[Senate Report 117-152]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 495
117th Congress     }                                 {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session        }                                 {       117-152

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

 
               UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FISCAL FOUNDATION ACT

                                _______
                                

               September 21, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Manchin, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1128]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1128), to provide for the continuation of 
higher education through the conveyance to the University of 
Alaska of certain public land in the State of Alaska, and for 
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and 
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                               AMENDMENT

    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``University of Alaska Fiscal 
Foundation Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
          (1) Available State-Selected Land.--The term ``available 
        State-selected land'' means Federal land in the State that has 
        been selected by the State pursuant to section 6(b) of Public 
        Law 85-508 (commonly known as the ``Alaska Statehood Act'') (48 
        U.S.C. note prec. 21), including land upon which the State has, 
        prior to December 31, 1993, filed a future selection 
        application under section 906(e) of the Alaska National 
        Interest Lands Conservation Act (43 U.S.C. 1635(e)), but not 
        conveyed or patented to the State, pursuant to Public Law 85-
        508 (commonly known as the ``Alaska Statehood Act'') (48 U.S.C. 
        note prec. 21).
          (2) Inholding.--The term ``inholding'' means any interest in 
        land owned by the University within--
                  (A) any conservation system unit (as defined in 
                section 102 of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
                Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3102)); or
                  (B) any unit of the National Forest System in the 
                State.
          (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land 
        Management.
          (4) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Alaska.
          (5) University.--The term ``University'' means the University 
        of Alaska, acting through the Board of Regents.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT.

    The Secretary shall establish a program within the Bureau of Land 
Management--
          (1) to identify and convey available State-selected land to 
        the University to support higher education in the State; and
          (2) to acquire, by purchase or exchange, University-owned 
        inholdings in the State.

SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION OF LAND TO BE CONVEYED TO THE UNIVERSITY.

    (a) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the State and the University may jointly identify not more 
than 500,000 acres of available State-selected land for inclusion in 
the program established under section 3, of which not more than 360,000 
acres may be conveyed and patented to the University.
    (b) Technical Assistance.--Upon the request of the State and the 
University, the Secretary shall provide technical assistance in the 
identification of available State-selected land for inclusion in the 
program.
    (c) Maps.--As soon as practicable after the date on which the 
available State-selected land is identified under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives 1 or more maps depicting the available State-selected 
land identified for conveyance to the University.
    (d) Conveyance.--Subject to subsection (e), if the State and the 
University notify the Secretary in writing that the State and the 
University jointly concur with the conveyance of all or a portion of 
the available State-selected land identified under subsection (a), and 
that the State will relinquish the selection rights of the State to the 
land covered by the notification on the issuance of the final patent by 
the Secretary to the University, the Secretary shall convey the 
applicable identified available State-selected land to the University, 
subject to valid existing rights, in the same manner and subject to the 
same terms, conditions, and limitations as is applicable to the State 
under section 6(b) of Public Law 85--508 (commonly known as the 
``Alaska Statehood Act'') (48 U.S.C. note prec. 21) and other 
applicable law, to be held in trust for the exclusive use and benefit 
of the University, to be administered in accordance with section 6.
    (e) Terms and Conditions.--
          (1) Maximum Acreage.--Subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary 
        shall convey not more than a total of 360,000 acres of 
        available State-selected land to the University under this 
        section, not to exceed the remaining entitlement of the State 
        under section 6(b) of Public Law 85-508 (commonly known as the 
        ``Alaska Statehood Act'') (48 U.S.C. note prec. 21).
          (2) Letters of Concurrence.--For purposes of subsection (d) 
        and subject to the maximum acreage limitation under subsection 
        (a), the State and the University may submit to the Secretary 1 
        or more joint letters of concurrence identifying parcels of 
        available State selected land for conveyance as a subset of the 
        total acres to be conveyed under this section.
          (3) Acreage Charged Against Alaska Statehood Act 
        Entitlement.--The acreage of land conveyed to the University 
        under this section shall be charged against the remaining 
        entitlement of the State under section 6(b) of Public Law 85-
        508 (commonly known as the ``Alaska Statehood Act'') (48 U.S.C. 
        note prec. 21).
          (4) Survey Costs.--In accordance with Public Law 85-508 
        (commonly known as the ``Alaska Statehood Act'') (48 U.S.C. 
        note prec. 21), the Secretary shall be responsible for the 
        costs of required surveys.

SEC. 5. UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA INHOLDINGS.

