[House Report 115-372]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


115th Congress    }                                    {        Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session      }                                    {       115-372

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



 
    RIVERSIDE CORONA RESOURCE CONSERVATION DISTRICT LAND CONVEYANCE

                                _______
                                

October 26, 2017.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Conaway, from the Committee on Agriculture, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 3567]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Agriculture, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 3567) to authorize the purchase of a small parcel of 
Natural Resources Conservation Service property in Riverside, 
California, by the Riverside Corona Resource Conservation 
District, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that 
the bill do pass.

                           Brief Explanation

    H.R. 3567 transfers a USDA Laboratory to the Riverside 
Corona Resource Conservation District.

                    Purpose and Need for Legislation

    Since 1996, the Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation 
District (RCRCD) partnered with the Natural Resource 
Conservation Service (NRCS) to acquire a property vacated by 
the USDA Salinity Lab.
    Although NRCS has not obligated any funds for plant 
materials research at the Glenwood Drive property since they 
acquired it, RCRCD subsequently invested $2.8 million into the 
property with the understanding that NRCS would eventually 
transfer the property.
    H.R. 3567 would authorize transfer of the titled to the 
RCRCD, a decision supported by NRCS. The legislation states 
that current NRCS operation at the property shall be allowed to 
continue at no cost to the federal government.

 Section-by-Section Analysis of Legislation H.R. 3567 To Authorize the 
 Purchase of a Small Parcel of Natural Resources Conservation Service 
  Property in Riverside, California, by the Riverside Corona Resource 
             Conservation District, and for Other Purposes


Section 1. Findings

    Section 1 provides the Congressional findings.

Section 2. Land purchase, Natural Resources Conservation Service 
        property, Riverside County, California

    Subsection (a) of section 2 authorizes the Secretary of 
Agriculture to sell a parcel of land in Riverside, California 
to the Riverside Corona Resource Conservation District.
    Subsection (b) requires consideration be paid for the 
property in an amount equal to the appraisal value of the 
property.
    Subsection (c) prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from 
reserving any future interest in the property unless such 
interest is acceptable to the Conservation District.
    Subsection (d) requires the Secretary to meet disclosure 
requirements for hazardous substances, but not to remediate or 
abate the substances.
    Subsection (e) allows the Secretary to enter into leases, 
contracts and cooperative agreements with the Conservation 
District. The subsection further allows for such leases to be 
executed on a noncompetitive basis.

                        Committee Consideration


                              I. HEARINGS

    No hearings were held by the Committee on H.R. 3567, which 
authorizes the purchase of a small parcel of Natural Resources 
Conservation Service property in Riverside, California by the 
Riverside Corona Resource Conservation District, and for other 
purposes.

                           II. FULL COMMITTEE

    The Committee on Agriculture met, pursuant to notice, with 
a quorum present, on October 4, 2017, to consider H.R. 3567, 
which authorizes the purchase of a small parcel of Natural 
Resources Conservation Service property in Riverside, 
California by the Riverside Corona Resource Conservation 
District, and for other purposes.
    H. R. 3567 was placed before the Committee for 
consideration. Without objection, a first reading of the bill 
was waived and it was open for amendment at any point.
    Chairman Conaway and Mr. Peterson were recognized for 
statements. There being no amendments, Mr. Peterson was 
recognized to offer a motion that the bill H.R. 3567 be 
reported favorably to the House with the recommendation that it 
do pass. The motion was subsequently approved by voice vote.
    At the conclusion of the meeting, Chairman Conaway advised 
Members that pursuant to the rules of the House of 
Representatives Members had until October 6, 2017, to file any 
supplemental, minority, additional, or dissenting views with 
the Committee.
    Without objection, staff was given permission to make any 
necessary clerical, technical or conforming changes to reflect 
the intent of the Committee. Chairman Conaway thanked all the 
Members and adjourned the meeting.

                            Committee Votes

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the House of 
Representatives, H.R. 3567 was reported by voice vote with a 
majority quorum present. There was no request for a recorded 
vote.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee on Agriculture's 
oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the 
body of this report.

           Budget Act Compliance (Sections 308, 402, and 423)

    The provisions of clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives and section 308(a)(1) of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (relating to estimates of new 
budget authority, new spending authority, new credit authority, 
or increased or decreased revenues or tax expenditures) are not 
considered applicable. The estimate and comparison required to 
be prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 
under clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and sections 402 and 423 of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974 submitted to the Committee prior to the 
filing of this report are as follows:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, October 25, 2017.
Hon. K. Michael Conaway,
Chairman, Committee on Agriculture,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3567, a bill to 
authorize the purchase of a small parcel of National Resources 
Conservation Service property in Riverside, California, by the 
Riverside Corona Resource Conservation District, and for other 
purposes.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave.
            Sincerely,
                                                Keith Hall,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 3567--A Bill to Authorize the Purchase of a Small Parcel of 
        National Resources Conservation Service Property in Riverside, 
        California, by the Riverside Corona Resource Conservation 
        District, and for Other Purposes

    H.R. 3567 would require the Secretary of Agriculture to 
sell about nine acres of land in Riverside, California, to the 
Riverside Corona Resource Conservation District (district). 
Based on information provided by the Natural Resources 
Conservation Service (NRCS) and the district regarding the fair 
market value of similar properties in Riverside, CBO estimates 
that enacting the bill would increase offsetting receipts, 
which are treated as reductions in direct spending, by $1 
million in 2018.
    Under current law, the affected lands are managed under a 
cooperative agreement between the NRCS and the district and are 
used for research and conservation purposes. None of those 
lands are expected to generate receipts over the next 10 years.
    The bill also would authorize the NRCS to enter into 
contracts or leases with the district after the lands are 
conveyed in order to allow the agency to occupy its current 
facilities. Based on information provided by the NRCS and the 
district, CBO does not expect that the conservation district 
would make any improvements on the affected lands that would be 
paid for using agency payments; therefore, we estimate that 
enacting that provision would not increase direct spending. (If 
the district made improvements to the facilities occupied by 
the NRCS and recouped the cost of those improvements from 
contractual payments made by the agency, CBO would probably 
view any payments as direct spending.)
    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. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.

            CBO ESTIMATE OF PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS FOR H.R. 3567 AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE ON OCTOBER 4, 2017
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     2018    2019    2020    2021    2022    2023    2024    2025    2026    2027   2018-2022  2018-2027
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               NET DECREASE IN THE DEFICIT
 
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Impact....................      -1       0       0       0       0       0       0       0       0       0        -1         -1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    CBO estimates that enacting the bill would not increase net 
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    H.R. 3567 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The 
estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    H.R. 3567 does not authorize funding, therefore, clause 
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives is inapplicable.

                        Committee Cost Estimate

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee report incorporates the 
cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional 
Budget Office pursuant to sections 402 and 423 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committee within the meaning of section 5(b) of 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act was created by this 
legislation.

                Applicability to the Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 
104-1).

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    The Committee adopted as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act (Public Law 104-4).

  Earmark Statement Required by Clause 9 of Rule XXI of the Rules of 
                        House of Representatives

    H.R. 3567 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House Representatives.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    This bill does not establish or reauthorize a program of 
the Federal Government known to be duplicative of another 
Federal program, a program that was included in any report from 
the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to 
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a 
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance.

                  Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings

    The Committee does not believe that the legislation directs 
an executive branch official to conduct any specific rule 
making proceedings within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 551.

                                  [all]