[House Report 108-644]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



108th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     108-644

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                   CRAIG RECREATION LAND PURCHASE ACT

                                _______
                                

 September 7, 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. 3427]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 3427) to authorize a land conveyance between the United 
States and the City of Craig, Alaska, 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.

  (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Craig Recreation 
Land Purchase Act''.
  (b) Definitions.--For the purposes of this Act, the following 
definitions apply:
          (1) City.--The term ``City'' means the City of Craig, Alaska.
          (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        Agriculture.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR CONVEYANCE.

  (a) In General.--If the City tenders all right, title, and interest 
of the City in and to the land described in subsection (b) to the 
Secretary not later than 6 months after the date the City receives the 
results of the appraisal conducted pursuant to section 4, the Secretary 
shall accept such tender.
  (b) Land Description.--The land referred to in subsection (a) is as 
follows:
          (1) The municipal land identified on the map entitled 
        ``Informational Map, Sunnahae Trail and Recreation Parcel and 
        Craig Cannery Property'' and dated August 2003.
          (2) Lots 1 and 1A, Block 11-A, as identified on the City of 
        Craig Subdivision Plat, Craig Tideland Addition, Patent # 155 
        (Inst. 69-982, Ketchikan Recording Office), dated April 21, 
        2004, consisting of approximately 22,353 square feet of land.
          (3) The portion of Beach Road eastward of a projected line 
        between the southwest corner of lot 1, Block 11, USS 1430 and 
        the northwest corner of lot 1, Block 11-A, as identified on the 
        City of Craig Subdivision Plat, Craig Tideland Addition, Patent 
        # 155 (Inst. 69-982, Ketchikan Recording Office), dated April 
        21, 2004, consisting of approximately 4,700 square feet of 
        land.

SEC. 3. ACQUISITION OF LAND BY THE CITY OF CRAIG.

  (a) Use of Funds for Land Acquisition.--Funds received by the City 
under section 2 shall be used by the City for the purchase of the land 
shown on the map entitled ``Wards Cove Property,'' dated March 24, 
1969.
  (b) Cost of Land; Equalization of Value.--The purchase of land by the 
City under subsection (a) shall be for an amount equal to the appraised 
value of the lands conveyed to the Secretary by the City, except that 
the Secretary and the City may equalize the values by adjusting acreage 
or by payments not to exceed $100,000.

SEC. 4. APPRAISAL.

  Prior to any conveyance under this Act, the Secretary shall--
          (1) conduct an appraisal of the land identified for 
        conveyance by the City, in accordance with and conforming to 
        the most current versions of the Uniform Appraisal Standards 
        for Federal Land Acquisitions, Uniform Standards of 
        Professional Practice, and U.S. Forest Service Appraisal 
        Directives; and
          (2) notify the City of the results of the appraisal.

SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT OF CONVEYED LAND.

  Land received by the Secretary pursuant to this Act shall be--
          (1) included in the Tongass National Forest; and
          (2) managed in accordance with the laws, regulations, and 
        forest plan applicable to the Tongass National Forest.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION.

  There are authorized to be appropriated--
          (1) to the Forest Service for the reconstruction of the 
        Sunnahae Trail $250,000; and
          (2) such other sums as are necessary to carry out this Act.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 3427 is to authorize a land conveyance 
between the United States and the City of Craig, Alaska, and 
for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 3427 authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to 
acquire approximately 350 acres of land from the City of Craig, 
Alaska for addition to the Tongass National Forest. The land in 
question is known as the ``Sunnahae Trail and Recreation 
Parcel'' and consists of a recreational trail, trailhead, and 
mountaintop property. The City will then use the proceeds from 
the sale of the Sunnahae Trail and Recreation Parcel to acquire 
approximately 10 acres in downtown Craig, known as the ``Craig 
Cannery Property'' from the Wards Cove Packing Company. The 
City plans to use the property to expand its harbor and for 
commercial development.
    The City of Craig is located on Prince of Wales Island in 
southeastern Alaska. The economy of Prince of Wales Island has 
suffered in recent years with the loss of jobs in the timber 
industry. Unemployment in the area has reached seasonal highs 
of between 19 and 25 percent in the past decade.
    Enactment of H.R. 3427 will enable the U.S. Forest Service 
to acquire a recreational trail and two lots adjacent to their 
administrative site in Craig and, at the same time, help the 
City of Craig acquire a valuable industrial site for commercial 
redevelopment. The entire transaction will be subject to 
federal appraisal standards, will take place only on a willing-
seller basis, and will be subject to the availability of 
appropriated funds.
    It is important to note that the bill does not include 
language authorizing the Secretary to pay the City of Craig the 
appraised value of the City's land. Though this authority has 
been assumed, sufficient language would likely need to be added 
in preparation for the House floor.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 3427 was introduced on October 30, 2003, by 
Congressman Don Young (R-AK). The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. On June 17, 2004, 
the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On July 14, 2004, 
the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittee was discharged from further consideration of the 
bill by unanimous consent. Congressman Young offered an 
amendment to in the nature of a substitute. The amendment added 
two additional parcels of private land to be conveyed to the 
Forest Service as requested by the Forest Service. It was 
adopted by unanimous consent with the understanding the bill 
may need further amendments in preparation for the House floor. 
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. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill, as ordered reported, is to authorize a 
land conveyance between the United States and the City of 
Craig, Alaska, 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:

H.R. 3427--Craig Recreation Land Purchase Act

    H.R. 3427 would authorize the appropriation of amounts 
necessary for the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase roughly 
350 acres of land from the city of Craig, Alaska, for inclusion 
in the Tongass National Forest. The bill also would authorize 
the Secretary to make an additional payment to the city of up 
to $100,000 if proceeds from the sale of its land to the 
federal government are insufficient to pay for the city's cost 
to acquire certain other private land. In addition, the bill 
would authorize the appropriation of $250,000 for the Forest 
Service to reconstruct a trail through the acquired land.
    Based on information from the Forest Service about the 
value of municipal and private land involved in the proposed 
transactions, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 3427 would 
cost $1.1 million in 2005, assuming the availability of 
appropriated funds. That amount includes a total of $850,000 in 
payments to the city of Craig--$750,000 for the cost of 
acquiring the city's land and $100,000 for the additional 
payment authorized by the bill. Our estimate of spending also 
includes $250,000 to reconstruct the Sunnahae Trail.
    H.R. 3427 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 purchase authorized by this bill would be voluntary on the 
part of the city, as would be any associated expenses.
    On May 5, 2004, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
1778, similar legislation, as ordered reported by the Senate 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on April 28, 2004. 
Our estimates of the cost of acquiring land from the city of 
Craig and reconstructing the Sunnahae Trail are the same under 
both bills. Because H.R. 3427 would authorize an additional 
payment to the city, our estimate of total spending under that 
bill is $100,000 more than our estimate of spending under S. 
1778.
    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

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

                                  
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