[House Report 115-527]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-527
======================================================================
HYDE PARK LAND CONVEYANCE ACT
_______
January 25, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 4264]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 4264) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to
convey certain Bureau of Land Management land in Cache County,
Utah, to the City of Hyde Park for public 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. 4264 is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey certain Bureau of Land Management land in
Cache County, Utah, to the City of Hyde Park for public
purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages an
approximately 80-acre parcel just outside the city limits of
Hyde Park, in Cache County, Utah. The tract of land is isolated
(surrounded entirely by private land) and does not have any
mining or oil and gas leases. In 1985, BLM published an
isolated tract planning decision document which concluded that
the parcel was suitable for disposal.\1\ The BLM's rationale
for disposal stated:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Bureau of Land Management. 1985. ``Decision Document for the
Isolated Tract Planning Analysis Bear River Resource Area and Pony
Express Resource Area.'' https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/
projects/lup/71243/94759/114415/
Isolated_Tract_Planning_Analysis_&_DR_[1985].pdf
Due to its location, size and lack of access, this
parcel is difficult and uneconomic to manage as part of
the public lands, and is not suitable for management by
another federal department or agency. There has been no
interest by a public entity for management, and the
resource values will not significantly change in non-
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
federal ownership.
Although BLM found in 1985 that there was no interest in a
public entity acquiring the parcel, the City of Hyde Park has
interest in the property today. The Mayor and City Council of
Hyde Park have requested that the parcel be conveyed to the
City to be used for public purposes, specifically a new
culinary water tank and as a trail head for the future
extension of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.
If requested by the City of Hyde Park, H.R. 4264 directs
the Secretary of the Interior to convey the parcel to Hyde
Park, subject to valid existing rights. The City will pay all
costs of the conveyance.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 4264 was introduced on November 7, 2017, by
Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources. On December 12, 2017, the
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill.
Congressman Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an amendment
designated 009; it was not adopted by voice vote. No additional
amendments were offered, and the bill was ordered favorably
reported to the House of Representatives by a bipartisan roll
call vote of 23 ayes to 12 noes on December 13, 2017, as
follows:
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:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, January 11, 2018.
Hon. Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4264, the Hyde
Park Land Conveyance Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 4264--Hyde Park Land Conveyance Act
H.R. 4264 would direct the Bureau of Land Management to
convey, upon request and without consideration, 80 acres of
federal land to the city of Hyde Park, Utah. The affected lands
do not currently generate receipts for the federal government
and are not expected to generate such receipts over the next 10
years, and any costs associated with the conveyance would be
paid by the city. Thus, CBO estimates that implementing the
legislation would have no effect on the federal budget.
Enacting H.R. 4264 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4264 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 4264 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
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 certain Bureau of Land Management land in
Cache County, Utah, to the City of Hyde Park for public
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.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5
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.
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 to existing
law.
DISSENTING VIEWS
H.R. 4264 authorizes the conveyance of approximately 80
acres of federal land to the City of Hyde Park, Utah, for the
development of a water tower and trailhead. This is a worthy
goal that we would like to support, but the bill, as
introduced, does not require any compensation to the taxpayers
who own the land.
Federal lands are owned by all of us. Over the years,
Congress has conveyed thousands of acres to support the needs
of state and local governments, but in order to be fair to the
American taxpayer, a conveyance must require some form of
compensation.
Recipients of federal property can either elect to pay fair
market value or Congress can choose to include some form of a
reversionary interest. The bill mentions that the conveyance is
for public purposes, but it does not include a way in which to
enforce that requirement. There's nothing to stop the city from
turning around and selling the land to the highest bidder.
Absent this sort of a guarantee, taxpayers should receive
fair market value for the land. H.R. 4264 fails to include that
requirement, which would cheat the public and undermine federal
land management. Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member
Grijalva offered an amendment at markup to require payment of
fair market value. However, the amendment was not agreed to by
Committee Republicans. As a result, we cannot support H.R. 4264
as ordered reported.
Raul M. Grijalva,
Ranking Member, House
Natural Resources
Committee.
Alan Lowenthal.
Grace F. Napolitano.
Jared Huffman.