[House Report 112-581]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     112-581

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                      LA PINE LAND CONVEYANCE ACT

                                _______
                                

  July 9, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 270]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (S. 270) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey certain Federal land to Deschutes County, Oregon, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment 
and recommend that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of S. 270 is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey certain Federal land to Deschutes County, 
Oregon.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    La Pine is a rural community located on the southern edge 
of Deschutes County, Oregon, and surrounded by lands 
administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The city 
has previously acquired BLM parcels under the Recreation and 
Public Purposes Act (RPPA) and community leaders have discussed 
with the BLM the need for additional land to serve other public 
purposes. S. 270 proposes to convey to the City of La Pine and 
Deschutes County, Oregon, three parcels, consisting of 150 
acres for Parcel A, 750 acres for Parcel B, and 10 acres for 
Parcel C. The conveyances would be subject to valid existing 
rights and RPPA requirements. The bill will provide for 
community events land, the expansion of the community's 
wastewater treatment facilities and open space for the City of 
La Pine and its public library.
    Parcel A is comprised of Community Events Land that would 
provide room for expansion of long-running and growing 
community events including La Pine Frontier Days and La Pine 
Rodeo. The proposed event area will be used to boost the 
region's tourism by developing grounds for rodeo and community 
wide events as well as provide for the development of other 
park and recreation facilities. Essentially, this land will 
serve to enhance the community's tourism and recreational 
pursuits, which are vital to the area's continued economic 
development.
    Parcel B would provide much needed waste water effluent 
disposal from the growing city. The City of La Pine currently 
is disposing of effluent to a reuse site that has seasonal 
water tables varying from 7 to 12 feet below the ground 
surface. The ability of the community to expand for business 
and residential growth is limited by the size of the existing 
reuse site and its close proximity to groundwater. The proposed 
new treatment and reuse site for La Pine will provide a site of 
adequate size for the long-term growth of the community.
    Finally, Parcel C is a small parcel of BLM land in the 
city. Located in the center of town where an existing library 
is located, the City of La Pine will utilize this parcel for 
open space uses and the continued operation of the library.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    S. 270 was introduced on February 3, 2011, by Senator Ron 
Wyden (D-OR). On October 18, 2011, the bill passed the Senate 
by unanimous consent. The bill was then referred to the House 
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. On 
May 17, 2012, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On 
June 7, 2012, the Full Resources Committee met to consider S. 
270. The Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public 
Lands was discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were 
offered to the bill and the bill was then adopted and 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 Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) 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)(2)(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. 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:

S. 270--La Pine Land Conveyance Act

    S. 270 would direct the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to 
convey, without consideration, 910 acres of land in Oregon to 
certain local governments. Based on information provided by 
BLM, CBO estimates that implementing S. 270 would have no 
significant impact on discretionary spending. Enacting the act 
would affect direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that any such effects 
would be negligible. Enacting the act would not affect 
revenues.
    Under S. 270, BLM would convey two parcels of land 
totalling 900 acres to Deschutes County and one parcel of 10 
acres to the city of La Pine. The conveyed properties would be 
used for various public purposes, including recreation. 
Deschutes County would be responsible for administrative costs 
associated with conveying the land that it would receive.
    Because some of the property to be conveyed under S. 270 
has already been identified by BLM for potential sale, CBO 
estimates that enacting the act would reduce offsetting 
receipts (a credit against direct spending). However, we expect 
that any such sale would be conducted under the Recreation and 
Public Purposes Act (RPPA), which allows state or local 
governments to receive federal property at less than fair 
market value. Therefore, we estimate that any loss of receipts 
that would result from donating the property to the county or 
the city (rather than selling it under the RPPA) would be less 
than $10,000. We further estimate that any discretionary costs 
of the conveyances would be negligible.
    S. 270 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 land conveyance authorized in the act would benefit the 
city of La Pine and Deschutes County. Any costs to those 
entities would be incurred voluntarily.
    On August 1, 2011, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
270, the La Pine Land Conveyance Act, as ordered reported by 
the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on July 
14, 2011. The two versions of the legislation are similar, and 
the CBO cost estimates are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The 
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. Section 308(a) of 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. Based on 
information provided by the Bureau of Land Management, CBO 
estimates that implementing S. 270 would have no significant 
impact on discretionary spending. Enacting the act would affect 
direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. 
However, CBO estimates that any such effects would be 
negligible.
    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 is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey certain Federal land to Deschutes County, 
Oregon.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                    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.

                                  
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