PDF(PDF provides a complete and accurate display of this text.)Tip?
115th Congress } { REPORT
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-579
======================================================================
TULARE YOUTH RECREATION AND WOMEN'S HISTORY ENHANCEMENT ACT
_______
February 26, 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. 805]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 805) to authorize the conveyance of and remove
the reversionary interest of the United States in certain lands
in the City of Tulare, California, 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. 805 is to authorize the conveyance of
and remove the reversionary interest of the United States in
certain lands in the City of Tulare, California.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
In 1998, Public Law 105-127 provided for the conveyance of
a number of properties along the railroad right-of-way owned by
the Union Pacific Railroad. This legislation inadvertently
missed two parcels of land that hold historic and cultural
significance to the City of Tulare, which currently leases them
from Union Pacific as part of a railroad right of way. The
United States retains a reversionary interest in these parcels
which it has not exercised.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Information provided by the office of Congressman Devin Nunes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Women's Clubhouse and the Rotary Skate Park are located
on two small but important pieces of land for the City of
Tulare and its residents. The Clubhouse has been a meeting and
event site since the 1800s. For many years it housed the Tulare
library as well as the Salvation Army. The Tulare Women's Club
gained ownership of the building in 1912. In recent years the
site has been used for city-sponsored events and community
gatherings.
The Skate Park, historically known as Railroad Park, has
always been a park for people of Tulare to gather in. In recent
years, the Tulare Rotary Club has made the park even more
appealing by turning it into a skate park that has been a
popular recreation area.
H.R. 805 authorizes the conveyance of, and relinquishes the
reversionary interest in, specified land parcels that were
retained as a right-of-way for the construction of a railroad
and telegraph to the Pacific coast in 1866. The relinquishment
of the U.S. reversionary interest will be effective once the
Union Pacific Railroad conveys the parcels to the City of
Tulare. The Union Pacific Railroad has agreed to allow the
purchase of these parcels and has provided a letter of support
for this legislation.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 805 was introduced on February 1, 2017, by Congressman
Devin Nunes (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Federal Lands. On December 7, 2017, the Subcommittee held a
hearing on the bill. On January 17, 2018, the Natural Resources
Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was
discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered,
and the bill was 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 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, February 8, 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. 805, the Tulare
Youth Recreation and Women's History Enhancement 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. 805--Tulare Youth Recreation and Women's History Enactment Act
H.R. 805 would direct the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
to convey, without consideration, a reversionary interest in
two small parcels of land in Tulare, California, to the Union
Pacific Railroad. The city of Tulare currently leases the
affected parcels from the Union Pacific Railroad and is seeking
to purchase the parcels under the condition that BLM's
reversionary interest is extinguished.
Because CBO expects that the railroad would retain
ownership of the parcels over the next 10 years and that the
federal government would receive no proceeds from those parcels
over that period, we estimate that enacting the bill would not
affect the federal budget. Therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures
do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would not
increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of
the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 805 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 conveyance of and
remove the reversionary interest of the United States in
certain lands in the City of Tulare, California.
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. 805 releases the reversionary interest on two parcels
of land (approximately 2 acres) in Tulare County, California.
The parcels are currently leased from Union Pacific Railroad
and contain a skate park and historic women's club owned and
operated by the city. City officials want to make improvements
to both facilities but are unable to secure financing without
clean and free titles to the property.
In the 19th Century, Congress granted the land to Southern
Pacific Railroad--the predecessor of Union Pacific--for use as
a railroad right of way. Congress subsequently authorized the
railroad to lease the land to Tulare for other public purposes.
However, the land remains encumbered with a reversionary
interest.
Congress passed a law in 1998 (P.L. 105-195) that released
the reversionary interest on 12 parcels in Tulare. H.R. 805
deals with two additional parcels, allowing Union Pacific to
sell the land to Tulare and clear the way for the planned
improvements. P.L. 105-195 was the first time Congress
authorized the release of a reversionary interest for
redevelopment purposes. At the time, the railroad had already
sold the land to Tulare--even though it belonged to taxpayers--
and Congress had to intervene to remedy the situation.
Unlike the situation in 1998, the two parcels referenced in
H.R. 805 have not been sold, and under normal circumstances,
the federal government, not Union Pacific, should receive
payment for the parcels if they are no longer used as
originally intended by Congress. However, the history of
Congressional involvement in Tulare justifies an exception to
this standard.
Raul M. Grijalva,
Ranking Member, Committee on
Natural Resources.
[all]
