| Sponsor | Rep. Rigell, Scott |
| Committee | Natural Resources |
| Date | March 20, 2012 (112th Congress, 2nd Session) |
| Staff Contact | Andy Koenig |
On Tuesday, March 20, 2012, the House is scheduled to consider H.R. 2087, legislation to remove restrictions from a parcel of land situated in the Atlantic District, Accomack County, Virginia, under a rule. The rule provides for one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources. No amendments to the bill were filed with the Committee on Rules. The bill was introduced on June 2, 2011, by Rep. Scott Rigell (R-VA) and referred to the committee on Natural Resources, which held a mark up and reported the bill by a vote of 32-11 on November 17, 2011.
H.R. 2087 would require the Secretary of the Interior to remove deed restrictions from a parcel of land in Accomack County, Virginia, that was transferred to the County through the Federal Lands to Parks program in 1976 under the condition that the land be used for park and recreational purposes. The bill would require the Secretary of the Interior to remove the recreational purpose restrictions on the 32 acre parcel of land within 90 days of enactment of the legislation.
According to Committee Report 112-369, Accomack County, Virginia, acquired 32 acres through the Federal Lands to Parks program in 1976 for no cost. Under the terms of the transfer, the property was required to be used for recreational purposes and the deed prohibited other uses for the property. According to the Committee, the park has received little use since the transfer was made and the County would like to dedicate the property to use as a research and technology park.
The National Park Service (NPS) has stated that the County must buy the property at a cost of $815,000 in order to waive the recreational requirement for the land. The County has reported that it does not have the available funds to pay for the land and has offered to swap less-valuable land and dedicate 32 new acres for recreational purposes. However, the NPS has demanded either payment or equally valuable land in order to remove the recreational use restrictions.
According to the Committee Report, if the restrictions are removed “the County will proceed by developing a research and technology park which will lead to short-term construction jobs and hundreds of new long-term jobs.”
According to CBO, the affected land is currently under the jurisdiction of Accomack County and does not produce any income for the federal government. Because, under current law, CBO expects that the land would remain under the County’s jurisdiction for the next 10 years, we estimate that implementing the legislation would have no significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 2087 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
According to CBO, enacting H.R. 2087 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.