[House Report 107-639]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



107th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     107-639

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



 
              GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK LAND EXCHANGE ACT

                                _______
                                

 September 4, 2002.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1105]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill (S. 
1105) to provide for the expeditious completion of the 
acquisition of State of Wyoming lands within the boundaries of 
Grand Teton National Park, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment 
and recommend that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of S. 1105 is to provide for the expeditious 
completion of the acquisition of State of Wyoming lands within 
the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park, and for other 
purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    When Wyoming was granted statehood, they were given 
scattered parcels of trust lands for the benefit of Wyoming 
schools. Some of these lands were within what would eventually 
become Grand Teton National Park. The State of Wyoming is 
required by law to derive revenues from the lands for their 
public schools. However, due to their location within a 
national park, the state has only been able to realize minimal 
revenue from these trust lands by allowing them to be leased 
for grazing and wildlife purposes.
    The legislation would provide the process by which the 
Secretary of Interior would acquire approximately 1,366 acres 
of land and subsurface mineral interests on 39 acres of land 
within the Grand Teton National Park. The 39 acre mineral 
interest is located in the northern part of the park near 
Jackson Lake. The smallest land parcel of state land comprises 
86 acres and is located across the Snake River from the Jackson 
Hole Airport. The two largest parcels, 640 acres in size each, 
are in the southern and eastern portion of the park close to 
some of the park's developed road system. These lands, rich in 
wildlife habitat, would be exchanged for other federal lands or 
assets of equal value. The legislation details the process 
under which the exchange would take place, including the 
selection of an appraiser, approval of the values of lands, and 
the opportunity for appeals. In turn, the state would be able 
to acquire lands that have greater potential to generate 
revenue for public schools.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    S. 1105 was introduced on March 1, 2001 by Senator Craig 
Thomas (R-WY). The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources. On July 31, 2001, the 
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the bill. On 
August 2, 2001, the Committee reported the bill favorably, with 
an amendment, to the Senate during its business meeting. On 
October 17, 2001, the Senate passed the bill, as amended, by 
unanimous consent. On October 23, 2001, the bill was received 
in the House and referred to the Committee on Resources. On 
November 5, 2001, the bill was referred within the Committee to 
the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public 
Lands. On July 24, 2002, the Full Resources Committee met to 
markup the bill and the Subcommittee on National Parks, 
Recreation, and Public Lands was discharged from further 
consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. No amendments 
were offered and the bill, as forwarded by the Senate, was 
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by 
unanimous consent.

            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 theHouse 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, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures. According to the Congressional 
Budget Office, enactment of this legislation is estimated to 
cost $1 million, subject to appropriations.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, the general performance goal and objective of 
this legislation is to provide for the expeditious completion 
of the acquisition of State of Wyoming lands within the 
boundaries of Grand Teton National Park, and for other 
purposes.
    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, July 31, 2002.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1105, the Grand 
Teton National Park Land Exchange Act.
    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. 1105--Grand Teton National Park Land Exchange Act

    Summary: S. 1105 would authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to acquire about 1,400 acres of state-owned lands and 
associated interests that lie within the boundaries of the 
Grand Teton National Park in Teton County, Wyoming. The 
Secretary could acquire those lands by donation, purchase, or, 
under certain conditions, by exchanging them for other federal 
lands and interests. The Secretary would manage any lands 
acquired under S. 1105 as part of the Grand Teton National 
Park.
    CBO estimates that implementing S. 1105 would cost $1 
million in 2003, assuming appropriation of the necessary 
amounts. The legislation could affect direct spending 
(including offsetting receipts); therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures would apply, but we estimate that any net change in 
direct spending would be negligible.
    S. 1105 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. This exchange would be voluntary on the part of 
the Wyoming state government.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: For this 
estimate, CBO assumes that S. 110-5 will be enacted near the 
start of fiscal year 2003 and that amounts necessary to 
implement this legislation will be provided soon thereafter. 
The estimated budgetary impact of S. 1105 is shown in the 
following table. The costs of this legislation fall within 
budget function 300 (natural resources and environment).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                                    --------------------------------------------
                                                                       2003     2004     2005     2006     2007
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION \1\

Estimated authorization level......................................        1        0        0        0        0
Estimated outlays..................................................        1        0        0        0        0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Enacting S. 1105 also could affect direct spending, but CBO estimates that any such effects would be
  negligible.

Basis of estimate

    S. 1105 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
acquire state-owned lands through donation or purchase, or, 
under certain conditions, by exchanging them for other federal 
lands. The act does not specify the federal lands to be 
exchanged but does require that they be identified for disposal 
under approved land use plans in effect on the date of the 
legislation's enactment. If lands eligible for exchange under 
S. 1105 are not sufficient to acquire the state's lands, S. 
1105 would authorize the Secretary to identify other federal 
lands or interior, including mineral rights, that may be used 
to complete the exchange. Under S. 1105, however, a subsequent 
act of the Congress would be necessary to authorize the 
Secretary to proceed with an exchange of other such lands or 
interests.
            Spending subject to appropriation
    Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts and based 
on information from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), CBO 
estimates that the agency would spend $1 million for 
administrative and analytical work associated with the 
acquisition authorized by S. 1105. We estimate that most of 
that spending would occur during 2003.
            Direct spending (including offsetting receipts)
    Based on information from BLM, CBO assumes that the agency 
would most likely attempt to acquire the state's lands through 
an exchange of federal lands that have been identified for 
disposal. Under current law, the agency has authority to sell 
such lands and to keep and spend the proceeds for various 
purposes. Hence, we estimate that conveying lands that have 
been identified for disposal as part of a land exchange with 
Wyoming would result inforgone offsetting receipts from the 
sale of such lands, but that any such forgone receipts would be fully 
offset by a corresponding decrease in direct spending of sale proceeds. 
Thus, CBO estimates that the net change in spending under S. 1105 would 
be negligible.
    Alternatively, CBO estimates that conveying other federal 
lands and interests that are not identified for disposal could 
result in a net increase in direct spending. Because S. 1105 
does not authorize the conveyance of such lands and interests, 
however, any such effects would be contingent on a future act 
of Congress.

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. CBO estimates that enacting S. 1105 could 
result in forgone receipts from the sale of federal lands 
identified for disposal. Because BLM has authority to spend 
such receipts, we also estimate that any such forgone receipts 
would be fully offset by a corresponding decrease in direct 
spending. Hence, we estimate that the net change in direct 
spending would be negligible.

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact

    S. 1105 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, 
local, or tribal governments. This exchange would be voluntary 
on the part of the Wyoming state government.

Previous CBO estimate

    On September 10, 2001, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 
S. 1105 as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources on August 2, 2001. Differences in our 
estimates of spending subject to appropriation reflect a change 
in our assumption regarding when the legislation will be 
enacted.
    Unlike the House Resources Committee's version of S. 1105, 
the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources' version 
of S. 1105 would authorize the Secretary to convey federal 
lands and interests that are not identified for disposal as 
part of a land exchange to acquire Wyoming's lands. As a 
result, for that version of the legislation, CBO assumed the 
Secretary would convey to the state the reserved royalty 
interest in one or more oil or gas leases that are expected to 
produce a stream of royalties with a net present value equal to 
the estimated value of the state lands. Hence, we estimated 
that the previous version of this legislation would result in a 
net increase in direct spending of $23.5 million over the 2003-
2011 period.

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 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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