[House Report 113-98]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 113-98
======================================================================
Y MOUNTAIN ACCESS ENHANCEMENT ACT
_______
June 6, 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
[To accompany H.R. 253]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 253) to provide for the conveyance of a small
parcel of National Forest System land in the Uinta-Wasatch-
Cache National Forest in Utah to Brigham Young University, 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. 253 is to provide for the conveyance of
a small parcel of National Forest System land in the Uinta-
Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Utah to Brigham Young
University.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Y Mountain is the location of the familiar white block
``Y'' in Provo, Utah, overlooking Utah Valley and the Brigham
Young University (BYU) campus. The Y was constructed in 1906
and has been part of the Provo landscape ever since.
Currently, BYU provides public access to the 380-foot tall
by 130-foot wide landmark through its privately owned and
maintained trailhead and much of the trail leading up to it.
The remaining property is owned by the U.S. Forest Service, but
is conserved by the university under a permit that has
typically been renewed every 10 years. BYU seeks to guarantee
its ability to maintain the Y and surrounding grounds without
the risk of losing the right through the permitting process. To
that end, H.R. 253 requires the Secretary of Agriculture to
convey, at fair market value, approximately 80 acres of the
Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, in Provo, Utah, to BYU.
Additionally, the legislation specifies that BYU will continue
to allow public access to the Y as it has for decades.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 253 was introduced on January 15, 2013, by Congressman
Jason Chaffetz (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 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
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 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. 253--Y Mountain Access Enhancement Act
H.R. 253 would require the Secretary of Agriculture to
sell, for fair market value, about 80 acres of federal land
located in Utah to Brigham Young University. Based on
information about the value of similar lands in northern Utah,
CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would increase
offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending) by less
than $500,000 in 2014; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures
apply. Because the bill would require the university to cover
any administrative costs associated with the conveyance, CBO
estimates that implementing the bill would not affect
discretionary spending. Enacting H.R. 253 would not affect
revenues.
H.R. 253 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of 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 about the value of similar lands in northern Utah,
CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would increase
offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending) by less
than $500,000 in 2014; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures
apply. Because the bill would require the university to cover
any administrative costs associated with the conveyance, CBO
estimates that implementing the bill would not affect
discretionary spending.
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 to provide for the conveyance of a
small parcel of National Forest System land in the Uinta-
Wasatch-Cache National Forest in Utah to Brigham Young
University.
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.