[House Report 109-294]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



109th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    109-294

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TO AMEND THE YUMA CROSSING NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA ACT OF 2000 TO ADJUST 
        THE BOUNDARY OF THE YUMA CROSSING NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA

                                _______
                                

 November 15, 2005.--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. 326]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 326) to amend the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area 
Act of 2000 to adjust the boundary of the Yuma Crossing 
National Heritage Area, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill 
as amended do pass.
  The amendments are as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. YUMA CROSSING NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.

  Section 3(b) of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area Act of 2000 
(16 U.S.C. 461 note; Public Law 106-319; 114 Stat. 1281) is amended to 
read as follows:
  ``(b) Boundaries.--The Heritage Area shall comprise the lands 
generally depicted on the map entitled `Yuma Crossing National Heritage 
Area Boundary Adjustment', numbered 903-80071, and dated October 16, 
2005.''.

  Amend the title so as to read:

    A bill to amend the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area 
Act of 2000 to adjust the boundary of the Yuma Crossing 
National Heritage Area and for other purposes.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 326 is to amend the Yuma Crossing 
National Heritage Area Act of 2000 to adjust the boundary of 
the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area and to extend the 
authority of the Secretary of the Interior to provide 
assistance under that Act.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    When the Yuma Crossing Heritage Area was authorized in 
2000, the public in Yuma County did not understand the scope of 
the project and was surprised by the size of the designation. 
Citizens originally believed that the heritage area would focus 
mainly around the historic districts and the wetlands. 
Furthermore, many property owners were not aware that they were 
also included in the new designation. Concerns were raised by 
citizens about the size of the designation and the potential 
for additional Federal oversight. The fear of adverse impacts 
on private property rights were realized when local government 
agencies began to use the immense heritage area boundary to 
determine zoning restrictions.
    In an effort to alleviate the property rights concerns and 
better focus the available funds on the historic areas, H.R. 
326 adjusts the boundaries to include only those areas where 
there is greater consensus of perceived public support.
    As introduced, H.R. 326 included a provision to extend the 
authorization of appropriations to the heritage area by five 
years. Since the current authorization does not expire until 
2015, the Committee believes an extension at this time is not 
necessary, and accordingly deleted that provision from the 
bill. However, witnesses from the local community had 
compelling arguments on why an extension may be needed and the 
Committee would note that its decision on this matter in no way 
prejudices any action that may be taken on an extension in the 
future.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 326 was introduced on January 25, 2005, by Congressman 
Raul Grijalva (D-AZ). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
National Parks. On September 29, 2005, the Subcommittee held a 
hearing on the bill. On October 19, 2005 the full Committee on 
Resources met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was 
discharged from further consideration of the bill by unanimous 
consent. Congressman Stevan Pearce (R-NM) offered an amendment 
in the nature of a substitute which replaced the boundary 
description with a map and struck the five year sunset 
extension. The Pearce amendment was adopted by unanimous 
consent. The bill, as amended, was ordered favorably 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, 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 tax 
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 
enactment of this bill would increase offsetting receipts and 
direct spending, but ``any net change in direct spending would 
be negligible.''
    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:

H.R. 326--A bill to amend the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area Act 
        of 2000 to adjust the boundary of the Yuma Crossing National 
        Heritage Area

    H.R. 326 would modify the boundary of the Yuma Crossing 
National Heritage Area in New Mexico to exclude certain private 
lands. CBO estimates that implementing this bill would have no 
impact on the Federal budget because the Federal Government is 
not expected to ever acquire or manage the affected properties.
    H.R. 326 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 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):

   SECTION 3 OF THE YUMA CROSSING NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA ACT OF 2000

SEC. 3. YUMA CROSSING NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.

  (a) * * *
  [(b) Boundaries.--The Heritage Area shall be comprised of 
those portions of the Yuma region totaling approximately 21 
square miles, encompassing over 150 identified historic, 
geologic, and cultural resources, and bounded--
          [(1) on the west, by the Colorado River (including 
        the crossing point of the Army of the West);
          [(2) on the east, by Avenue 7E;
          [(3) on the north, by the Colorado River; and
          [(4) on the south, by the 12th Street alignment.]
  (b) Boundaries.--The Heritage Area shall comprise the lands 
generally depicted on the map entitled ``Yuma Crossing National 
Heritage Area Boundary Adjustment'', numbered 903-80071, and 
dated October 16, 2005.

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