[House Report 112-581]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 112-581
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LA PINE LAND CONVEYANCE ACT
_______
July 9, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
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Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 270]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (S. 270) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to
convey certain Federal land to Deschutes County, Oregon, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment
and recommend that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of S. 270 is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey certain Federal land to Deschutes County,
Oregon.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
La Pine is a rural community located on the southern edge
of Deschutes County, Oregon, and surrounded by lands
administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The city
has previously acquired BLM parcels under the Recreation and
Public Purposes Act (RPPA) and community leaders have discussed
with the BLM the need for additional land to serve other public
purposes. S. 270 proposes to convey to the City of La Pine and
Deschutes County, Oregon, three parcels, consisting of 150
acres for Parcel A, 750 acres for Parcel B, and 10 acres for
Parcel C. The conveyances would be subject to valid existing
rights and RPPA requirements. The bill will provide for
community events land, the expansion of the community's
wastewater treatment facilities and open space for the City of
La Pine and its public library.
Parcel A is comprised of Community Events Land that would
provide room for expansion of long-running and growing
community events including La Pine Frontier Days and La Pine
Rodeo. The proposed event area will be used to boost the
region's tourism by developing grounds for rodeo and community
wide events as well as provide for the development of other
park and recreation facilities. Essentially, this land will
serve to enhance the community's tourism and recreational
pursuits, which are vital to the area's continued economic
development.
Parcel B would provide much needed waste water effluent
disposal from the growing city. The City of La Pine currently
is disposing of effluent to a reuse site that has seasonal
water tables varying from 7 to 12 feet below the ground
surface. The ability of the community to expand for business
and residential growth is limited by the size of the existing
reuse site and its close proximity to groundwater. The proposed
new treatment and reuse site for La Pine will provide a site of
adequate size for the long-term growth of the community.
Finally, Parcel C is a small parcel of BLM land in the
city. Located in the center of town where an existing library
is located, the City of La Pine will utilize this parcel for
open space uses and the continued operation of the library.
COMMITTEE ACTION
S. 270 was introduced on February 3, 2011, by Senator Ron
Wyden (D-OR). On October 18, 2011, the bill passed the Senate
by unanimous consent. The bill was then referred to the House
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. On
May 17, 2012, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On
June 7, 2012, the Full Resources Committee met to consider S.
270. The Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public
Lands was discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were
offered to the bill 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:
S. 270--La Pine Land Conveyance Act
S. 270 would direct the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to
convey, without consideration, 910 acres of land in Oregon to
certain local governments. Based on information provided by
BLM, CBO estimates that implementing S. 270 would have no
significant impact on discretionary spending. Enacting the act
would affect direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that any such effects
would be negligible. Enacting the act would not affect
revenues.
Under S. 270, BLM would convey two parcels of land
totalling 900 acres to Deschutes County and one parcel of 10
acres to the city of La Pine. The conveyed properties would be
used for various public purposes, including recreation.
Deschutes County would be responsible for administrative costs
associated with conveying the land that it would receive.
Because some of the property to be conveyed under S. 270
has already been identified by BLM for potential sale, CBO
estimates that enacting the act would reduce offsetting
receipts (a credit against direct spending). However, we expect
that any such sale would be conducted under the Recreation and
Public Purposes Act (RPPA), which allows state or local
governments to receive federal property at less than fair
market value. Therefore, we estimate that any loss of receipts
that would result from donating the property to the county or
the city (rather than selling it under the RPPA) would be less
than $10,000. We further estimate that any discretionary costs
of the conveyances would be negligible.
S. 270 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 land conveyance authorized in the act would benefit the
city of La Pine and Deschutes County. Any costs to those
entities would be incurred voluntarily.
On August 1, 2011, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.
270, the La Pine Land Conveyance Act, as ordered reported by
the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on July
14, 2011. The two versions of the legislation are similar, and
the CBO cost estimates are the same.
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 provided by the Bureau of Land Management, CBO
estimates that implementing S. 270 would have no significant
impact on discretionary spending. Enacting the act would affect
direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply.
However, CBO estimates that any such effects would be
negligible.
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 direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey certain Federal land to Deschutes County,
Oregon.
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.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.