[House Report 113-65]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 113-65
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FRUIT HEIGHTS LAND CONVEYANCE ACT
_______
May 17, 2013.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 993]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.F. 993) to provide for the conveyance of certain
parcels of National Forest System land to the city of Fruit
Heights, Utah, 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. 993 is to provide for the conveyance of
certain parcels of National Forest System land to the city of
Fruit Heights, Utah.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The city of Fruit Heights, Utah is surrounded by federal
land managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Due to the surrounding
federal land, Fruit Heights is constrained in its options for
development and is in need of space to develop a community
cemetery. H.R. 993 would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture
to convey approximately 100 acres of National Forest System
land to the city of Fruit Heights for the purpose of allowing
the community to have its own cemetery.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 993 was introduced on March 6, 2013, by Congressman
Rob Bishop (R-UT). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation. On April 18,
2013, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On April 24,
2013, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the
bill. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental
Regulation was discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments
were offered, and the bill was then adopted and 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 Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) 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)(2)(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.
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:
H.R. 993--Fruit Heights Land Conveyance Act
H.R. 993 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to
convey, without consideration, certain lands in Utah to the
town of Fruit Heights City. Based on information from the
Forest Service, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation
would have no significant impact on the federal budget.
Enacting H.R. 993 would not affect direct spending or revenues;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
Under the bill, the Secretary would be required to convey
about 100 acres of land within the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National
Forest to Fruit Heights City, Utah. The conveyed land could be
used by the town for public purposes only and would revert to
the federal government if used for other purposes. The affected
lands do not currently generate offsetting receipts for the
federal government and are not expected to generate such
receipts over the next 10 years. Any costs to survey the
affected lands would be paid by the town.
H.R. 993 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of 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. Based on
information from the Forest Service, CBO estimates that
implementing the legislation would have no significant impact
on the federal budget.
3. 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 provide for the conveyance of certain
parcels of National Forest System land to the city of Fruit
Heights, Utah.
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.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5
Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any
specific rule-making proceedings.
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.
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.
DISSENTING VIEWS
We oppose H.R. 993 because it conveys, at no cost, 100
acres of Forest Service land to Fruit Heights, Utah. While we
are sympathetic to the needs of Fruit Heights, this conveyance
is simply not in the interest of the United States taxpayers.
The parcel of land in question was purchased by the federal
government in 2002 for over $3 million from the Land and Water
Conservation Fund. It is highly unusual, just ten years after a
land acquisition is made, to turn around and convey that land,
for free, to another entity.
Davis County, Utah has experienced double digit growth for
the past decade. The surrounding Forest Service lands have been
critical in protecting water quality and open space for this
region. To give away the very federal resources which have
played a significant role in attracting new residents to this
area is unwise and unwarranted.
Edward J. Markey,
Ranking Democratic Member,
Natural Resources
Committee.
Raul M. Grijalva,
Ranking Democratic Member,
Subcommittee on Public
Lands and Environmental
Regulation.