[Senate Report 117-86]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 287
117th Congress       }                           {            Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session          }                           {            117-86

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



 
                 LIBERTY THEATRE ANNEX LAND CONVEYANCE

                                _______
                                

               February 28, 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. 1620]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1620), to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey to the city of Eunice, Louisiana, certain 
Federal land in the State of Louisiana, and for other purposes, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 1620 is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey to the city of Eunice, Louisiana, the 
federally-owned annex to the Liberty Theatre, located within 
the boundary of the Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The Liberty Theatre has been a staple of Eunice, Louisiana, 
for nearly 100 years, hosting silent films, live bands, and 
other entertainment. For many years, the theatre has been the 
site of a popular Saturday evening program of live Cajun music 
and dancing, the ``Rendez-Vous des Cajuns.''
    The theatre is owned by the city of Eunice and is located 
adjacent to the National Park Service's Prairie Acadian 
Cultural Center, which is a unit of Jean Lafitte National 
Historical Park. Although the city owns the theatre, in 1989 
the National Park Service constructed an annex to the theatre 
to provide American Disability Act-compliant handicap 
accessible ramps and restrooms, and installed a master HVAC 
system for the cultural center and theater. The National Park 
Service plans to replace the system in the cultural center and 
the city of Eunice plans to install a new HVAC system in the 
theater. The city is seeking to consolidate ownership of the 
theatre annex for greater flexibility and autonomy in 
determining the appropriate approach to the theatre's HVAC 
needs.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Senator Kennedy introduced S. 1620 on May 13, 2021. The 
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the bill on 
October 6, 2021. An identical bill, H.R. 3197, was introduced 
in the House by Representative Johnson (R-LA) on May 13, 2021. 
The Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands 
held a hearing on this bill on October 14, 2021. The House 
Natural Resource Committee held a markup on November 17, 2021, 
and ordered the bill to be reported favorably by unanimous 
consent.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on November 18, 2021, by a majority voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
1620 without amendment.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 provides the short title, the ``Save the Liberty 
Theatre Act of 2021.''
    Section 2 defines key terms used in the bill.
    Section 3(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey to the City of Eunice, Louisiana, by quitclaim deed and 
without consideration, all right, title, and interest of the 
United States to the parcels of land described in subsection 
(b).
    Subsection (b) describes the specific parcels to be 
conveyed to the city, as generally depicted on the referenced 
map.
    Subsection (c) requires the map to be on file and available 
for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the 
National Park Service.
    Section 4 adjusts the boundary of the Jean Lafitte National 
Historical Park and Preserve to exclude the conveyed lands from 
the park boundary.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimate of the costs of this measure has 
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office.

		
		
		[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    S. 1620 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey all right, title, and interest of the federal government 
in specified areas of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park 
and Preserve to the city of Eunice, Louisiana. That area 
includes an annex owned by the National Park Service (NPS) that 
is attached to the Liberty Theatre, which is owned by the city. 
The NPS would not receive payment from the city for the 
conveyed land.
    Using information from the NPS, CBO estimates that the 
administrative costs associated with conveying the land to the 
city and updating maps would not be significant. In addition, 
CBO expects that implementing the bill would reduce NPS 
maintenance costs for those areas by an insignificant amount. 
On net, CBO estimates that enacting S. 1620 would have an 
insignificant effect on spending subject to appropriation.
    The property that would be conveyed does not generate 
income for the federal government; therefore, enacting the bill 
would not affect direct spending or revenues.
    On February 25, 2022, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 
H.R. 3197, the Save the Liberty Theatre Act of 2021, as ordered 
reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on 
November 17, 2021. The two pieces of the legislation are 
similar, and CBO's estimates of their budgetary effects are the 
same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Madeleine Fox. 
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. 1620. 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. 1620, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 1620, 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 provided by the Department of the Interior at 
the October 6, 2021, hearing on S. 1620 follows:

 Statement of Joy Beasley, Associate Director for Cultural Resources, 
Partnerships and Science, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the 
                                Interior

    Chairman King, Ranking Member Daines, and members of the 
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
Department of the Interior's views on S. 1620, a bill to direct 
the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the city of Eunice, 
Louisiana, certain Federal land in the state of Louisiana, and 
for other purposes. The Department supports S. 1620.
    S. 1620 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey to the city of Eunice, Louisiana, all right, title, and 
interest to the parcels of land generally depicted as 
``Proposed Disposal Area'' on the map referenced in the 
legislation and comprised of a National Park Service (NPS) 
owned annex to a city owned building, the Liberty Theater. 
Ownership of the annex would be conveyed to the City and the 
NPS would relinquish any interest. The boundary of Jean Lafitte 
National Historical Park and Preserve would be revised to 
exclude the annex.
    Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (park) 
was established to preserve significant examples of the rich 
natural and cultural resources of Louisiana's Mississippi Delta 
region. The park consists of six physically separate sites. The 
sites include cultural centers in Lafayette, Thibodaux, and 
Eunice; the Chalmette Battlefield; Barataria Preserve; and the 
park's headquarters and visitor center located in New Orleans' 
French Quarter. The Lafayette, Thibodaux, and Eunice cultural 
centers preserve and interpret examples of the Acadian culture 
of the area. The Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery 
commemorate the site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans. The 
Barataria Preserve interprets the culture of those who settled 
the area and the unique ecosystem that sustained them, and 
preserves a representative example of the Delta's environment, 
containing natural levee forests, bayous, swamps and marshes.
    As the park's mission and management responsibilities have 
grown in scope and size, the NPS has endeavored to work with 
local communities and identify opportunities to share resources 
and responsibilities while serving the mission of the agency. 
In some instances, arrangements that were useful in the past 
have outgrown their utility and the related resources could 
better be directed elsewhere in the park.
    Public Law 100-250, signed into law in 1988, established 
the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center (PACC) in Eunice as a part 
of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. The 
Liberty Theater, a vaudeville and movie and performance venue 
constructed in 1924, is next door to the PACC. In 1989, the 
park restored and rehabilitated the theater, constructed an 
adjoining annex for public health, safety and accessibility and 
installed a master HVAC system for the theater, annex and 
nearby PACC.
    The master HVAC system is now antiquated and beyond repair 
and must be replaced. The park plans to replace the system in 
the PACC and the city of Eunice plans to install a new HVAC 
system in the theater. Transferring ownership of the Liberty 
Theater annex to the city of Eunice would allow the city 
greater flexibility and autonomy in determining the appropriate 
approach to the theater's HVAC needs while providing 
significant cost savings to the NPS and clarifying management 
responsibilities for both parties. This change in ownership is 
supported locally by city officials.
    Chairman King, this concludes my statement. I would be 
pleased to answer any questions you or other members of the 
Subcommittee may have.

                        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]