[House Report 118-370]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


 118th Congress    }                                     {    Report
                         HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  2nd Session      }                                     {    118-370
 
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       CLIFTON OPPORTUNITIES NOW FOR VIBRANT ECONOMIC YIELDS ACT

                                _______
                                

January 30, 2024.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

     Mr. Westerman, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
                    submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2997]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 2997) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey to Mesa County, Colorado, certain Federal land in 
Colorado, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that 
the bill as amended do pass.
    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 ``Clifton Opportunities Now for Vibrant 
Economic Yields Act'' or as the ``CONVEY Act''.

SEC. 2. CONVEYANCE OF FEDERAL LAND TO MESA COUNTY, COLORADO.

  (a) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Clifton parcel.--The term ``Clifton parcel'' means the 
        approximately 31.1 acres of Federal land depicted as ``31.1 
        Acres to be Conveyed to Mesa County'' on the map titled 
        ``Clifton Opportunities Now for Vibrant Economic Yields 
        (CONVEY) Act'' and dated April 19, 2023.
          (2) County.--The term ``County'' means Mesa County, Colorado.
          (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land 
        Management.
  (b) In General.--Notwithstanding the Secretarial Order dated August 
26, 1902, and the Secretarial Order dated July 25, 1908, the Secretary 
shall convey to the County, as soon as practicable, all rights, title, 
and interest of the United States in and to the Clifton parcel.
  (c) Requirements.--The conveyance under this section shall be--
          (1) subject to valid existing rights; and
          (2) for not less than fair market value, as determined in 
        accordance with subsection (d).
  (d) Appraisal.--
          (1) In general.--The fair market value of the Clifton parcel 
        shall be determined by an independent appraisal obtained by the 
        Secretary.
          (2) Appraisal standards.--The appraisal required by paragraph 
        (1) shall be conducted in accordance with the--
                  (A) Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land 
                Acquisitions; and
                  (B) Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal 
                Practice.
  (e) Costs of Conveyance.--The County shall pay all costs associated 
with the conveyance required under subsection (b), including all costs 
associated with any survey conducted for the purpose of accomplishing 
such conveyance.
  (f) Proceeds From Conveyance.--The proceeds from the conveyance 
required under subsection (b) shall be--
          (1) deposited into the Federal Land Disposal Account 
        established by the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act 
        (43 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.); and
          (2) available for expenditure under that Act.
  (g) Map and Legal Description.--
          (1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall finalize a map and a 
        legal description of all land to be conveyed under this Act.
          (2) Controlling document.--In the case of a discrepancy 
        between the map and the legal description created under 
        paragraph (1), the map shall control.
          (3) Corrections.--The Secretary and the County, by mutual 
        agreement, may correct any minor errors in the map or the legal 
        description created under paragraph (1).
          (4) Map on file.--The map and the legal description created 
        under paragraph (1) shall be kept on file and available for 
        public inspection in each appropriate office of the Bureau of 
        Land Management.

