[House Report 118-565]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
118th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 118-565
======================================================================
ACCELERATING APPRAISALS AND CONSERVATION EFFORTS ACT
_______
June 27, 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. 5443]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 5443) to establish a policy regarding appraisal
and valuation services for real property for a transaction over
which the Secretary of the Interior has jurisdiction, 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 ``Accelerating Appraisals and
Conservation Efforts Act'' or the ``AACE Act''.
SEC. 2. APPRAISAL AND VALUATION SERVICES FOR REAL PROPERTY.
(a) License, Certification Requirement.--A covered appraiser needs to
be licensed or certified in only 1 State to perform appraisal or
valuation services for real property in any State for a transaction
over which the Secretary has jurisdiction.
(b) Use of Non-Federal Covered Appraisers.--If the Secretary uses a
non-Federal covered appraiser to perform appraisal or valuation
services for real property for a transaction described in subsection
(a), the Secretary--
(1) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, use a non-
Federal covered appraiser who is a certified general real
property appraiser licensed in a State in which the real
property that is the subject of the transaction is located; and
(2) may only use a non-Federal covered appraiser who is a
certified general real property appraiser licensed in a State
other than one in which the real property that is the subject
of the transaction is located if a non-Federal covered
appraiser described in paragraph (1) is, as determined by the
Secretary--
(A) unavailable to complete an assignment within a
reasonable period of time;
(B) not assignment qualified; or
(C) not cost competitive.
(c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of
this section, and annually thereafter for at least the following 4
years, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that includes
the following:
(1) A comparison using quantitative data of--
(A) the number of requests for appraisal and
valuation services received by the Department during
the reporting period and the number of requests for
such services received by the Department in each of the
5 years before the reporting period; and
(B) the amount of time required for the Department to
complete a request for appraisal or valuation services
before the date of the enactment of this section and
after the date of the enactment of this section.
(2) A qualitative assessment of the impact of subsection (a)
in providing flexibility to the Secretary when contracting with
non-Federal covered appraisers.
(3) Recommendations, if any, for congressional action that
could help the Department operate more efficiently or overcome
challenges with respect to timely completion of requests for
appraisal or valuation services while ensuring the
independence, impartiality, and objectivity of such services.
(4) An overview of the workforce of the Department with
regard to appraisal and valuation services provided by the
Department, including hiring and staffing during the reporting
period with respect to employees and contractors of the
Department.
(5) A complete list of cases in which the authority granted
under section 2 of this Act was used during the reporting
period, describing for each case the specific criteria used to
satisfy the conditions of this Act.
(d) Statutory Clarifications.--
(1) Applicability of relevant laws and regulations.--Except
as provided in paragraph (3), nothing in this section shall be
interpreted to affect the application of any Federal or State
law or regulation to a non-Federal covered appraiser with
regard to the performance by such non-Federal covered appraiser
of appraisal and valuation services for real property.
(2) Jurisdiction requirement.--Nothing in this section shall
be interpreted to authorize a non-Federal covered appraiser to
perform appraisal and valuation services for real property in a
State in which such non-Federal covered appraiser is not
licensed or certified to perform such services except to the
extent that such services are performed for a transaction over
which the Secretary has jurisdiction.
(3) Nonapplicability of certain relevant laws and
regulations.--Any provision of a Federal or State law or
regulation enacted before the date of the enactment of this
section that requires a covered appraiser to be licensed or
certified in a specific State to perform appraisal or valuation
services for real property in that State shall not apply to any
transaction over which the Secretary has jurisdiction.
(e) Public Availability.--Not later than 90 days after the enactment
of this Act, the text of all policies (including any successor
policies), including reference manuals, guidance documents, handbooks,
standard operating procedures, and statements of policy specific to the
scoping, contracting, and review of appraisals performed for the
Department by Federal or non-Federal covered appraisers, shall be made
publicly available online and provided upon request.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered appraiser.--The term ``covered appraiser'' means
a State-licensed or -certified real property appraiser.
(2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the Department
of the Interior.
