[House Report 108-512]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 108-512
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TO CONVEY FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES CERTAIN FEDERAL LANDS IN RIVERSIDE
COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED FOR DISPOSAL
_______
May 20, 2004.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union 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. 3874]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 3874) to convey for public purposes certain Federal lands
in Riverside County, California, that have been identified for
disposal, 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. CONVEYANCE OF BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LAND IN RIVERSIDE
COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
(a) In General.--
(1) Conveyance.--The Secretary of the Interior shall convey,
without consideration and subject to valid existing rights, to
S.V.D.P. Management Inc-DBA Father Joe's Villages (referred to
in this section as the ``Villages''), all right, title, and
interest of the United States in and to the parcel described in
paragraph (2) for use by the Villages for the purposes
described in subsection (b).
(2) parcel.--The parcel referred to in paragraph (1) is the
parcel of land identified for disposal and consisting of
approximately 44 acres under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of
Land Management, as generally depicted on the map entitled
``H.R. 3874 Coachella Valley Land Transfer'' and dated March 5,
2004.
(b) Purposes of Conveyance.--The purposes of the conveyance under
section (a) are to provide a homeless shelter, a training center, and
affordable housing.
(c) Reverter.--If the Villages or any subsequent owner of the land
transferred under this section uses that land for purposes other than
those described in subsection (b), all right, title, and interest to
the land (and any improvements thereon) shall revert to the United
States to be administered by the Bureau of Land Management if the
Secretary of the Interior determines that such a reversion is in the
best interests of the United States.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 3874 is to convey for public purposes
certain federal lands in Riverside County, California, that
have been identified for disposal.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Father Joe's Villages, a nonprofit organization whose
mission ``is to help people in need from all over America turn
their lives around and regain independence,'' operates seven
``villages'' in the southwest including Martha's Village and
Kitchen that serves the greater Coachella Valley--Indio, Indian
Wells and Palm Springs--in California. Today, Martha's Village
and Kitchen offers 120 beds of transitional housing, a primary
care medical clinic, case management, career and education
services and emergency assistance, not to mention 700 meals a
day/250,000 meals every year. In addition, the Village operates
a retail store that distributes clothing and furniture to
families in need as well as canned goods and food packages to
the poor three times a week.
Today, Palm Springs has one year-around 30-day emergency
shelter, Nightengale Manor, which houses families for up to 30
days and has a capacity of 45 people. Meanwhile, no facility
exists for single homeless adults in Palm Springs. According to
Father Joe's Villages, the land identified by the Bureau of
Land Management as excess to its needs would greatly assist the
Village in meeting the comprehensive needs of the growing
homeless population in the Coachella Valley. H.R. 3874 will
convey this 44-acre parcel to Father Joe's Villages. The
Secretary of the Interior may reclaim any or part of the parcel
if it is not used for a homeless shelter, training center or
affordable housing.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 3874 was introduced on March 2, 2004, by Congresswoman
Mary Bono (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 March 25, 2004,
the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On April 22, 2004,
the Subcommittee met to mark up the bill. No amendments were
offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the Full
Committee by unanimous consent. On May 5, 2004, the Full
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. Congressman
George Radanovich (R-CA) offered an amendment in the nature of
a substitute that added a map name and date to the bill and
modified the reverter language to reflect changes recommended
by the Administration. It was adopted by unanimous consent. The
bill as amended was then 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, May 19, 2004.
Hon. Richard W. 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. 3874, a bill to
convey for public purposes certain federal lands in Riverside
County, California, that have been identified for disposal.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan
Carroll.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Robinson
(For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 3874--A bill to convey for public purposes certain federal lands
in Riverside County, California, that have been identified for
disposal
H.R. 3874 would convey 44 acres of federal lands in
Riverside County, California, to a private nonprofit
organization for no consideration. The organization would use
those lands to provide shelter, training, and other assistance
to homeless individuals.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 3874 would not
significantly affect the federal budget. According to the
Bureau of Land Management, the lands to be conveyed currently
generate no significant receipts and are not expected to do so
over the next 10 years; hence, CBO estimates that conveying
them would not affect offsetting receipts (a credit against
direct spending). Based on information from the agency, we also
estimate that the agency's administrative costs to complete the
conveyance would not be negligible. Enacting H.R. 3874 would
not affect revenues.
H.R. 3874 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 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
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.