    (a) In general.--The Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture, as 
appropriate, may acquire by purchase or exchange, with the consent of 
the University, University-owned inholdings within Federal land in the 
State.
    (b) Appraisals.--The value of the land to be exchanged or acquired 
under this section shall be determined by the Secretary or the 
Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate, through appraisals 
conducted--
          (1) in accordance with--
                  (A) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land 
                Acquisitions; and
                  (B) the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal 
                Practice; and
          (2) by a qualified appraiser mutually agreed to by the 
        Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate, and 
        the University.
    (c) Equal Value Exchanges.--For any land exchange entered into 
under this section, the Federal land and University-owned inholdings 
exchanged shall be of equal value.
    (d) Purchase Acquisitions.--Pursuant to chapter 2003 of title 54, 
United States Code, amounts in the Land and Water Conservation Fund 
established by section 200302 of that title may be used for the 
purchase of University-owned inholdings within Federal land in the 
State under this section.
    (e) Requirement.--Any land acquired by the United States under this 
section shall be administered in accordance with the laws (including 
regulations) applicable to the conservation system unit or unit of the 
National Forest System in which the land is located.

SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION OF CONVEYED OR EXCHANGED LAND.

    All available State-selected land that is tentatively approved or 
conveyed to the University under this Act, and all land or assets 
acquired by the University through an exchange under this Act, together 
with the income therefrom and the proceeds from any dispositions 
thereof, shall be administered by the University in trust to meet the 
necessary expenses of higher education programs, similar to prior 
Federal land grants to the University.

SEC. 7. STATE AND UNIVERSITY PARTICIPATION.

    Nothing in this Act requires the State or the University--
          (1) to participate in the program established under section 
        3; or
          (2) to enter into sales or exchanges of University-owned 
        inholdings under section 5.

SEC. 8. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of any conveyance and patent 
to the University under this Act, the Secretary shall notify the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives of the 
land conveyed and patented.

SEC. 9. NO EFFECT ON ALASKA STATEHOOD ACT ENTITLEMENT UNAFFECTED.

    Except for any available State-selected land conveyed under section 
4 and charged against the remaining entitlement of the State under 
section 6(b) of Public Law 85-508 (commonly known as the ``Alaska 
Statehood Act'') (48 U.S.C. note prec. 21)--
          (1) the operation of the program established under section 3 
        shall not diminish or alter the rights of the State to receive 
        the entitlement of the State in any way; and
          (2) the State may continue to pursue the transfer of the 
        remaining entitlement of the State under section 6(b) of Public 
        Law 85-508 (commonly known as the ``Alaska Statehood Act'') (48 
        U.S.C. note prec. 21) at any time.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 1128 is to authorize the transfer of up 
to 360,000 acres of land selections made by the State of Alaska 
to the University of Alaska.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The University of Alaska currently has one of the smallest 
land endowments, just 110,000 acres, of any comparable 
institution of higher education. Many of the pre-statehood laws 
providing land grants to support education, including the 
Morrill Act of 1862 (12 Stat. 503), the Wickersham Act of 1915 
(38 Stat. 1214), and the Sutherland Act of 1929 (45 Stat. 1091) 
were not fully conveyed to the University prior to Alaska's 
admission to the Union in 1959, and lands typically reserved 
for the University in other States were added to the State's 
land entitlement instead. State court rulings have also 
prevented the State from conveying additional lands to the 
University.
    S. 1128 seeks to address this problem by authorizing the 
State of Alaska to transfer up to 360,000 acres of its 
remaining entitlement lands under the Alaska Statehood Act to 
the University of Alaska for higher education purposes. The 
University must manage any land received and income derived 
under this program in a trust capacity to support higher 
education.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senators Murkowski and Sullivan introduced S. 1128 on April 
14, 2021. The Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining 
held a hearing on the bill on June 16, 2021. A similar bill, 
H.R. 2546, was introduced in the House by Representative Young 
and was referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, 
Forests, and Public Lands. No further action has been taken.
    A similar bill, S. 4696, was introduced in the 116th 
Congress by Senators Murkowski and Sullivan. The Subcommittee 
on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held a hearing on S. 4696 
on November 18, 2020 (S. Hrg. 116-382), although no further 
action was taken.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 
open business session on May 3, 2022, by a majority voice vote 
of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1128, 
if amended as described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During its consideration of S. 1128, the Committee adopted 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment makes 
several clarifying changes with respect to the State-University 
of Alaska land selection process. The amendment is explained in 
detail in the section-by-section analysis, below.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 provides the short title of the bill.

Sec. 2. Definitions

    Section 2 defines key terms used in the bill.

Sec. 3. Establishment

    Section 3 directs that the Secretary of the Interior 
establish a program within the Bureau of Land Management to: 
(1) identify and convey land selected by the State under the 
Statehood entitlement to convey to the University to support 
higher education; and (2) acquire, by purchase or exchange, 
University-owned inholdings in the State.

