[House Report 113-298]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 113-298
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ANCHORAGE LAND CONVEYANCE ACT OF 2013
_______
December 16, 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
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 585]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 585) to provide for the unencumbering of title
to non-Federal land owned by the city of Anchorage, Alaska, for
purposes of economic development by conveyance of the Federal
reversion interest to the City, 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. 585 is to provide for the unencumbering
of title to non-Federal land owned by the city of Anchorage,
Alaska, for purposes of economic development by conveyance of
the Federal reversion interest to the City.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H.R. 585 would remove the reversionary interest and clear
title to three small parcels of land owned by the Municipality
of Anchorage, Alaska, comprising 2.65 acres in total.
Decades ago, these parcels were conveyed to either the
former ``City of Anchorage'' or more recently the
``Municipality of Anchorage.'' They were transferred by the
federal government to the local government for a wide variety
of specified purposes, but all were transferred for the
overarching purpose of helping the then nascent municipality of
Anchorage, which is surrounded by federal lands.
The tracts are no longer necessary for municipal purposes
or use by the federal government but the reversionary clauses
on the three parcels are preventing their conversion to
productive use and a future source of revenue for the City of
Anchorage.
Parcel 1. In 1922 the City of Anchorage received a number
of properties around Anchorage for municipal/school purposes.
One of the properties was the 1.93-acre site in Block 42
downtown that, since the early 1980s, has been the site of the
William A. Egan Convention Center. With the completion in 2010
of the larger Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center, the tract
is surplus to municipal needs, and could best be utilized for
sale to an entity that could afford the cost of conversion of
the property for future use, adding to the federal income tax
base and local property tax base.
Parcel 2. This lot of .48 acres, at Seventh and I Streets
downtown, is currently being used as a municipal parking lot.
The land, obtained by the city as part of a 1982 land exchange
that cleared the site for a major office building across the
street, is too small for municipal or federal office space use,
or for park construction, but might be properly sized for a
commercial enterprise. It is zoned for business, but because of
the inability of the Municipality to sell the property due to
the federal reversionary clause, it cannot be used for business
and contribute to the local property tax base or federal income
tax base.
Parcel 3. The .24-acre site at the corner of H Street and
Christiansen Drive was obtained by the City in 1963. It
currently sits vacant and idle. It is too small for municipal
or federal office space, unneeded for park space, but might be
of use for a retail establishment given its location near a
municipal parking facility. Likewise, it is zoned for business/
commercial, but cannot be used and potentially contribute to
the local and federal tax bases due to the federal reversion
clause.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 585 was introduced on February 6, 2013, by Congressman
Don Young (R-AK). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation. On June 6, 2013,
the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On October 30,
2013, the 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 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:
H.R. 585--Anchorage Land Conveyance Act of 2013
H.R. 585 would require the Secretary of the Interior to
convey the reversionary interest of the United States in three
acres of land to the city of Anchorage, Alaska. Under current
law, the city holds title to those lands and will retain title
as long as the lands are used for public purposes. If the city
stops using the lands for such purposes, title would revert
back to the federal government.
Based on information provided by the city of Anchorage, CBO
expects that, under current law, the city would continue to use
the affected lands for public purposes and hold title to those
lands over the next 10 years. Furthermore, under the bill, any
administrative costs associated with conveying the reversionary
interest in those lands would be paid by the city; therefore,
CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have no effect
on the federal budget. Because enacting H.R. 585 would not
affect direct spending or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do
not apply.
H.R. 585 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 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. CBO estimates that
implementing the bill would have no effect on the federal
budget.
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 unencumbering of
title to non-Federal land owned by the city of Anchorage,
Alaska, for purposes of economic development by conveyance of
the Federal reversion interest to the City.
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.
DISSENTING VIEWS
H.R. 585 will convey to the City, free of charge, the
federal government's reversionary interest in 2.7 acres of land
in downtown Anchorage, Alaska. The 2.7 acres in question were
federally owned and transferred to the City of Anchorage using
various authorities. In each case, the land was conveyed free
of charge with the requirement that it revert to federal
ownership if it ceased being used for public purposes. H.R. 585
will extinguish that reversionary interest.
The problem with H.R. 585 is not that the City will
continue to own the land; the problem is the removal of the
longstanding reversionary clause which protects the public
interest. Without it, the federal government is giving the City
land for free, allowing for the sale of the property and a
windfall profit for Anchorage. The land is a prime location for
commercial development and is valued above $1 million.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has responded to
requests to release similar reversionary interests in the past
and has consistently required the payment of fair market value
for the interest. That is what should occur here.
Peter A. DeFazio.