[House Report 114-374]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


114th Congress   }                                     {        Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session     }                                     {       114-374

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

 
 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]