[House Report 108-493]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     108-493

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TIMUCUAN ECOLOGICAL AND HISTORIC PRESERVE BOUNDARY REVISION ACT OF 2004

                                _______
                                

  May 17, 2004.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3768]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 3768) to expand the Timucuan Ecological and Historic 
Preserve, Florida, 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 ``Timucuan Ecological and Historic 
Preserve Boundary Revision Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. REVISION OF BOUNDARY OF TIMUCUAN ECOLOGICAL AND HISTORIC 
                    PRESERVE, FLORIDA.

  Section 201(a) of Public Law 100-249 (16 U.S.C. 698n) is amended--
          (1) by striking ``(a) Establishment.--There is hereby'' and 
        inserting the following:
  ``(a) Establishment.--
          ``(1) In general.--There is''; and
          (2) by adding at the end the following:
          ``(2) Modification of boundary.--
                  ``(A) In general.--In addition to the land described 
                in paragraph (1), the Preserve shall include 
                approximately 8.5 acres of land located in Nassau 
                County, Florida, as generally depicted on the map 
                entitled `Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve 
                American Beach Adjustment', numbered 006/80012 and 
                dated June 2003.
                  ``(B) Duties of secretary.--The Secretary of the 
                Interior shall--
                          ``(i) revise the boundaries of the Preserve 
                        so as to encompass the land described in 
                        subparagraph (A); and
                          ``(ii) maintain the map described in 
                        subparagraph (A) on file and available for 
                        public inspection in the appropriate offices of 
                        the National Park Service.''.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 3768 is to expand the Timucuan 
Ecological and Historic Preserve, Florida.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    The Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, located in 
the St. Johns River valley, Jacksonville, Florida, was 
established by Congress in 1988 to protect one of the last 
unspoiled coastal wetlands on the Atlantic Coast, and to 
preserve historic and prehistoric sites within the area (Public 
Law 100-249). The unit was named after the Timucuan Indians, 
who lived in the area during prehistoric and historic times.
    In February 2003, the Amelia Island Plantation Company 
announced its intention of donating American Beach, a 12.5 acre 
parcel of oceanfront property, to the National Park Service to 
be included within the boundary of the Preserve. American Beach 
was founded in the 1930s by Florida's first insurance company, 
the Afro-American Life Insurance Company, at the behest of its 
president, Abraham Lincoln Lewis, Florida's first black 
millionaire. It became the first African-American beach resort 
in Florida. Today, it is the only remaining example of a beach 
resort established for use by African-Americans during the 
divisive ``Jim Crow'' era of American history. In January 2002 
the American Beach Historic District was listed on the National 
Register of Historic Places in recognition of its African-
American cultural heritage. The donation is supported by the 
Nassau County Board of Commissioners and according to the 
National Park Service, maintenance costs associated with the 
donated lands would be minimal.
    In terms of its natural value, American Beach includes the 
preservation of the ``Nana'', the tallest natural dune on 
Amelia Island and habitat for the threatened loggerhead turtle 
and critical calving grounds for the North Atlantic Right 
Whale.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 3768 was introduced on February 4, 2004, by 
Congressman Ander Crenshaw (R-FL). 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 22, 2004, the Subcommittee met to mark up the bill. No 
amendments were offered and the bill was forwarded to the Full 
Committee by unanimous consent. On May 5, 2004, the Full 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. Congressman 
George Radanovich (R-CA) offered an amendment to reduce to 8.5 
acres the amount of land to be donated to the National Park 
Service. The amendment was adopted by unanimous consent The 
bill as amended was then 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 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 17, 2004.
Hon. Richard Pombo,
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. 3768, the Timucuan 
Ecological and Historic Preserve Boundary Revision Act of 2004.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                         Elizabeth Robinson
                               (For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 3768--Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve Boundary Revision 
        Act of 2004

    H.R. 3768 would expand the boundary of the Timucuan 
Ecological and Historic Preserve in Florida to include an 8.5-
acre parcel known as the American Beach. Based on information 
provided by the National Park Service and the property's 
current owners, CBO estimates that the federal government would 
not incur any significant cost to acquire and maintain the 
undeveloped beach site. We expect that the property would be 
donated to the NPS in fiscal year 2005 and would remain 
undeveloped. Annual costs to administer the extra acreage would 
be minimal. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending 
or revenues.
    The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would have no significant impact on the budgets of state, 
local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
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):

                        ACT OF FEBRUARY 16, 1988


(Public Law 100-249)

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


 TITLE II--PRESERVATION OF ST. JOHNS RIVER VALLEY ECOLOGICAL AREA AND 
               PROTECTION OF SIGNIFICANT HISTORIC ASSETS

SEC. 201. TIMUCUAN ECOLOGICAL AND HISTORIC PRESERVE.

  [(a) Establishment.--There is hereby]
  (a) Establishment.--
          (1) In general.--There is established in the St. 
        Johns River Valley, Florida, where the Timucuan Indians 
        lived in prehistoric and historic times, the Timucuan 
        Ecological and Historic Preserve (hereafter in this Act 
        referred to as the ``Preserve''). The Preserve shall 
        comprise the lands, waters, and interests therein 
        within the boundaries generally depicted on a map of 
        Duval County, Florida, entitled ``Timucuan Ecological 
        and Historic Preserve'' numbered NA-TEHP 80,003-A and 
        dated July 1987. The map shall be on file and available 
        for public inspection in the Office of the National 
        Park Service, Department of the Interior. The Secretary 
        of the Interior may make minor revisions in the 
        boundary of the Preserve in accordance with section 
        7(c) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 
        1965. The Preserve shall also include within its 
        boundaries all that land consisting of approximately 
        500 acres adjacent to Fort Caroline National Memorial 
        and known as the Theodore Roosevelt Preserve, being 
        land formerly owned by one Willie Brown and donated by 
        him to The Nature Conservancy.
          (2) Modification of boundary.--
                  (A) In general.--In addition to the land 
                described in paragraph (1), the Preserve shall 
                include approximately 8.5 acres of land located 
                in Nassau County, Florida, as generally 
                depicted on the map entitled ``Timucuan 
                Ecological and Historic Preserve American Beach 
                Adjustment'', numbered 006/80012 and dated June 
                2003.
                  (B) Duties of secretary.--The Secretary of 
                the Interior shall--
                          (i) revise the boundaries of the 
                        Preserve so as to encompass the land 
                        described in subparagraph (A); and
                          (ii) maintain the map described in 
                        subparagraph (A) on file and available 
                        for public inspection in the 
                        appropriate offices of the National 
                        Park Service.

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