[DOCID: f:sr354.110]
From the Senate Reports Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
Calendar No. 786
110th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 110-354
======================================================================
TURNABOUT RANCH, ESCALANTE, UTAH SALE ACT
_______
June 16, 2008.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 832]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 832) to provide for the sale of
approximately 25 acres of public land to the Turnabout Ranch,
Escalante, Utah, at fair market value, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon with amendments and recommends
that the bill, as amended, do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
1. On page 2, line 17, insert ``of 1976'' after ``Act''.
2. On page 2, line 17, insert ``1712,'' after ``U.S.C.''.
3. On page 3, lines 16 and 17, strike ``subsection (a)''
and insert ``this Act''.
4. On page 3, line 22, strike ``, Public Law 106-248'' and
insert ``(43 U.S.C. 2305)''.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 832 is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to sell approximately twenty-five acres of public
land, currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management, to
the Turnabout Ranch in Escalante, Utah.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Turnabout Ranch is a private, Christian boarding school
and residential treatment center for at-risk youth in
Escalante, Utah. For many years, a portion of the school's
facilities have been located on a twenty-five acre parcel of
land that, in the past, was state-owned land.
In 1996, President Clinton created the Grand Staircase-
Escalante National Monument, managed by the Bureau of Land
Management. The twenty-five acre parcel at issue is located
within the boundaries of the monument. The Utah Schools and
Lands Exchange Act of 1998, Public Law 105-335, included a
transfer of ownership of the parcel from the state to the BLM.
The BLM does not have existing authority to sell the parcel
because it is located within the monument boundaries.
Therefore, S. 832 directs the Secretary of the Interior to sell
the land to the school for an amount equal to the fair market
value, based on a federally approved appraisal.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 832 was introduced by Senator Hatch and Senator Bennett
on March 9, 2007. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
held a hearing on S. 832 on February 27, 2008. The Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources ordered the bill favorably
reported on May 7, 2008.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on May 7, 2008, by a voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 832, if amended as
described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
The Committee recommends four technical or clarifying
amendments: (1) to cite the full short title of the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act; (2) to provide a citation to
the United States Code; (3) to clarify that the Turnabout Ranch
be required to pay for any costs associated with the
conveyance, including the appraisal; and (4) to cite the
Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act to the United States
Code.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 defines several key terms used in the
legislation.
Section 2(a) requires the Secretary of the Interior, upon
receiving an offer from the Turnabout Ranch to acquire the
parcel for the appraised value, to convey approximately twenty-
five acres to Turnabout Ranch if the ranch.
Subsection (b) requires the Secretary to complete an
appraisal of the federal land not later than 90 days after the
date of enactment of this Act. This subsection also requires
that the appraisal be completed in accordance with the
``Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions''
and the ``Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal
Practice.''
Subsection (c) requires the Turnabout Ranch to pay the
Secretary an amount equal to the appraised value of the Federal
land as a condition of the conveyance.
Subsection (d) states that, as a condition of the
conveyance, any costs of the conveyance shall be paid by the
Turnabout Ranch.
Subsection (e) requires the Secretary to deposit the
proceeds from the conveyance of the Federal land in the Federal
Land Deposit Account established by section 206 of the Federal
Land Transaction Facilitation Act.
Section 3 modifies the boundaries of the Grand Staircase-
Escalante National Monument to exclude the federal land
conveyed to the Turnabout Ranch upon completion of the
conveyance.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 832--A bill to provide for the sale of approximately 25 acres of
public land to the Turnabout Ranch, Escalante, Utah, at fair
market value
S. 832 would authorize the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
to sell about 25 acres of land in the Grand Staircase-Escalante
National Monument in Utah. Proceeds from the sale would be
deposited into the federal land disposal account and could be
spent, without further appropriation, to acquire other land.
Implementing S. 832 would have no net effect on the federal
budget and no significant impact in any fiscal year. Based on
information provided by BLM, CBO estimates that selling the 25
acres identified by the bill would increase offsetting receipts
(a credit against direct spending) by less than $50,000 in
2009. That amount would be offset over the following five years
by additional direct spending for land acquisition. We estimate
that implementing the legislation would have no effect on
revenues or discretionary spending. As required by the bill,
appraisal expenses and other costs associated with the sale
would be paid by the prospective buyer, the Turnabout Ranch.
S. 832 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would have no significant impact on the budgets of state,
local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 832. The bill is not a regulatory measure in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals
and businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of S. 832, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 832, as reported, does not contain any congressionally
directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited
tariff benefits as defined by rule XLIV of the Standing Rules
of the Senate.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The views of the Administration were included in testimony
received by the Committee at a hearing on S. 832 on February
27, 2008.
Statement of Luke Johnson, Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on S. 832, a bill
to convey approximately 25 acres of lands managed by the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) to Turnabout Ranch in Utah. The BLM
supports this legislation.
background
Turnabout Ranch is both a working ranch and a residential
treatment center for troubled teens. Located north of
Escalante, Utah the ranch is adjacent to Grand Staircase-
Escalante National Monument (Monument). Several years ago, the
owners of Turnabout Ranch realized that they were using a field
that is on BLM-managed lands within the Monument for pasture
and a corral and approached the BLM about purchasing these
lands. It is clear that this long-standing trespass was
inadvertent. (These lands were originally owned by the state of
Utah and were exchanged to the BLM following the Monument
designation under the provisions of Public Law 105-335.) These
approximately 25 acres, which are on the edge of the Monument,
are critical to the effective functioning of the ranch and
treatment center. The BLM cannot undertake a sale of this
parcel to the Ranch because the acres are within the Monument
boundary.
s. 832
S. 832 provides for a legislated sale of the 25 acres on
which Turnabout Ranch is in trespass to the ranch for appraised
fair market value. The bill specifIes that the appraisal be
completed in accordance with the Uniform Appraisal Standards
for Federal Land Acquisitions and the Uniform Standards of
Professional Appraisal Practice. It further provides that all
costs related to the sale be borne by Turnabout Ranch. Finally,
following the sale of the land, the boundary of the Monument is
modified to exclude just these 25 acres from the edge of the
Monument.
The BLM has taken a close look at the land proposed for
sale to the Ranch under S. 832. It is our belief that sale of
these lands will not undermine the purposes for which the
Monument was established. Therefore, we support this
legislative remedy to clear title issues with a suggestion for
one very technical modification.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 832 as ordered
reported.
<all>