[House Report 112-602]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     112-602

======================================================================



 
                         CABIN FEE ACT OF 2011

                                _______
                                

 July 17, 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 H.R. 3397]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 3397) to modify the Forest Service Recreation 
Residence Program by implementing a simple, equitable, and 
predictable procedure for determining cabin user fees, and for 
other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably 
thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 3397 is to modify the Forest Service 
Recreation Residence Program by implementing a simple, 
equitable, and predictable procedure for determining cabin user 
fees.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 3397 would establish a new schedule for the fees paid 
by owners of private cabins that are located on U.S. Forest 
Service lands. The bill also would establish a transfer fee 
that would be assessed on owners who sell their cabins. The 
bill meets the need for a fair, simple and predictable 
structure for setting fees based on the actual value received, 
and will moderate the runaway fee hikes occurring under current 
law. H.R. 3397 will also reduce the administrative burden on 
the Forest Service and provide a fair return to the U.S. 
Treasury for the use of public land.
    A summer cabin program has existed in National Forests for 
almost a century, but recent changes in the way permit fees are 
set for these cabins will put them beyond the reach of many 
cabin owners. The current system for setting fees for ownership 
of cabins on National Forest land does not accurately reflect 
the value of the limited use-permits involved. A limited and 
temporary permit is not comparable to the rights of fee-simple 
ownership. Because the many restrictions and conditions on the 
permits are not sufficiently considered in the valuations, the 
fees often go far beyond what average families can afford, 
forcing many cabin owners to sell or abandon their cabins. 
Appraisals completed recently under the current Cabin User Fee 
Fairness Act (CUFFA) law indicate 45 percent of owners have 
seen fee increases of 200 percent or higher, 20 percent exceed 
$5,000, 8.5 percent exceed $7,000 and 3.7 percent exceed 
$10,000.
    Unfortunately, the current appraisals do not reflect the 
difference between the bundle of rights held by an owner of fee 
simple property and the very limited rights of Forest Service 
land cabin owners. Cabin fees determined under current law far 
exceed market rates when compared to similar leased (or 
permitted) recreation land uses. H.R. 3397 would establish 
rates that more fairly reflect true market rates and revenues.
    The bill establishes a nine tiered fee structure, indexed 
annually, that is fair to the cabin owner and the U.S. Treasury 
and will preserve cabin value or the ability to sell the cabin 
if the current owner cannot pay the fee. Instead of annual fees 
ranging from $125 to the clearly unaffordable $76,000 under 
current law, fees under the bill will range from $500 to $4,500 
per year.
    The Cabin Fee Act requires the assignment of each permitted 
lot to one of nine fee tiers, based on the rank order of 
current appraised values. The lowest 8 percent of appraised lot 
values are assigned to the $500 tier. The highest 4 percent are 
assigned to the $4,500 tier. Following this process, user fee 
revenue is projected to be about $30 million when fully 
implemented. User fees are to be adjusted annually by a rolling 
average of the Implicit Price Deflator for Gross National 
Product index (See Appendix I).
    A transfer fee, intended to capture the value influence of 
the National Forest location would be paid when that value 
influence is actually realized at the time of sale. The 
Transfer Fee has two components. First, a flat fee of $1,000 is 
collected for all cabin sales and transfers. Second, if the 
sale price exceeds $250,000, an additional 5 percent is 
collected on the sale price exceeding $250,000 up to $500,000, 
and an additional 10 percent on sale amounts exceeding 
$500,000.
    Cabin marketability is not encumbered, because cabin owners 
will have full knowledge of the indexed annual user fee and 
both a seller and buyer can factor the transfer fee into their 
negotiations at the time of sale. The bill provides cost 
savings to the Forest Service by the elimination of expensive 
appraisals and the loss of the substantial revenue from 
abandoned cabins that will occur if CUFFA stands unchanged.
    With the elimination of the appraisal process under CUFFA, 
the Forest Service will save approximately $1 million annually. 
The complexity and expense of the appraisal process will be 
replaced with a cost-effective fee system and greatly 
simplified program administration.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 3397 was introduced on November 10, 2011, by 
Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA), and was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources. On September 9, 2011, the 
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands held a 
hearing on a draft version of the bill. On November 17, 2011, 
the Full Resources Committee met to consider H.R. 3397. No 
amendments were offered, and the bill was adopted and 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 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:

