[House Report 113-98]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


113th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     113-98

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



 
                   Y MOUNTAIN ACCESS ENHANCEMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

  June 6, 2013.--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. 253]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 253) to provide for the conveyance of a small 
parcel of National Forest System land in the Uinta-Wasatch-
Cache National Forest in Utah to Brigham Young University, 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. 253 is to provide for the conveyance of 
a small parcel of National Forest System land in the Uinta-
Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Utah to Brigham Young 
University.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Y Mountain is the location of the familiar white block 
``Y'' in Provo, Utah, overlooking Utah Valley and the Brigham 
Young University (BYU) campus. The Y was constructed in 1906 
and has been part of the Provo landscape ever since.
    Currently, BYU provides public access to the 380-foot tall 
by 130-foot wide landmark through its privately owned and 
maintained trailhead and much of the trail leading up to it. 
The remaining property is owned by the U.S. Forest Service, but 
is conserved by the university under a permit that has 
typically been renewed every 10 years. BYU seeks to guarantee 
its ability to maintain the Y and surrounding grounds without 
the risk of losing the right through the permitting process. To 
that end, H.R. 253 requires the Secretary of Agriculture to 
convey, at fair market value, approximately 80 acres of the 
Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, in Provo, Utah, to BYU. 
Additionally, the legislation specifies that BYU will continue 
to allow public access to the Y as it has for decades.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 253 was introduced on January 15, 2013, by Congressman 
Jason Chaffetz (R-UT). The bill was referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation. On 
April 24, 2013, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to 
consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and 
Environmental Regulation was discharged by unanimous consent. 
No amendments were offered, and the bill was then 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. 253--Y Mountain Access Enhancement Act

    H.R. 253 would require the Secretary of Agriculture to 
sell, for fair market value, about 80 acres of federal land 
located in Utah to Brigham Young University. Based on 
information about the value of similar lands in northern Utah, 
CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would increase 
offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending) by less 
than $500,000 in 2014; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures 
apply. Because the bill would require the university to cover 
any administrative costs associated with the conveyance, CBO 
estimates that implementing the bill would not affect 
discretionary spending. Enacting H.R. 253 would not affect 
revenues.
    H.R. 253 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local or tribal 
governments.
    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 about the value of similar lands in northern Utah, 
CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would increase 
offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending) by less 
than $500,000 in 2014; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures 
apply. Because the bill would require the university to cover 
any administrative costs associated with the conveyance, CBO 
estimates that implementing the bill would not affect 
discretionary spending.
    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 provide for the conveyance of a 
small parcel of National Forest System land in the Uinta-
Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Utah to Brigham Young 
University.

                           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.

                       COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

    Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that 
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any 
specific rule-making proceedings.
    Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not 
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government 
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was 
not included in any report from the Government Accountability 
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 
98-169) as relating to other programs.

                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.

                                  
