[House Report 107-90]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




107th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     107-90

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



 
SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS NATIONAL RECREATION AREA BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

  June 6, 2001.--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 H.R. 640]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 640) to adjust the boundaries of Santa Monica Mountains 
National Recreation Area, 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 all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Santa Monica Mountains National 
Recreation Area Boundary Adjustment Act''.

SEC. 2. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.

  Section 507(c) of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 (92 
Stat. 3501; 16 U.S.C. 460kk) establishing Santa Monica Mountains 
National Recreation Area is amended--
          (1) in paragraph (1), by striking `` `Boundary Map, Santa 
        Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, California, and 
        Santa Monica Mountains Zone', numbered SMM-NRA 80,000, and 
        dated May 1978'' and inserting `` `Santa Monica Mountains 
        National Recreation Area and Santa Monica Mountains Zone, 
        California, Boundary Map', numbered 80,047, and dated February 
        2001''; and
          (2) by adding the following sentence after the third sentence 
        of paragraph (2)(A): ``Lands within the `Wildlife Corridor 
        Expansion Zone' identified on the boundary map referred to in 
        paragraph (1) may be acquired only by donation or with donated 
        funds.''.

SEC. 3. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

  Section 507 of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 (92 
Stat. 3501; 16 U.S.C. 460kk) establishing Santa Monica Mountains 
National Recreation Area is amended--
          (1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``Committee on Natural 
        Resources'' and inserting ``Committee on Resources'';
          (2) in subsection (c)(2)(B), by striking ``of certain'' in 
        the first sentence and inserting ``certain''; and
          (3) in subsection (n)(5), by striking ``laws'' in the second 
        sentence and inserting ``laws,''.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 640 is to adjust the boundaries of the 
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, and for other 
purposes.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 
(SMMNRA), established in 1978, is located in southern 
California west of downtown Los Angeles. This recreation area 
covers approximately 154,000 acres. Unlike many national park 
units where lands within the authorized boundary are almost 
entirely in federal ownership, there exists a complex mosaic of 
publicly and privately owned lands within the SMMNRA boundary.
    H.R. 640 would amend the National Parks and Recreation Act 
of 1978 to adjust the northern boundary of the SMMNRA to 
enhance a critical wildlife habitat corridor and a key 
watershed between the Santa Monica Mountains that lie within 
the Recreation Area and the Simi Hills of Los Angeles and 
Ventura Counties to the north and west of the SMMNRA. The lands 
within the proposed boundary adjustment represent the last 
remaining open space connecting the Santa Monica Mountains and 
Simi Hills across the 101 Freeway. The protection of habitat 
within this corridor would promote greater ecosystem health and 
diversity in the Santa Monica Mountains, particularly for 
larger mammals like bobcats, badgers, and mountain lions.
    As a result of the proposed expansion, the size of the 
SMMNRA would increase by a total of 3,697 acres. The largest 
portion of the increase, 2,797 acres, would be transferred from 
the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, a state agency, to the 
National Park Service. The Conservancy land may only be 
acquired by donation. The balance of the expansion would 
include 330 acres of developed residential communities from 
within the cities of Agoura Hills and Calabassas, which is 
supported by the Saratoga Hills, Saratoga Ranch and Liberty 
Canyon Homeowners Associations, and 570 acres of open space 
privately and publicly owned from the County of Los Angeles. 
Finally, the bill would not authorize the National Park Service 
to purchase any incidental private or developed property within 
the expansion area.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 640 was introduced on February 14, 2001, by 
Congressman Elton Gallegly (R-CA). The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands. 
On April 26, 2001, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. 
On May 16, 2001, the Full Resources Committee met to consider 
the bill. The Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and 
Public Lands was discharged from further consideration of the 
bill by unanimous consent. Congressman Joel Hefley (R-CO) 
offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute that added 
the official map title, number, and date to the bill. The 
amendment was adopted by voice vote. 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 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants 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.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives.--This bill 
does not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    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, May 21, 2001.
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 H.R. 640, the Santa 
Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Boundary Adjustment 
Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll.
            Sincerely,
                                        Steven M. Lieberman
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 640--Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Boundary 
        Adjustment Act

    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 640 would not 
significantly affect the federal budget. The bill would not 
affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures would not apply. H.R. 640 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.
    H.R. 640 would expand the Santa Monica Mountains National 
Recreation Area in California to include about 3,700 acres of 
nonfederal lands. The bill specifies that the federal 
government could acquire lands within the proposed expansion 
area only by donation or with donated funds. The Santa Monica 
Mountains Conservancy, a California state agency, owns roughly 
three-quarters of the lands within the proposed expansion area. 
According to the National Park Service (NPS) and the 
conservancy, under H.R. 640, the conservancy would donate those 
lands to the federal government so that they may be managed for 
critical wildlife habitat. Based on information from the NPS, 
we estimate that the agency would incur additional costs to 
manage the donated lands, but that such costs would be 
negligible.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. 
This estimate was 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 Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

