[House Report 115-536]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-536
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LA PAZ COUNTY LAND CONVEYANCE ACT
_______
January 29, 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
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 2630]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 2630) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior
to convey certain land to La Paz County, Arizona, 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 all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``La Paz County Land Conveyance Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) County.--The term ``County'' means La Paz County,
Arizona.
(2) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means the
approximately 8,800 acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land
Management and designated as ``Federal land to be conveyed'' on
the map.
(3) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map prepared by the
Bureau of Land Management entitled ``Proposed La Paz County
Land Conveyance'' and dated May 24, 2017.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior.
SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE TO LA PAZ COUNTY, ARIZONA.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date on which the
Secretary receives a request from the County to convey all or a portion
of the Federal land, subject to valid existing rights and to such terms
and conditions as the Secretary determines to be necessary and
notwithstanding the land use planning requirements of sections 202 and
203 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
1712, 1713), the Secretary shall convey to the County all right, title,
and interest of the United States in and to the Federal land identified
on the map.
(b) Phased Conveyance.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall convey the public land
described in subsection (a) in parcels over a period of up to
20 years, as is required to carry out the phased development of
renewable energy or other economic development.
(2) Payment of fair market value.--A parcel shall be conveyed
by the Secretary on payment by La Paz County, Arizona, to the
Secretary, of the fair market value of the parcel, as
determined under paragraph (3).
(3) Appraisal to determine fair market value.--The Secretary
shall determine the fair market value of the Federal land to be
conveyed--
(A) in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and
(B) based on an appraisal that is conducted in
accordance with--
(i) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for
Federal Land Acquisition; and
(ii) the Uniform Standards of Professional
Appraisal Practice.
(c) Protection of Tribal Cultural Artifacts.--To the greatest extent
practicable, the County and all subsequent owners of land conveyed
under this Act shall--
(1) make good faith efforts to avoid disturbing Tribal
artifacts;
(2) minimize impacts on Tribal artifacts if they are
disturbed;
(3) work with the Colorado River Indian Tribes Tribal
Historic Preservation Office to identify artifacts of cultural
and historic significance; and
(4) allow Tribal representatives to rebury unearthed
artifacts at or near where they were discovered.
(d) Availability of Map.--
(1) In general.--The map shall be on file and available for
public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Bureau of
Land Management.
(2) Corrections.--The Secretary and the County may, by mutual
agreement--
(A) make minor boundary adjustments to the Federal
land to be conveyed under subsection (a); and
(B) correct any minor errors in the map, an acreage
estimate, or the description of the Federal land.
(e) Withdrawal.--The Federal land is withdrawn from the operation of
the mining and mineral leasing laws of the United States.
(f) Costs.--As a condition of the conveyance of the Federal land
under subsection (a), the County shall pay--
(1) an amount equal to the appraised value determined in
accordance with subsection (b)(3); and
(2) all costs related to the conveyance, including all
surveys, appraisals, and other administrative costs associated
with the conveyance of the Federal land to the County under
subsection (a).
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 2630 is to authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to convey certain land to La Paz County, Arizona.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Nearly 95% of La Paz County, Arizona, is owned by federal,
State, or tribal governments, with 61% of the federal ownership
controlled by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).\1\ Uniquely
positioned between the metropolitan areas of Phoenix and
Southern California, the County seeks a land conveyance from
BLM to provide ground for the construction of a solar field.
The County will pay fair market value for the land, as well as
any administrative costs.
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\1\Arizona Department of Transportation, ``La Paz Transportation
Planning Study Final Report,'' Page 25, June 2010, https://
apps.azdot.gov/ADOTLibrary/Multimodal_Planning_Division/
Planning_Assistance_for_Rural_Areas_Studies/PARA-
La_Paz_Transportation_Planning_Study-FR-1006.pdf.
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The county has already worked with BLM to identify a site
adjacent to preexisting and proposed electric, fiber optic and
natural gas transmission lines. Review of the proposed site by
the BLM has not revealed any endangered species or historic
resources in the area, and much of the proposed site already
has a significant amount of surface disturbance.\2\
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\2\Information provided to the Committee by Rep. Gosar's office
(AZ-04).
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La Paz County is 27% Latino and 18% Native American, and
currently has an unemployment rate nearly 2% higher than the
national average.\3\ Not only would this land conveyance help
provide renewable energy to both the Southern California and
Phoenix markets, but it would help bring family-wage jobs to
the county.
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\3\U.S. Census Bureau, ``La Paz County Statistics,'' U.S. Census
Quickfacts, July 1, 2016, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/
lapazcountyarizona/PST045216.
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COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 2630 was introduced on May 24, 2017, by Congressman
Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Federal Lands. On October 11, 2017, the Subcommittee held a
hearing on the legislation. On November 29, 2017, the Natural
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee
was discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman Paul A. Gosar
offered an amendment designated #1; it was adopted by unanimous
consent. No further amendments were offered, and the bill, as
amended, was ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent on November 30, 2017.
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 23, 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. 2630, the La Paz
County 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. 2630--La Paz County Land Conveyance Act
H.R. 2630 would direct the Department of the Interior (DOI)
to convey, upon request, up to 8,800 acres of federal land to
La Paz County, Arizona. The county would be required to pay the
estimated fair-market value for the affected lands, which would
be used by commercial entities to produce solar energy. Under
the bill, the county would have up to 20 years to acquire those
lands and would be required to pay any administrative costs
associated with their conveyance.
Based on the value of similar lands in La Paz County, CBO
estimates that the county would pay DOI between $500 and $1,000
per acre to acquire those lands or about $6 million in total.
Because the 2018-2027 period is half of the 20 years within
which the county could acquire the land, for the purposes of
this estimate, CBO assumes that about half of the total value--
$3 million--would be conveyed in the first 10 years following
enactment.
Because enacting H.R. 2630 would affect direct spending,
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Enacting the bill would not
affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2630 would not increase
net direct spending or budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 2630 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 authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to convey certain land to La Paz County, Arizona.
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.
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
H.R. 2630 authorizes the conveyance, at fair market value,
of 8,000 acres of Federal land to La Paz County, Arizona. La
Paz County plans to use the land for the development of a solar
energy installation.
As introduced, the bill authorized to conveyance through
the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, a law that authorizes
the Bureau of Land Management to convey federal land for the
establishment of parks and other suitable public uses. However,
at markup the committee adopted an amendment by Representative
Gosar to authorize a phased conveyance at fair market value.
The amended bill is a significant improvement, but we have
concerns that we hope can be addressed as this bill moves
through the legislative process.
Federal land is a public resource, and the conveyance of
any part of this resource should include guarantees to protect
the public's interest. Congress should only authorize a
conveyance for a discreet public purpose and the proceeds
should be reinvested back into federal conservation efforts.
Without these guarantees, the accumulation of individual
conveyances potentially threatens the viability of our system
of public lands.
Raul M. Grijalva,
Ranking Member, House Natural Resources Committee.
[all]