[House Report 108-555]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     108-555
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        JOHN MUIR NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

 June 18, 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. 3706]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 3706) to adjust the boundary of the John Muir National 
Historic Site, 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 H.R. 3706 is to adjust the boundary of the 
John Muir National Historic Site, and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    On August 31, 1964, the John Muir National Historic Site 
(JMNHS), located in Martinez, California, became a unit of the 
National Park System. The Site preserves the 14 room mansion 
where naturalist John Muir lived from 1890 to his death in 
1914. The JMNHS is 344 acres and had 28,206 visitors in 2001.
    In 1988, Congress authorized an expansion of the JMNHS, 
which included a 3.3-acre parcel of land owned by the City of 
Martinez, California. The area was donated by the City to the 
National Park Service for inclusion in the NHS. In 1991, the 
General Management Plan for the JMNHS proposed that the 
acquired land be developed as a 32-car/2-bus visitor parking 
area and a site of the new National Park Service maintenance 
facility. In 1994, a boundary survey was conducted where it was 
discovered that the donated parcel did not include all of the 
land between the street and a railroad line, where the parking 
lot was proposed. A small triangle of land (approximately 0.2 
acres/9500 square feet) was found not to be part of the parcel 
donated by the City of Martinez. Further investigation by the 
National Park Service found that no one was listed with the 
county tax assessor parcel number, and thus no taxes had been 
collected or paid on the 0.2 acres since the 1960s.
    Without issuance of clear title for 0.2 acre parcel, 
development cannot precede on the parking lot expansion and 
maintenance facility. H.R. 3706 would simply allow for the 
acquisition of the 0.2 acre parcel of land so that the parking 
facility may be built.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 3706 was introduced on January 20, 2004, by 
Congressman George Miller (D-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 
May 5, 2004, the Full Resources Committee met to consider the 
bill. The Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public 
Lands was discharged from further consideration of H.R. 3706 by 
unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and H.R. 3706 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 13, 2004.
Hon. Richard W. 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. 3706, the John 
Muir National Historic Site Boundary Adjustment Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Deborah 
Reis (for federal costs), Marjorie Miller (for the state and 
local impact), and Selena Caldera (for the private-sector 
impact).
            Sincerely,
                                      Elizabeth M. Robinson
                               (For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 3706--John Muir National Historic Site Boundary Adjustment Act

    H.R. 3706 would adjust the boundary of the John Muir 
National Historic Site and authorize the National Park Service 
(NPS) to acquire the added 0.2-acre parcel of land by purchase, 
donation, or exchange. Based on information provided by the 
NPS, we expect the agency to condemn the small tract to 
establish its current ownership, which is unknown. Depending on 
the outcome of the condemnation proceeding, CBO expects that 
the NPS would: (1) annex the property without further cost to 
the government (if no owner is located), (2) accept donation of 
the tract (if the owner is another government agency), or (3) 
purchase the property (if a private owner is located). In any 
event, CBO estimates that the cost of acquiring the property 
would be less than $50,000, assuming the availability of 
appropriated funds. Enacting H.R. 3706 would not affect 
revenues or direct spending.
    CBO generally has found that when legislation is expected 
to result in condemnation of property, it contains a mandate, 
as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). However, 
because in this case the NPS cannot identify the current owner 
of the parcel, CBO cannot determine whether this mandate would 
fall on a government, on the private sector, or on both. In any 
event, based on information provided by the NPS, CBO estimates 
that the value of the property is less than $50,000, and so the 
cost would be well below the thresholds established in UMRA. 
(The thresholds in 2004 are $60 million and $120 million per 
year, respectively, for intergovernmental and private-sector 
mandates, adjusted annually for inflation.)
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis 
(for federal costs), Marjorie Miller (for the state and local 
impact), and Selena Caldera (for the private-sector impact). 
The 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

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                  
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