[Senate Report 110-356]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 788
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     110-356

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                BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA LAND TRANSFER ACT

                                _______
                                

                 June 16, 2008.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 900]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 900) to authorize the Boy Scouts of 
America to exchange certain land in the State of Utah acquired 
under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:

    On page 1, line 5, strike ``2006'' and insert ``2008''.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 900 is to authorize the Utah National 
Parks Council of the Boy Scouts of America to exchange 
approximately 120 acres of land in the State of Utah acquired 
under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act for approximately 
120 acres of land owned by the Brian Head Resort.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    S. 900 will allow the exchange of two small parcels of land 
between the Utah National Parks Council of the Boy Scouts of 
America (the Boy Scouts) and Brian Head Ski Resort. Each parcel 
consists of approximately 120 acres.
    More than thirty years ago, through four separate 
Recreation and Public Purposes (R&PP) Act patents, the Bureau 
of Land Management granted roughly 1,400 acres to the Boy 
Scouts to establish a recreational area and campground. The 
area is now known as Camp Thunder Ridge.
    At the time the land was conveyed to the Boy Scouts, a 
local rancher owned a parcel of land adjacent to the camp and 
another parcel right in the middle of the camp. Several years 
ago, the rancher transferred those lands to Brian Head Ski 
Resort. The Boy Scouts would like to obtain these lands through 
an exchange with the resort. However, under the R&PP patents, 
the land cannot be transferred, exchanged, or sold. S. 900 
would allow the lands to be conveyed through a land exchange.
    Because Camp Thunder Ridge is located in a steep, rough, 
mountainous area, the Boy Scouts would like to obtain some land 
that is flat in order to make the camp's shooting area and 
archery range safer. The land exchange also would allow for the 
installation of much-needed septic tanks.
    In addition, the resort is seeking to expand its operations 
and has received preliminary approval from local officials. The 
local planning commission, however, has required the resort to 
build an emergency exit from its property. The only place to 
build such a road is through land currently owned by the Boy 
Scouts. The land exchange will allow Brian Head to construct 
the access road.
    S. 900 authorizes the land exchange and requires that the 
land conveyed to the resort be subject to the terms and 
conditions imposed on the entire tract in the original patent.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 900 was introduced by Senators Hatch and Bennett on 
March 15, 2007. The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
ordered the bill favorably reported on May 7, 2008.
    During the 109th Congress, Senators Hatch and Bennett 
introduced similar legislation, S. 476, on March 1, 2005. The 
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a hearing on S. 
476 on March 8, 2005 (S. Hrg. 109-19). At the business meeting 
on March 15, 2006, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources ordered S. 476 favorably reported with an amendment 
in the nature of a substitute (S. Rpt. 109-231). On September 
29, 2006, S. 476 passed the Senate by unanimous consent, 
however, no further action was taken on the bill.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an open 
business session on May 7, 2008, by a voice vote of a quorum 
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 900, if amended as 
described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During consideration of S. 900, the Committee adopted a 
technical amendment that changed the year in the short title of 
the bill from 2006 to 2008.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 contains the short title.
    Section 2 defines key terms used in the legislation.
    Section 3(a) authorizes a land exchange between the Utah 
National Parks Council of the Boy Scouts of America and Brian 
Head Resort notwithstanding the Recreation and Public Purposes 
Act. This subsection also states that the Secretary has 
discretion to exercise the reversionary interests of the United 
States upon conveyance of the parcel to Brian Head Resort.
    Subsection (b) describes the lands to be exchanged.
    Subsection (c) states that the lands conveyed to Brian Head 
Resort shall be subject to the terms and conditions imposed on 
the entire tract by the original patent.
    Subsection (d) requires the Secretary, upon completion of 
the exchange, to amend the original Bureau of Land Management 
patent that conveyed the land to the Utah National Parks 
Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimate of costs of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

S. 900--Boy Scouts of America Land Transfer Act of 2008

    S. 900 would authorize a Boy Scout council and a private 
landowner to exchange two parcels of land in Utah, each of 
which totals about 120 acres. The land currently held by the 
Boy Scout council was originally obtained from the United 
States under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, which 
granted the federal government a reversionary interest in the 
property if it is ever sold, transferred, or exchanged. S. 900 
would allow the proposed exchange to go forward and would 
transfer the federal government's reversionary interest to the 
new property to be obtained by the Boy Scouts.
    Based on information provided by the Bureau of Land 
Management, CBO estimates that implementing S. 900 would have 
no effect on the federal budget. 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, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                      REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 900. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 900, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 900, as ordered reported, does not contain any 
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, 
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a hearing 
on a similar bill, S. 476, on March 8, 2005, during the 109th 
Congress (S. Hrg. 109-19). The Administration's testimony on S. 
476 is set forth below:

Statement of Christopher Kearney, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy 
         and International Affairs, Department of the Interior

    Thank you for the opportunity to testify on S. 476, the Boy 
Scouts of America Land Transfer Act of 2005, introduced by 
Senator Hatch. The Department of the Interior has a limited 
role in this legislation and the exchange it facilitates, but 
does not oppose the legislation.


                               background


    During the 1970s, the BLM patented nearly 1400 acres of 
public land through four separate Recreation and Public 
Purposes (R&PP) Act patents to the Utah National Parks Council 
of the Boy Scouts of America for the purpose of establishing a 
campground and recreational area for scouting programs. The 
campground is now known as Camp Thunder Ridge. Among the 
restrictions placed on the lands under the provisions of the 
R&PP Act patents is a prohibition on the sale, transfer or 
exchange of the lands. Absent this legislation, the Utah 
National Parks Council of the Boy Scouts would not be able to 
complete the proposed exchange.


                                 s. 476


    S. 476 provides for the exchange of lands between two 
private parties, the Utah National Parks Council of the Boy 
Scouts of America and Brian Head Resort. The legislation 
mandates that the terms and conditions that apply to the 
original Federal patent for the parcel of land to be exchanged 
by the Boy Scouts shall be transferred to the parcel of land to 
be acquired by the Boy Scouts. The bill further stipulates that 
the lands are of approximately equal value.
    Because the land which the Boy Scouts propose to exchange 
with Brian Head Resort was patented by the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) under the R&PP Act, the Federal government 
retains a reversionary interest in the land if the terms and 
conditions of the original patent are violated. As noted, the 
legislation would transfer the terms and conditions contained 
in the original patent to the new parcel of land, creating a 
reversionary interest in those lands.
    The lands proposed for exchange under this bill are in 
southwestern Utah, near Cedar City in Iron County. It is our 
understanding that the intent of both parties is to consolidate 
their respective lands in order to allow for their more 
efficient use.
    Given that the Federal government's interest in this 
legislation is limited to its reversionary interest, we support 
the language applying the terms and conditions of the original 
parcel to the parcel to be acquired. While the BLM does not 
have independent knowledge of the value of the parcels proposed 
for exchange, the legislation stipulates that these parcels are 
of equal value. Ensuring that the parcels to be exchanged are 
of equal value is critical to protecting the Federal 
government's interest. Finally, we support the provision in 
section 3(b)(2) of the bill that provide for Secretarial 
discretion in the exercise of the Federal government's 
reversionary interest. Given the potential risks or liabilities 
that may exist with improvements or hazards on the property, we 
strongly support this provision.
    Thank you for the opportunity to testify, I will be happy 
to answer any questions.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by the bill, S. 900, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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