H.R. 3397--Cabin Fee Act of 2011

    Summary: H.R. 3397 would establish a new schedule for the 
fees paid to the federal government by individuals who own 
cabins located on Forest Service lands. The bill also would 
establish a transfer fee that would be assessed on owners who 
sell their cabins. Based on information provided by the Forest 
Service, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would 
result in a net reduction in offsetting receipts (a credit 
against direct spending) totaling $25 million over the 2013-
2022 period; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. 
Enacting H.R. 3397 would not affect revenues.
    H.R. 3397 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of H.R. 3397 is shown in the following table. 
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300 
(natural resources and environment).
    Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the 
legislation will be enacted in 2012.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        2012   2013   2014   2015   2016   2017   2018   2019   2020   2021   2022  2012-2017  2012-2022
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING

Cabin Fees:
    Estimated Budget Authority.......................      0      3     -2      *      1      3      5      5      5      5      5         5         30
    Estimated Outlays................................      0      3     -2      *      1      3      5      5      5      5      5         5         30
Transfer Fees:
    Estimated Budget Authority.......................      0      *      *      *      *      *     -1     -1     -1     -1     -1        -2         -5
    Estimated Outlays................................      0      *      *      *      *      *     -1     -1     -1     -1     -1        -2         -5
  Total Changes:
    Estimated Budget Authority.......................      0      2     -2      *      1      2      4      4      4      5      5         3         25
    Estimated Outlays................................      0      2     -2      *      1      2      4      4      4      5      5         3        25
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: Components may not sum to totals because of rounding; * = between -$500,000 and $500,000.

    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3397 would increase net 
direct spending by $25 million over the 2013-2022 period. Over 
that period, fees collected from cabin owners by the Forest 
Service would total about $30 million less than would be 
collected under current law (such losses are shown as an 
increase in direct spending). In addition, the collection of 
newly established fees assessed on cabin owners who sell their 
cabins would increase receipts (thus reducing direct spending) 
by about $5 million over that period.

Cabin fees

    Section 3 would establish a new schedule for fees assessed 
on cabins located on Forest Service lands. Under current law, 
owners of the roughly 14,000 affected cabins pay an annual fee 
to the federal government equal to 5 percent of the appraised 
value of the occupied land. Based on information provided by 
the agency, CBO estimates that fee collections from those 
cabins will total roughly $20 million in 2012 and that those 
collections will increase to $38 million by 2022. Collections 
will increase over that period as the agency completes 
appraisals of the affected Forest Service lands, implements new 
fees based on those appraisals, and annually adjusts fees on 
all cabins to account for inflation.
    Under the bill, cabin owners would pay specified annual 
fees ranging from $500 to $4,500 per cabin, depending on the 
appraised value of the occupied land. Those fees would go into 
effect after the Forest Service completes its current appraisal 
cycle, which CBO expects will occur in 2013. Once implemented, 
CBO estimates that new cabin fee collections would total about 
$29 million in 2014 and would reach $33 million by 2022.
    Because H.R. 3397 would cap annual cabin fees at $4,500 and 
prevent scheduled fee increases from being implemented as they 
would be under current law, CBO estimates that enacting the 
bill would, in general, lower annual receipts over the 2013-
2022 period. Over the 2014-2015 period, CBO estimates that 
enacting H.R. 3397 would increase receipts because we expect 
that cabin fees would be increased more gradually under current 
law than under the bill over that period. On net, CBO estimates 
that enacting the new cabin fees required under H.R. 3397 would 
reduce offsetting receipts (an increase in direct spending) by 
about $30 million over the 2013-2022 period.

Transfer fees

    Section 4 would require the Forest Service to collect a 
transfer fee from cabin owners who sell their cabins. The 
amount of the fee would be based on the sales price. CBO 
estimates that implementing this provision would increase 
offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending) by about 
$5 million over the 2013-2022 period, based on information 
provided by the Forest Service regarding the number of new 
lease permits issued each year and the values of the affected 
cabins.
    Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go 
Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement 
procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or 
revenues. The net changes in outlays that are subject to those 
pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in the following table.

        CBO ESTIMATE OF PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS FOR H.R. 3397 AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES ON NOVEMBER 17, 2011
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                           -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             2012    2013    2014    2015    2016    2017    2018    2019    2020    2021    2022   2012-2017  2012-2022
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       NET INCREASE OR DECREASE (-) IN THE DEFICIT

Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Impact............       0       2      -2       0       1       2       4       4       4       5       5         3         25
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 3397 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
tribal governments.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Jeff LaFave; Impact on 
State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa Merrell; Impact 
on the Private Sector: Amy Petz.
    Estimate 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 Forest Service, CBO estimates that 
implementing the legislation would result in a net reduction in 
offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending) totaling 
$25 million over the 2013-2022 period; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures apply. Enacting H.R. 3397 would not affect revenues.
    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 modify the Forest Service 
Recreation Residence Program by implementing a simple, 
equitable, and predictable procedure for determining cabin user 
fees.

                           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.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

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


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