[House Report 109-635]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



109th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     109-635

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                      LAS CIENEGAS ENHANCEMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

 September 6, 2006.--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. 5016]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 5016) to provide for the exchange of certain Bureau of 
Land Management land in Pima County, Arizona, 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 ``Las Cienegas Enhancement Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act:
          (1) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means the 
        Sahuarita parcel of land consisting of approximately 1,280 
        acres, as depicted on the map entitled ``Las Cienegas 
        Enhancement Act--Federal Land'' and dated May 9, 2006.
          (2) Landowner.--The term ``landowner'' means Las Cienegas 
        Conservation, LLC.
          (3) Non-federal land.--The term ``non-Federal land'' means 
        the Empirita-Simonson parcel of land consisting of 
        approximately 2,392 acres, as depicted on the map entitled 
        ``Las Cienegas Enhancement Act--Non-Federal Land'' and dated 
        May 9, 2006.
          (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior.

SEC. 3. LAND EXCHANGE, BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LAND IN PIMA COUNTY, 
                    ARIZONA.

  (a) Exchange Authorized.--If the landowner offers to convey to the 
Secretary title to the non-Federal land, the Secretary shall accept the 
offer and convey to the landowner all right, title, and interest of the 
United States in and to the Federal land.
  (b) Valuation, Appraisals, and Equalization.--
          (1) Equal value exchange.--The value of the Federal land and 
        the non-Federal land to be exchanged under this section shall 
        be equal. If the values are not equal, the values shall be 
        equalized in accordance with paragraph (3).
          (2) Appraisal.--To determine the value of the Federal land 
        and the non-Federal land, the Federal land and the non-Federal 
        land shall be subject to an appraisal by an independent, 
        qualified appraiser agreed to by the Secretary and landowner. 
        The appraiser shall consider the value of the Federal land and 
        the non-Federal land as of the date of the enactment of this 
        Act. The appraisal shall be conducted in accordance with the 
        Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisition and 
        the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. Not 
        later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
        the appraisal shall be submitted to the Secretary and landowner 
        for approval.
          (3) Equalization of values.--If the values of the Federal 
        land and non-Federal land are not equal, their values may be 
        equalized--
                  (A) by reducing the acreage of the non-Federal land 
                or the Federal land to be exchanged, as appropriate; or
                  (B) by the payment by the landowner or the Secretary 
                of a cash equalization payment, which, in the case of a 
                cash equalization payment made by the landowner, may 
                exceed 25 percent of the value of the Federal land, 
                notwithstanding section 206(b) of the Federal Land 
                Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(b)).
          (4) Disposition and use of proceeds.--Any cash equalization 
        payment received by the Secretary under paragraph (3) shall be 
        deposited in the Federal Land Disposal Account established by 
        section 206(a) of the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act 
        (43 U.S.C. 2305(a)). Amounts so deposited shall be available to 
        the Secretary, without further appropriation and until 
        expended, for the acquisition of land and interests in land in 
        southern Arizona.
  (c) Protection of Valid Existing Rights.--The exchange of the Federal 
land and the non-Federal land shall be subject to any easements, 
rights-of-way, and other valid encumbrances on the land in existence on 
the date of enactment of this Act.
  (d) Time for Completion of Exchange.--The exchange of the Federal 
land and non-Federal land under this section shall be completed--
          (1) except as provided in paragraph (2), not later than one 
        year after the date of the enactment of this Act; or
          (2) if there is a dispute concerning an appraisal of the 
        Federal land or non-Federal land or appraisal issue arising 
        under subsection (b), before the expiration of the 90-day 
        period beginning on the date the dispute is resolved.
  (e) Administrative Costs.--As a condition of the conveyance of the 
Federal land to the landowner, the landowner shall pay the costs of 
carrying out the exchange of the Federal land and non-Federal land 
under this section, including any direct costs relating to any 
environmental reviews and mitigation of the Federal land.
  (f) Correction of Errors; Minor Boundary Adjustments.--The Secretary 
and landowner may mutually agree--
          (1) to correct minor errors in the legal descriptions of the 
        Federal land and non-Federal land to be exchanged under this 
        section; or
          (2) to make minor adjustments to the boundaries of the 
        Federal land and non-Federal land.
  (g) Road Access.--Not later than 18 months after the date on which 
the non-Federal land is acquired by the Secretary, the Secretary shall 
provide to the Secretary of Agriculture a right-of-way through the non-
Federal land for motorized public road access to the boundary of the 
Coronado National Forest. The right-of-way shall be provided in 
accordance with section 507 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1767).
  (h) Administration of Land Acquired by the United States.--On 
acquisition of the non-Federal land by the Secretary, the Secretary 
shall--
          (1) include the acquired land as part of the Las Cienegas 
        National Conservation Area; and
          (2) administer the acquired land in accordance with Public 
        Law 106-538 (16 U.S.C. 460ooo et seq.), which established the 
        Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, and other applicable 
        laws.