Sec. 4. Identification of land to be conveyed to the University

    Section 4(a) provides that within three years of enactment, 
the State and University may jointly identify up to 500,000 
acres of state-selected land to be included in the program, of 
which not more than 360,000 acres may be conveyed and patented 
to the University.
    Subsection (b) directs the Secretary, upon request of the 
State and the University, to provide technical assistance in 
the identification of available State-selected land for 
inclusion in the program.
    Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to develop maps of 
the State-selected land identified for potential conveyance to 
the University, and to submit the maps to Congress.
    Subsection (d) provides that if the State and the 
University jointly concur with the conveyance of all or a 
portion of State-selected land to the University, and that the 
State will fully relinquish its selection rights to the covered 
land on final patent, the Secretary shall then convey the 
identified land to the University, subject to valid existing 
rights and subject to the same terms, conditions, and 
limitations as is applicable to the State.
    Subsection (e) provides terms and conditions for the 
program, including a limitation that the Secretary may not 
convey more than 360,000 acres to the University; that the 
State and University may submit multiple letters of concurrence 
addressing subsets of the identified lands; that the acreage 
conveyed will be assessed against the outstanding Alaska 
statehood entitlement; and that the Secretary will bear the 
cost of survey for conveyed lands, in accordance with the 
Alaska Statehood Act.

Sec. 5. University of Alaska inholdings

    Section 5(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior or 
the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate, to acquire 
University-owned inholdings within Federal land in the State, 
either by purchase or exchange.
    Subsection (b) states that the value of the land exchanged 
or acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture shall be determined 
through appraisals conducted by a qualified appraiser mutually 
agreed upon by the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture 
and in accordance with Federal appraisal standards.
    Subsection (c) requires that for any land exchange, the 
Federal land and University-owned inholdings must be of equal 
value.
    Subsection (d) states that the Land and Water Conservation 
Fund may be used to acquire University-owned inholdings within 
Federal land in the State.
    Subsection (e) requires that any land acquired by the 
United States under section 5 shall be administered in 
accordance with the laws and regulations applicable to the 
conservation system unit or unit of the National Forest System, 
as applicable.

Sec. 6. Administration of conveyed or exchanged land

    Section 6 provides that the University must administer 
lands received under this program, and the income derived 
therefrom, in trust to meet the necessary expenses of higher 
education programs, similar to prior Federal land grants to the 
University.

Sec. 7. State and University participation

    Section 7 provides that the State and the University's 
participation in the program is voluntary.

Sec. 8. Congressional notification

    Section 8 requires the Secretary to notify the Senate 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House 
Committee on Natural Resources when lands are conveyed and 
patented under the bill.

Sec. 9. No effect on Alaska Statehood Act entitlement unaffected

    Section 9 clarifies that the operation of the program does 
not diminish or alter the rights of the State to receive the 
entitlement of the State, and that the State may continue to 
pursue the transfer of the remaining entitlement of the State 
at any time.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimates of costs of S. 1128 has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.

	[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    S. 1128 would direct the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to 
convey up to 360,000 acres of federal land to the University of 
Alaska. That land would be deducted from acreage the state is 
entitled to under the Alaska Statehood Act (ASA); only land 
previously selected by the state under the ASA could be 
conveyed. The bill also would require BLM to provide technical 
assistance and complete land surveys.
    The agency is currently working to facilitate land 
transfers under the ASA. Using information from BLM, and based 
on the costs of similar tasks, CBO estimates that the 
additional costs to implement the bill would total $1 million 
over the 2022-2027 period; any spending would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    Under current law, 10 percent of the income generated on 
state-selected federal land is retained by the federal 
government and recorded in the budget as offsetting receipts 
(or as reductions in direct spending). CBO expects that 
enacting S. 1128 would result in the loss of some of those 
receipts, because it would expedite land conveyances or result 
in transfers of federal land that would not occur otherwise. 
Using information from BLM about collections in recent years, 
CBO estimates that the amount of those forgone receipts would 
be less than $500,000 over the 2022-2032 period.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Lilia Ledezma. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director of Budget Analysis.

                      REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 1128. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses. No personal information would be collected in 
administering the program. Therefore, there would be no impact 
on personal privacy. Little, if any, additional paperwork would 
result from the enactment of S. 1128, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 1128, as ordered reported, does not contain any 
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, 
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The testimony by the Department of the Interior at the June 
16, 2021, subcommittee hearing on S. 1128 follows:

  Statement of Nada Wolff Culver, Deputy Director, Policy & Programs, 
       Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior

    Thank you for the opportunity to testify on S. 1128, the 
University of Alaska Fiscal Foundation Act. S. 1128 directs the 
Department of the Interior (Department) to establish a program 
within the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to identify and 
convey land to the University of Alaska to support higher 
education. The BLM is focused on completing entitlement land 
conveyances in Alaska. We support the goals of S. 1128 and look 
forward to working with the sponsors and the Committee on 
technical modifications.


