[House Report 106-744]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-744
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LAND CONVEYANCE SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA
_______
July 17, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3657]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 3657) to provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of
public domain land in the San Bernardino National Forest in the
State of California, and for other purposes, having considered
the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and
recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof the following:
SECTION 1. LAND CONVEYANCE AND SETTLEMENT, SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL
FOREST, CALIFORNIA.
(a) Conveyance Required.--Subject to valid existing rights and
settlement of claims as provided in this section, the Secretary of
Agriculture shall convey to KATY 101.3 FM (in this section referred to
as ``KATY'') all right, title and interest of the United States in and
to a parcel of real property consisting of approximately 1.06 acres
within the San Bernardino National Forest in Riverside County,
California, generally located in the north \1/2\ of section 23,
township 5 south, range 2 east, San Bernardino meridian.
(b) Legal Description.--The Secretary and KATY shall, by mutual
agreement, prepare the legal description of the parcel of real property
to be conveyed under subsection (a), which is generally depicted as
Exhibit A-2 in an appraisal report of the subject property dated August
26, 1999, by Paul H. Meiling.
(c) Consideration.--Consideration for the conveyance under subsection
(a) shall be equal to the appraised fair market value of the parcel to
be conveyed. Any appraisal to determine the fair market value of the
parcel shall be prepared in conformity with the Uniform Appraisal
Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions and approved by the Secretary.
(d) Settlement.--In addition to the consideration referred to in
subsection (c), upon the receipt of $16,600 paid by KATY to the
Secretary, the Secretary shall release KATY from any and all claims of
the United States arising from the occupancy and use of the San
Bernardino National Forest by KATY for communication site purposes.
(e) Access Requirements.--Notwithstanding section 1323(a) of the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3210(a)) or
any other law, the Secretary is not required to provide access over
National Forest System lands to the parcel of real property conveyed
under subsection (a).
(f) Administrative Costs.--Any costs associated with the creation of
a subdivided parcel, recordation of a survey, zoning, and planning
approval, and similar expenses with respect to the conveyance under
this section, shall be borne by KATY.
(g) Indemnification.--By acceptance of the conveyance under this Act,
KATY agrees--
(1) to indemnify for any buildings or personal property
belonging to GTE (also known as General Telephone and
Electronics Corporation) and any other third party which are
located on the parcel referred to in subsection (a) as of the
date the acceptance of the conveyance by KATY; and
(2) to indemnify and hold harmless the United States for
liability to GTE and any third party for any buildings or
personal property located on the parcel referred to in
subsection (a).
(h) Treatment of Receipts.--All funds received pursuant to this
section shall be deposited in the fund established under Public Law 90-
171 (16 U.S.C. 484a; commonly known as the Sisk Act), and the funds
shall remain available to the Secretary, until expended, for the
acquisition of lands, waters, and interests in land for the inclusion
in the San Bernardino National Forest.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 3657 is to provide for the conveyance
of a small parcel of public domain land in the San Bernardino
National Forest in the State of California, and for other
purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
KATY 101.3 is a small radio station that serves a number of
people living in the mountainous region of Idyllwild,
California. In 1995, KATY subleased a small wooden
communications tower that had been operated by GTE for 30 years
under a Forest Service special use permit in the San Bernardino
National Forest. The Forest Service claimed this was in
violation of GTE's special use permit and asked KATY to vacate
the site.
In 1996, the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act
included a provision requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to
consider whether maintaining the KATY site was in the public
interest and to report his findings to Congress. This report
was never submitted because the draft suggested that KATY move
to another site which was in violation of several Federal
Communications Commission regulations.
Finally, the Forest Service approached KATY about the
prospect of purchasing the land. KATY agreed to pay the Forest
Service fair market value for 1.06 acres of federal land
located in the San Bernardino National Forest. Congressional
action is required for land conveyances by the Forest Service.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 3657 was introduced on February 15, 2000, by
Congresswoman Mary Bono (R-CA). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. On May 3, 2000, the
Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On May 16, 2000, the
Subcommittee met to mark up the bill. Congressman Helen
Chenoweth-Hage (R-ID) offered an amendment to require KATY to
provide the Forest Service with evidence that it has clear
title to all structures on the site to be conveyed (as
requested by the Forest Service) and correct a technical error
in the description of the radio station. It was adopted by
voice vote. The bill was then ordered favorably reported to the
Full Committee. On June 7, 2000, the Full Resources Committee
met to consider the bill. No further amendments were offered
and the bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported
to the House of Representatives by voice vote.
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 Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the
Constitution of the United States grant Congress the authority
to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, credit
authority, or an increase or decrease in tax expenditures.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, enactment of this
bill could result in offsetting receipts of approximately
$150,000 which can be spent by the Secretary of Agriculture
without further appropriation.
3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the Committee has received no report of
oversight findings and recommendations from the Committee on
Government Reform on this bill.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, June 15, 2000.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3657, a bill to
provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of public domain
land in the San Bernardino National Forest in the state of
California, and for other purposes.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan Carrol.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 3657--A bill to provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of
public domain land in the San Bernardino National Forest in the
state of California, and for other purposes
CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would have no
significant net affect on the federal budget. Because the bill
would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures would
apply, but the impact on direct spending would be negligible.
H.R. 3657 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would have no significant impact on the budgets of state,
local, or tribal governments.
Since 1995, KATY 101.3 FM (KATY), a small radio station,
has operated a communication tower on approximately 1 acre of
land that it leases within the San Bernardino National Forest
in California. H.R. 3657 would direct the Secretary of
Agriculture to convey that property to KATY in return for a
payment equal to the land's appraised full market value. The
bill also would require the Secretary, upon receipt of a
payment by KATY of $16,600 (the estimated amount of arrears
owed by KATY to the federal government), to release KATY from
all claims arising from its lease of the site. Under the bill,
the Secretary would not be required to provide access to the
site. KATY would bear all administrative costs associated with
the conveyance and would have to agree to indemnify the United
States against future claims regarding the property.
H.R. 3657 would authorize the Secretary to spend, without
further appropriation, funds received from KATY to acquire
other property for the San Bernardino National Forest. Based on
information from the Forest Service, CBO expects that the
federal government would receive as much as $150,000 from KATY
in 2001. Those payments would be recorded as offsetting
receipts (a credit against direct spending), and would be spent
over the 2001-2002 period.
The CBO staff contact is Megan Carroll. This estimate was
approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Assistant Director for Budget
Analysis.
compliance with public law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
preemption of state, local or tribal law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
changes in existing law
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.