                       PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION

    The purpose of H.R. 2997 is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey to Mesa County, Colorado, certain Federal 
land in Colorado, and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The federal government owns approximately 640 million 
acres, or 28 percent, of land in the United States. The Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM) is the largest federal land management 
agency and manages 244 million acres of public lands, heavily 
concentrated (99 percent) in eleven Western continental states 
and Alaska. While the BLM is a large landowner, data suggests 
it struggles to manage the land it has. The BLM's deferred 
maintenance backlog reached $4.7 billion in fiscal year (FY) 
2022, up 335 percent from FY 2019. In states with large federal 
footprints, local communities often lack power in decision 
making over the land in their backyards. When non-federal 
government entities, such as a city or county, would like to 
expand, the large footprint of federal land ownership 
surrounding those communities often stifles development and 
growth.
    The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the authority to 
acquire and dispose of federal property. Congress granted BLM 
authority to acquire and dispose of land under several 
statutes, most notably the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976 (FLPMA). While the BLM can dispose of land 
administratively, this process can take several years. To 
expedite the process, Congress can enact legislation to direct 
the agency to complete a land conveyance. These expedited 
conveyances are a win-win, as growing rural communities can 
expand and develop and the federal government can focus its 
limited resources on managing more high-value lands.
    The State of Colorado has over 24 million acres, or over 36 
percent, of land owned by the federal government. Specifically, 
in Mesa County, the federal government owns over 72 percent of 
the land. The population of Mesa County was 158,363 in 2022. As 
the population continues to grow, the county is significantly 
limited in the land it has available to develop.
    H.R. 2997 would convey 31.1 acres from the BLM to Mesa 
County, Colorado. The land sits in a prime location along 
Interstate 70. The land would be used for economic development 
in Clifton, a town in central Mesa County and a suburb of Grand 
Junction. Once Mesa County is able to secure the land from the 
BLM, the County plans to establish an economic development 
board to solicit input from stakeholders and pursue development 
options that will incentivize industry and business in the 
Clifton area. Even though this parcel has been identified for 
disposal by the BLM, meaning the agency deemed it is no longer 
serving the public interest, this conveyance has been held up 
for over five years. This bill would expedite the process to 
convey the land out of federal ownership to provide economic 
growth to the local community.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 2997 was introduced on April 28, 2023, by Rep. Lauren 
Boebert (R-CO). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on Federal Lands. On June 22, 2023, the Subcommittee on Federal 
Lands held a hearing on the bill. On July 26, 2023, the 
Committee on Natural Resources met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittee on Federal Lands was discharged from further 
consideration of H.R. 2997 by unanimous consent. Rep. Boebert 
(R-CO) offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to 
designated Boebert ANS_093. The amendment in the nature of a 
substitute offered by Rep. Boebert was adopted by voice vote. 
The bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported to 
the House of Representatives by voice vote.

                                HEARINGS

    For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the 
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure: 
hearing by the Subcommittee on Federal Lands held on June 22, 
2023.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 establishes the short title of the bill as the 
``Clifton Opportunities Now for Vibrant Economic Yields Act'' 
or the ``CONVEY Act.''

Section 2. Conveyance of federal land to Mesa County, Colorado

    Section 2 specifies that the land to be conveyed is 31.1 
acres of federal land known as the Clifton parcel and requires 
the Secretary of the Interior to convey the parcel as soon as 
practicable to Mesa County, subject to valid existing rights. 
The land exchange is to be done at fair market value based on 
the appraisal, and the County will pay the costs associated 
with the conveyance and for any survey needed.
    Section 2 also directs that proceeds from the conveyance 
will be deposited into Federal Land Disposal Account under the 
Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA). It also sets 
guidelines for finalizing the map of the conveyance and 
provides for corrections to the map, if mutually agreed upon.

            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 AND CONGRESSIONAL 
                               BUDGET ACT

    1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. 
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the 
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    H.R. 2997 would direct the Bureau of Land Management to 
convey a 31-acre parcel of federal land to Mesa County, 
Colorado, at no less than market value.
    Proceeds from the conveyance would be classified in the 
budget as offsetting receipts, which are recorded as reductions 
in direct spending. Those receipts would be deposited into the 
Federal Land Disposal Account where they could be spent without 
further appropriation to purchase eligible land. Based on 
typical time frames for such conveyances, CBO expects that the 
transfer would take several years to complete. Using 
information on land values from the Mesa County Assessor's 
Office, CBO estimates that any proceeds from the sale would be 
insignificant and would be spent shortly thereafter; thus, the 
net effect on direct spending would be negligible.
    Under the bill, Mesa County would pay for all costs 
associated with the conveyance. CBO expects that some 
administrative costs incurred to update maps would not be 
reimbursed by the county, but we estimate those costs would be 
insignificant; any spending would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Emma Uebelhor. 
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Director of Budget Analysis.
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

    2. 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 direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey to Mesa County, Colorado, certain Federal 
land in Colorado, and for other purposes.

                           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.

                 UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT

    According to the Congressional Budget Office, H.R. 2997 
contains no unfunded mandates as defined by the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act.

                           EXISTING PROGRAMS

    Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any 
directed rule makings.
    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.

                  APPLICABILITY TO 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.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or 
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's 
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the 
U.S. Constitution.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    As ordered reported by the Committee on Natural Resources, 
H.R. 2997 makes no changes in existing law.

                              [all]