                               background


    While the State of Alaska is the largest state in the 
nation, it has the second smallest land grant--approximately 
110,000 acres--for higher education. Previous attempts to 
provide a land grant to the University of Alaska include a 
reservation made by Congress in 1915 of approximately 268,000 
acres of public domain in the then-Territory of Alaska for what 
would become the University of Alaska. In 1929, Congress 
provided for an additional grant of 100,000 acres of the 
territory to the college. Upon admission as a state in 1959, 
portions of the 1915 reservation of land were eliminated, and 
no Federal land grant for higher education was provided in the 
Alaska Statehood Act.
    As the Secretary of the Interior's designated survey and 
land transfer agent, the BLM is the Federal agency responsible 
for adjudicating land claims, conducting and finalizing 
cadastral land surveys, and transferring legal title of Federal 
lands. The BLM's Alaska Land Transfer Program administers the 
transfer of lands to individual Alaska Natives under the Alaska 
Native Allotment Act; implements the 46 million-acre transfer 
to Alaska Native Corporations under the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA); and is also responsible for 
conveying 104.5 million acres to the State of Alaska under the 
Alaska Statehood Act. The BLM has completed over 90 percent of 
the ANCSA survey work. When the survey and conveyance work 
under the Alaska Native Allotment Act, the Alaska Statehood 
Act, and ANCSA is completed, over 150 million acres, 
approximately 42 percent of the land area in Alaska, will have 
been transferred from Federal to State and private ownership.
S. 1128
            Conveyance
    S. 1128 requires the Department to establish a program 
within the BLM to identify and convey available State of Alaska 
selected lands to the University of Alaska for use in 
supporting the operation and maintenance of the University 
system. Under the bill, the State of Alaska and the University 
are to identify not more than 500,000 acres of available State 
land for inclusion in the program established by the Department 
and eventual conveyance to the University. Of those 500,000 
acres, a maximum of 360,000 acres may be conveyed to the 
University. Prior to the conveyance of land, the State and the 
University must submit in writing to the Department the agreed 
upon lands to be conveyed. The total acreage of all land 
conveyed under this bill will be charged against the remaining 
entitlement of the State under the Alaska Statehood Act.
    The BLM appreciates the work of the sponsor in improving 
and clarifying this provision since this bill was introduced 
last Congress. The new language offers greater clarity in how 
the conveyances would be structured. However, given the unique 
circumstances and legal requirements of this conveyance, the 
BLM recommends adding further clarifying language related to 
the survey process.
            Definitions
    S. 1128 outlines a number of definitions with respect to 
the Alaska land conveyance program. The bill defines 
``available State-selected land'' to mean any Federal land in 
the State that has been selected by the State, including future 
selections. The Department of the Interior and the Department 
of Agriculture would like to work with the committee to clarify 
that the lands at issue comply with the Alaska Statehood Act's 
limit on total lands conveyed to the State from the National 
Forests. The bill also defines ``conservation system unit'' as 
the meaning given in section 103 of the Alaska National 
Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) (16 U.S.C. 3102). The 
BLM notes that the definition for ``conservation system unit'' 
under ANILCA would only include National Forest lands within a 
National Monument, National Wilderness Preservation System, 
National Trail System Unit, or National Wild and Scenic Rivers 
System, and no other Forest Service lands in Alaska. We would 
like to work with the sponsor to clarify the sponsor's intent 
as to what lands should be included under this definition.
            Exchange for Conservation System Unit Inholdings
    S. 1128 allows the Secretary of the Interior or of 
Agriculture to acquire or exchange University owned inholdings 
within conservation system units in the State. The BLM would 
like to work with the sponsor to clarify the intent of the 
exchange section of the bill, as well as to clarify the 
language relating to the appraisal process and the involved 
Departments. The BLM notes that the Department of the Interior 
and Department of Agriculture already have this exchange 
authority under current law. In addition, we have found that 
exchanges are best approached after entitlements are completed 
and land ownership patterns are settled. Doing so provides a 
greater measure of certainty regarding ownership boundaries, 
facilitates negotiation among the involved parties, and 
increases the likelihood of a successful exchange.


                               conclusion


    The Department appreciates the goals of the legislation to 
convey lands to the University to further higher education 
opportunities in Alaska. We look forward to working further 
with the sponsor and the Committee on the bill.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by the bill as ordered 
reported.

                                  [all]