SECTION 507 OF THE NATIONAL PARKS AND RECREATION ACT OF 1978

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *



            Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

  Sec. 507. (a) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (c)(1) The recreation area shall consist of the lands and 
waters and interests generally depicted as the recreation area 
on the map entitled [``Boundary Map, Santa Monica Mountains 
National Recreation Area, California, and Santa Monica 
Mountains Zone'', numbered SMM-NRA 80,000, and dated May 1978] 
``Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and Santa 
Monica Mountains Zone, California, Boundary Map'', numbered 
80,047, and dated February 2001, which shall be on file and 
available for inspection in the offices of the National Park 
Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, District of 
Columbia, and in the offices of the General Services 
Administration in the Federal Office Building in West Los 
Angeles, California, and in the main public library in Ventura, 
California. After advising the Committee on [Natural] Resources 
of the United States House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States Senate, in 
writing, the Secretary may make minor revisions of the 
boundaries of the recreation area when necessary by publication 
of a revised drawing or other boundary description in the 
Federal Register.
  (2)(A) Not later than ninety days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary, after consultation with the 
Governor of the State of California, the California Coastal 
Commission, and the Santa Monica Mountains Comprehensive 
Planning Commission, shall commence acquisition of lands, 
improvements, waters, or interests therein within the 
recreation area. Such acquisition may be by donation, purchase 
with donated or appropriated funds, transfer from any Federal 
agency, exchange, or otherwise. Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), any lands or interests therein owned by the 
State of California or any political subdivision thereof 
(including any park district or other public entity) may be 
acquired only by donation, except that such lands acquired 
after the date of enactment of this section by the State of 
California or its political subdivisions may be acquired by 
purchase or exchange if the Secretary determines that the lands 
were acquired for purposes which further the national interest 
in protecting the area and that the purchase price or value on 
exchange does not exceed fair market value on the date that the 
State acquired the land or interest: Provided, however, That 
the value of any lands acquired by the Secretary under the 
exception in this sentence shall be deducted from the amount of 
moneys available for grants to the State under subsection (n) 
of this section. Lands within the ``Wildlife Corridor Expansion 
Zone'' identified on the boundary map referred to in paragraph 
(1) may be acquired only by donation or with donated funds. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any Federal 
property located within the boundaries of the recreation area 
shall, with the concurrence of the head of the agency having 
custody thereof, be transferred without cost, to the 
administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary for the purposes 
of the recreation area.
  (B) The Secretary shall negotiate, and carry out, and 
exchange with the city of Los Angeles (acting through its 
department of water and power) [of] certain federally owned 
lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management in the vicinity 
of the Haiwee Reservoir in Inyo County for certain lands owned 
by the city of Los Angeles which are associated with the Upper 
Franklin Reservoir in the city of Los Angeles. Lands acquired 
by the Secretary pursuant to such exchange shall be transferred 
without cost to the administrative jurisdiction of the National 
Park Service for inclusion within the recreation area. The 
Secretary shall include in such exchange a provision for an 
easement to be granted to the city of Los Angeles for the 
existing water pipeline associated with the Upper Franklin 
Reservoir and for the city of Los Angeles to provide for 
replacement water to maintain the water elevations of the 
Franklin Reservoir to the current levels. The values of lands 
exchanged under this provision shall be equal, or shall be 
equalized, in the same manner as provided in section 206 of the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.
  (n)(1)  * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

  (5) Grants under this section shall be made only upon 
application of the recipient State and shall be in addition to 
any other Federal financial assistance for any other program, 
and shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the 
Secretary deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this 
section. Any jurisdiction that implements changes to the 
approved plan which are inconsistent with the purposes of this 
section, or adopts or acquiesces in changes to [laws] laws, 
regulations or policies necessary to implement or protect the 
approved plan, without approval of the Secretary, may be liable 
for reimbursement of all funds previously granted or available 
to it under the terms of this section without regard to such 
additional terms and conditions or other requirements of law 
that may be applicable to such grants. During the life of the 
planning commission, changes to the plan must be submitted by 
the planning commission to the Secretary for approval. No such 
application for a grant may be made after the date five years 
from the date of the Secretary's approval of the plan.

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