(3) Reporting period.--The term ``reporting period'' means
the 1-year period before the date on which a report is
submitted under subsection (c).
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior.
(5) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, and each territory and
possession of the United States.
PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION
The purpose of H.R. 5443 is to establish a policy regarding
appraisal and valuation services for real property for a
transaction over which the Secretary of the Interior has
jurisdiction, and for other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Department of the Interior (DOI) manages more than 480
million acres of federal lands and 700 million acres of
subsurface minerals, the vast majority of which is located out
West. DOI conducts many land-related transactions--including
acquisitions, disposals, and exchanges of federal land--that
are either mandated by law or proposed administratively in
order to address various land management challenges, such as
checkerboarded land ownership patterns. These transactions must
be appraised by qualified appraisers in accordance with
applicable standards found in the Uniform Appraisal Standards
for Federal Land Acquisitions and the Uniform Standards of
Professional Appraisal Practice to determine fair market value.
In fiscal year 2022, DOI completed more than 294 land
valuation cases, representing approximately 214,000 acres. A
nationwide appraiser shortage and rising demand for land-
related transactions on millions of acres of land, however,
have created an appraisal backlog that threatens DOI's ability
to fulfill its appraisal responsibility in a timely and
reasonable manner. This prevents DOI from quickly disposing of
land to open up new economic development or recreational
opportunities for local communities.
H.R. 5443, the ``Accelerating Appraisals and Conservation
Efforts Act,'' streamlines DOI's appraisal contracting
authority by allowing non-federal appraisers who are
appropriately credentialed in one state or territory to perform
appraisal and valuation services on DOI's behalf in any state
or territory. DOI already regularly relies on non-federal
appraisers to meet the demand for appraisal activities, but
these appraisers are required to be licensed or certified in
each state in which they are contracted by DOI. Federal
appraisers, by contrast, have since 1992 been allowed to be
licensed or certified in only one state or territory to perform
appraisal duties on behalf of the federal government. By
standardizing the treatment of federal and non-federal
appraisers, the bill gives DOI flexibility in circumstances
when no assignment-qualified or cost-competitive local
appraisers are available. This will reduce red tape and allow
land to be managed more effectively and efficiently without
compromising the standards by which fair market valuations are
made.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 5443 was introduced on September 13, 2023, by
Representative Susie Lee (D-NV). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On January 31, 2024, the
Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a hearing on the bill. On
March 12, 2024, the Committee on Natural Resources met to
consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Federal Lands was
discharged from further consideration of H.R. 5443 by unanimous
consent. Representative Susie Lee (D-NV) offered an Amendment
designated Lee #1. The amendment was agreed to by unanimous
consent. The bill, as amended, was ordered favorably reported
to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
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 January
31, 2024.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 names the bill the ``Accelerating Appraisals and
Conservation Efforts Act'' or the ``AACE Act''.
Section 2. Appraisal and valuation services for real property
Section 2 allows DOI to contract with private appraisers
who are appropriately credentialed in one state or territory to
perform appraisal and valuation services on DOI's behalf in any
state. Section 2 also requires DOI to prioritize working with
local appraisers by specifying limited circumstances where non-
federal covered appraisers from out of state can be used to
perform appraisal or valuation services. Section 2 directs DOI
to submit a report to Congress one year after enactment of the
bill and every four years on the implementation of the bill
that also provides feedback on the effectiveness of the
legislation. Section 2 also directs DOI to make public the text
of all policies related to the scoping, contracting, and review
of the appraisal process within 90 days after the enactment of
the legislation.
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.
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of House rule XIII and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, and pursuant to
clause 3(c)(3) of House rule XIII and section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has requested
but no received from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office a budgetary analysis and a cost estimate of this bill.
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 establish a policy regarding
appraisal and valuation services for real property for a
transaction over which the Secretary of the Interior has
jurisdiction, 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
An estimate of federal mandates prepared by the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chair of
the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee, if such
estimate is not publicly available on the Congressional Budget
Office website.
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. 5443 makes no changes in existing law.
[all]