At the business meeting 
on February 10, 2000, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources ordered S. 1218 reported favorably with an amendment 
in the nature of a substitute.

            COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTES

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on February 10, 2000, by a voice vote of 
a quorum present recommends that the Senate pass S. 1218 if 
amended as described herein.

                          Committee Amendment

    During consideration of S. 1218, the Committee adopted an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment deleted 
a provision in the bill that would have exempted the transfer 
form the National Environmental Policy Act and the Historic 
Preservation Act.

                         Summary of the Measure

    S. 1218 directs the Secretary of the Interior to issue to 
the Landusky School District a patent, without consideration, 
for 2.06 acres of the surface and mineral estates for the 
property described in the bill.

                   Cost and Budgetary considerations

    The Congressional Budget Office estimate of the costs of 
this measure follow below:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, February 28, 2000.
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. 1218, a bill to 
direct the Secretary of the Interior to issue to the Landusky 
School District, without consideration, a patent for the 
surface and mineral estates of certain lots, 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 
Carroll.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

S. 1218--A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to issue to the 
        Landusky School District, without consideration, a patent for 
        the surface and mineral estates of certain lots, and for other 
        purposes

    S. 1218 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey, without consideration, the surface and subsurface 
mineral estates of about two acres of federal land to the 
Landusky School District, located in Montana. According to the 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the school district currently 
operates and maintains an elementary school and auxiliary 
school buildings on the land and bears full financial 
responsibility for the property. The land currently generates 
no federal receipts, and BLM does not expect the land to 
generate any significant receipts over the next 10 years.
    Based on information from BLM, CBO estimates that enacting 
S. 1218 would have no significant impact on the federal budget. 
The bill would not affect direct spending or receipts; 
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. S. 1218 
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 Landusky 
School District would benefit from the opportunity to acquire 
this property at no cost.
    The CBO staff contact is Megan Carroll. This estimate was 
approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 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. 1218.
    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. 1218, as ordered reported.

                        executive communications

    On February 10, 2000 the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting 
forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 1218. These 
reports had not been received at the time the report on S. 1218 
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. The testimony provided by the Bureau 
of Land Management at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

   Statement of Carson (Pete) Culp, Assistant Director of Minerals, 
       Realty, and Resource Protection, Bureau of Land Management

    Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I appreciate 
the opportunity to appear before you today to testify on S. 
1218, the conveyance of certain BLM lands in Landusky, Montana 
to the Landusky School District. The BLM supports the 
conveyance of public lands in Montana as described in S. 1218, 
if amended to make the conveyance subject to the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and does not object to the 
conveyance in Nevada as described in S. 408.
    The BLM supports S. 1218, if amended to make the conveyance 
of 2.06 acres of public land to the Landusky School District in 
Landusky, Montana, subject to the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA). By way of history, the Landusky elementary school 
was constructed in 1904 and an auxiliary school building was 
completed in 1992. The subject lots are both adjacent to 
private lands. The BLM assumed administrative jurisdiction from 
the U.S. Forest Service in 1966. Also, in 1966, the Landusky 
townsite withdrawal was established by Public Order No. 3938. 
While establishing the townsite, BLM officials also created a 
school reserve and intended to include the Landusky elementary 
school as part of the school reserve. The old townsite 
authority would have allowed the patenting of those school lots 
to an incorporated town, however, since Landusky is not 
incorporated, those lots were never patented. In 1976, the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) repealed the 
townsite laws, and the lands still remain under the 
jurisdiction of the BLM. In 1991, the fair market value for 
these two lots was $30,300. The current value of these lots has 
not yet been determined, but their monetary value is not likely 
to be significant. The lands are currently being used for their 
intended purpose, and because the Landusky school district has 
little funding capability, we recommend that the lots be 
conveyed with no monetary consideration subject to NEPA 
requirements.
    Mr. Chairman, I appreciate this opportunity to appear 
before the Subcommittee and discuss these bills. I will be glad 
to answer any questions.

                        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 S. 1218, as ordered 
reported.

                                
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