SEC. 4. MODIFICATION OF LAS CIENEGAS NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA 
                    BOUNDARY.

  The boundary of the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area is 
modified to exclude the 40-acre tract that, as of the date of the 
enactment of this Act, is leased by the Bureau of Land Management to 
the town of Elgin, Arizona, for a sanitary landfill.

SEC. 5. LAND CONVEYANCE, PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA.

  As an additional condition of the conveyance of the Federal land to 
the landowner under section 3, the landowner shall convey, without 
consideration, to Pima County, Arizona, a parcel of land consisting of 
approximately 98 acres, as depicted on the map referred to in section 
2(1) as ``land to be conveyed to Pima County''.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 5016 is to provide for the exchange of 
certain Bureau of Land Management land in Pima County, Arizona, 
and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 5016 would consolidate Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
lands within a national conservation area. The Las Cienegas 
National Conservation Area (NCA) is located 50 miles south of 
Tucson, Arizona, and was created by an act of Congress in 2000 
sponsored by Congressman Jim Kolbe. The NCA consists of 42,000 
acres managed by the BLM. The legislation convey 2,490 acres of 
private land, known as the Empirita-Simonson property and 
located within the boundary of the NCA, to the BL for inclusion 
in the NCA. This land would be exchanged for 1,280 acres of 
isolated BLM land desired by the private property owner of the 
Empirita-Simonson property.
    The bill would also modify the boundary of the Las Cienegas 
National Conservation Area to exclude a 40 acre tract of land 
for a sanitary landfill. This area was inadvertently included 
in the original NCA boundary.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 5016 was introduced on March 28, 2006, by Congressman 
Jim Kolbe (R-AZ). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
Forests and Forest Health. On April 5, 2006, the Subcommittee 
held a hearing on the bill. On July 19, 2006, the Full 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee 
was discharged from further consideration by unanimous consent. 
Congressman Greg Walden (R-OR) offered an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute making minor substantive changes as 
requested by the BLM and the minority. It 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, clause 3, and Article IV, section 3, 
clause 2 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, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax 
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 
enactment of H.R. 5016 could change offsetting receipts and 
associated direct spending, but ``these effects would be less 
than $500,000 and would largely offset each other over the next 
few years.''
    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. 5016--Las Cienegas Enhancement Act

    H.R. 5016 would provide for an exchange of federal and 
private land near the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area 
in Arizona. CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have 
no significant effect on the federal budget. Implementing the 
bill could change offsetting receipts and associated direct 
spending, but we expect that these effects would be less than 
$500,000 and would largely offset each other over the next few 
years. Enacting H.R. 5016 would not affect revenues.
    The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no significant costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Under H.R. 5016, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would 
convey about 1,280 acres of federal land to a private landowner 
in exchange for about 2,400 acres near the conservation area. 
The bill would provide that the value of the properties to be 
exchanged would be equalized by cash payment and that such 
payment could exceed 25 percent of the value of the federal 
property. (Under current law, a cash equalization payment 
received as part of a land exchange cannot exceed that amount.) 
Any payment received by the federal government would be 
deposited into BLM's federal land disposal account and would be 
available, without further appropriation, to acquire land in 
southern Arizona.
    Formal appraisals of the two properties have not been 
undertaken, but based on information provided by BLM, CBO 
estimates that the budgetary effects of the bill would be 
minimal. The federal government could receive a cash 
equalization payment (if the federal land is found to be more 
valuable than the private land), but we estimate that any such 
payment would be less than $500,000. BLM would spend this 
amount, without further appropriation, over the next few years 
to acquire other Arizona lands.
    According to BLM, the property to be conveyed by the 
federal government generates no significant offsetting receipts 
(a credit against direct spending) and is not expected to do so 
over the next 10 years. One-time administrative costs related 
to the exchange, such as appraisal and mapping expenses, would 
be paid by the private landowner. Finally, we estimate that any 
change in cost to manage the conservation areas after the 
exchange would be negligible.
    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

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

                                  
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