[House Report 114-374]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
114th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 114-374
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AUTHORIZING ESCAMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA, TO CONVEY CERTAIN PROPERTY THAT
WAS FORMERLY PART OF SANTA ROSA ISLAND NATIONAL MONUMENT AND THAT WAS
CONVEYED TO ESCAMBIA COUNTY SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIONS ON USE AND
RECONVEYANCE
_______
December 8, 2015.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 1452]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1452) to authorize Escambia County, Florida, to
convey certain property that was formerly part of Santa Rosa
Island National Monument and that was conveyed to Escambia
County subject to restrictions on use and reconveyance, 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. 1452 is to authorize Escambia County,
Florida, to convey certain property that was formerly part of
Santa Rosa Island National Monument and that was conveyed to
Escambia County subject to restrictions on use and
reconveyance.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H.R. 1452 would allow Escambia County, Florida, to convey,
or otherwise dispose of, all right, title, and interest in and
to any portion of the property that the federal government
conveyed to the County in 1947 on Santa Rosa Island.
On January 15, 1947, the federal government removed the
Santa Rosa National Monument from the jurisdiction of the
National Park Service and deeded the land located on Santa Rosa
Island to Escambia County, Florida. Under the terms of the
conveyance, Escambia County was given the authority to transfer
property on Santa Rosa Island; however, it was not allowed to
sell or convey the property. After taking custody of the land,
Escambia County began offering leases for businesses and
homeowners who would pay a lease fee, but not be charged
property taxes. This arrangement continues today.
Santa Rosa Island grew enormously in the intervening years,
and the Board of Commissioners of both Escambia County and
Santa Rosa County passed resolutions asking for a federal
solution to allow current Santa Rosa Island leaseholders the
option of attaining fee simple title, while protecting public
access to the beaches and conservation areas on the Island.
H.R. 1452 provides a long-needed solution, similar to what was
attained by neighboring Okaloosa Island, and allows for the
County to more fairly levy taxes while protecting the Island's
natural resources.
An identical version of this bill, introduced in the 113th
Congress as H.R. 2954, was favorably reported by the Committee
on Natural Resources on December 16, 2013 (House Report 113-
296). The bill was subsequently expanded to include a package
of lands bills and was passed by the House of Representatives
by a recorded vote of 220-194 on February 6, 2014.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 1452 was introduced on March 19, 2015, by Congressman
Jeff Miller (R-FL). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources. Within the Natural Resources Committee, the
bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On
October 7, 2015, the Natural Resources Committee met to
consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous
consent. No amendments were offered, and the bill was ordered
favorably reported on October 8, 2015, 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:
H.R. 1452--A bill to authorize Escambia County, Florida, to convey
certain property that was formerly part of Santa Rosa Island
National Monument and that was conveyed to Escambia County
subject to restrictions on use and reconveyance
H.R. 1452 would authorize Escambia County in Florida to
convey to private entities certain property that it received
from the federal government. The specified properties had been
part of the Santa Rosa Island National Monument and were
transferred to Escambia County in 1947 for public purposes.
Under the terms of that conveyance, Escambia County can only
reconvey the properties to the federal government or to the
state of Florida. H.R. 1452 would remove that condition and add
new conditions. First, under the bill, any conveyance of the
specified properties would require Escambia County to convey to
Santa Rosa County any of the property that falls within the
jurisdictional boundaries of Santa Rosa County. Second, any
proceeds above the direct or incidental costs of the
conveyances would be transferred to the federal government.
CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have
no significant effect on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 1452
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply. Based on information
provided by the National Park Service and local government
entities, CBO estimates that the proceeds from any conveyances
of the specified properties would be used to cover direct or
incidental costs.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1452 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year period beginning in 2026.
H.R. 1452 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Marin Burnett.
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 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. According to the
Congressional Budget Office, implementation of this bill would
have no significant effect on the federal budget.
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 authorize Escambia County,
Florida, to convey certain property that was formerly part of
Santa Rosa Island National Monument and that was conveyed to
Escambia County subject to restrictions on use and
reconveyance.
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 believes that this bill
does not direct an 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.
DISSENTING VIEWS
H.R. 1452 authorizes Escambia County to permanently convey
land associated with the former Santa Rosa National Monument to
Santa Rosa County.
Santa Rosa Island is a 40-mile barrier island in the Gulf
of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. Settled by
Spanish explorer Tristan De Luna in 1559, it's the site of the
earliest European settlement in North America and an eventual
home to Fort Pickens, an important U.S. military base
throughout much of early American history.
In 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt recognized the
historical significance of the island and proclaimed the Santa
Rosa Island National Monument. The monument was abolished by
Congress in 1946 and the Department of Interior, in 1947,
conveyed a portion of Santa Rosa Island back to Escambia
County. Following the 1946 Act, all use of the land is required
to meet the public interest. Escambia County deemed that 100-
year leases were in the ``public interest'' and, in 1956,
leased the area of Navarre Beach to the neighboring Santa Rosa
County.
A lot of development has happened on Santa Rosa Island in
the sixty years since the land was first conveyed to Escambia
County, but Congressional intent remains the same: federal land
conveyed to Escambia must be used for a public purpose. H.R.
1452 undermines that intent.
Santa Rosa County is considering plans to create a marina
at Navarre Beach. The proposed marina would cut off public
access to local beaches and have sizable impacts on the
estuaries and wetlands that support wildlife habitat at Gulf
Island National Seashore. Barrier islands play a critical role
in the ecosystem, providing protection from storm surges and
erosion. Dredging a channel to create a marina will lead to
beach erosion, requiring continuous, costly restoration and
stabilization efforts to preserve the beach. Making our coasts
more vulnerable to flooding, erosion, and storm surge is not in
the public interest.
The National Park Service, in a statement for the record on
a similar bill in the 113th Congress, recommended several
amendments to the bill that would authorize the conveyance in a
manner consistent with Congressional intent. Unfortunately,
these amendments were not adopted.
For these reasons, we oppose H.R. 1452.
Raul M. Grijalva.
Niki Tsongas.
Alan S. Lowenthal.
Matt Cartwright.
Jared Huffman.
Grace F. Napolitano.
[all]