[House Report 108-251]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 108-251
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RAILROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY CONVEYANCE VALIDATION ACT OF 2003
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September 3, 2003.--Referred to the Private Calendar and ordered to be
printed
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Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1658]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 1658) to amend the Railroad Right-of-Way Conveyance
Validation Act to validate additional conveyances of certain
lands in the State of California that form part of the right-
of-way granted by the United States to facilitate the
construction of the transcontinental railway, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon
without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 1658 is to amend the Railroad Right-of-
Way Conveyance Validation Act to validate additional
conveyances of certain lands in the State of California that
form part of the right-of-way granted by the United States to
facilitate the construction of the transcontinental railway.
Background and Need for Legislation
Throughout the western United States, railroads were issued
rights-of-way by the government during the late 19th century to
help promote expansion of the United States. In the 1940s and
1950s, the railroads granted by quitclaim deed portions of
their rights-of-way in northern California. H.R. 1658 would
amend the Railroad Right-of-Way Conveyance Validation Act to
legalize, validate, and confirm, as far as any interest of the
United States in the affected lands is concerned, two
additional conveyances in San Joaquin County, California, that
involve lands forming part of the right-of-way granted by the
United States to the Central Pacific Railway Company under
previous law. It would declare valid the conveyances to be
between the Central Pacific Railway Company and the Southern
Pacific Transportation Company and the Bank of America,
recorded September 27, 1945, and between the Central Pacific
Railway Company and the Southern Pacific Transportation Company
and the Tri-Valley Packing Association, recorded November 13,
1957.
Committee Action
H.R. 1658 was introduced on April 7, 2003, by Congressman
Richard Pombo (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands. On June 24, 2003,
the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On July 9, 2003,
the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The
Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands
was discharged from further consideration of the bill by
unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and the bill was
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by
unanimous consent.
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 grants 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, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
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, August 6, 2003.
Hon. Richard Pombo,
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. 1658, the Railroad
Right-of-Way Conveyance Validation Act of 2003.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan
Carroll.
Sincerely,
Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 1658--Railroad Right-of-Way Conveyance Validation Act of 2003
H.R. 1658 would amend Private Law 103-2 to clarify that the
federal government has no claim to two parcels of privately
owned land in California. Those parcels were originally granted
by the federal government to the Central Pacific Railroad in
1862 and subsequently conveyed to private landowners. Based on
information from the Bureau of Land Management, CBO estimates
that enacting H.R. 1658 would have no impact on federal
spending or revenues.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
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 Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italic and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
RAILROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY CONVEYANCE VALIDATION ACT
* * * * * * *
SEC. 4. CONVEYANCES OF LAND IN SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
The conveyances of land in San Joaquin County, State of
California, referred to in section 2 are as follows:
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(9) The conveyance entered into between the Central
Pacific Railway Company and the Southern Pacific
Transportation Company and the Bank of America, as
trustee of the last will and testament of Aaron
Herschel, recorded September 27, 1945, in volume 942 at
page 104 of the official records of the county of San
Joaquin.
(10) The conveyance entered into between the Central
Pacific Railway Company and the Southern Pacific
Transportation Company and the Tri-Valley Packing
Association, recorded November 13, 1957, in volume 2016
at page 149 of the official records of the county of
San Joaquin.
* * * * * * *