59–006 

114TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 114–374 

AUTHORIZING ESCAMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA, TO CONVEY CERTAIN PROPERTY THAT WAS FORMERLY PART OF SANTA ROSA ISLAND NATIONAL 

MONUMENT AND THAT WAS CONVEYED TO ESCAMBIA COUNTY SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIONS ON USE AND RECONVEYANCE 

DECEMBER 8, 2015.—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 

DISSENTING VIEWS 

[To accompany H.R. 1452] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 1452) to authorize Escambia County, Florida, to convey 

certain property that was formerly part of Santa Rosa Island National Monument and that was conveyed to Escambia County subject to restrictions on use and reconveyance, 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. 1452 is to authorize Escambia County, Florida, to convey certain property that was formerly part of Santa 

Rosa Island National Monument and that was conveyed to 

Escambia County subject to restrictions on use and reconveyance. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

H.R. 1452 would allow Escambia County, Florida, to convey, or 

otherwise dispose of, all right, title, and interest in and to any portion of the property that the federal government conveyed to the 

County in 1947 on Santa Rosa Island. 

On January 15, 1947, the federal government removed the Santa 

Rosa National Monument from the jurisdiction of the National 

Park Service and deeded the land located on Santa Rosa Island to 


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Escambia County, Florida. Under the terms of the conveyance, 

Escambia County was given the authority to transfer property on 

Santa Rosa Island; however, it was not allowed to sell or convey 

the property. After taking custody of the land, Escambia County 

began offering leases for businesses and homeowners who would 

pay a lease fee, but not be charged property taxes. This arrangement continues today. 

Santa Rosa Island grew enormously in the intervening years, 

and the Board of Commissioners of both Escambia County and 

Santa Rosa County passed resolutions asking for a federal solution 

to allow current Santa Rosa Island leaseholders the option of attaining fee simple title, while protecting public access to the beaches and conservation areas on the Island. H.R. 1452 provides a longneeded solution, similar to what was attained by neighboring 

Okaloosa Island, and allows for the County to more fairly levy 

taxes while protecting the Island’s natural resources. 

An identical version of this bill, introduced in the 113th Congress 

as H.R. 2954, was favorably reported by the Committee on Natural 

Resources on December 16, 2013 (House Report 113–296). The bill 

was subsequently expanded to include a package of lands bills and 

was passed by the House of Representatives by a recorded vote of 

220–194 on February 6, 2014. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 1452 was introduced on March 19, 2015, by Congressman 

Jeff Miller (R–FL). The bill was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources. Within the Natural Resources Committee, the bill 

was referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On October 7, 

2015, 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 on October 8, 2015, 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: 


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H.R. 1452—A bill to authorize Escambia County, Florida, to convey 

certain property that was formerly part of Santa Rosa Island 

National Monument and that was conveyed to Escambia County subject to restrictions on use and reconveyance 

H.R. 1452 would authorize Escambia County in Florida to convey 

to private entities certain property that it received from the federal 

government. The specified properties had been part of the Santa 

Rosa Island National Monument and were transferred to Escambia 

County in 1947 for public purposes. Under the terms of that conveyance, Escambia County can only reconvey the properties to the 

federal government or to the state of Florida. H.R. 1452 would remove that condition and add new conditions. First, under the bill, 

any conveyance of the specified properties would require Escambia 

County to convey to Santa Rosa County any of the property that 

falls within the jurisdictional boundaries of Santa Rosa County. 

Second, any proceeds above the direct or incidental costs of the conveyances would be transferred to the federal government. 

CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have no 

significant effect on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 1452 would 

not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. Based on information provided by the National Park Service and local government entities, CBO estimates 

that the proceeds from any conveyances of the specified properties 

would be used to cover direct or incidental costs. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1452 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year period beginning in 2026. 

H.R. 1452 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Marin Burnett. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 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. According to the Congressional Budget Office, implementation of this bill would have no significant 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 authorize Escambia County, Florida, to convey certain property that was formerly part of Santa Rosa Island National 

Monument and that was conveyed to Escambia County subject to 

restrictions on use and reconveyance. 

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. 


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COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

Directed Rule Making. The Chairman believes that this bill does 

not direct an executive branch official to conduct any specific rulemaking 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. 


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DISSENTING VIEWS 

H.R. 1452 authorizes Escambia County to permanently convey 

land associated with the former Santa Rosa National Monument to 

Santa Rosa County. 

Santa Rosa Island is a 40-mile barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. Settled by Spanish explorer 

Tristan De Luna in 1559, it’s the site of the earliest European settlement in North America and an eventual home to Fort Pickens, 

an important U.S. military base throughout much of early American history. 

In 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt recognized the historical significance of the island and proclaimed the Santa Rosa Island National Monument. The monument was abolished by Congress in 1946 and the Department of Interior, in 1947, conveyed a 

portion of Santa Rosa Island back to Escambia County. Following 

the 1946 Act, all use of the land is required to meet the public interest. Escambia County deemed that 100-year leases were in the 

‘‘public interest’’ and, in 1956, leased the area of Navarre Beach to 

the neighboring Santa Rosa County. 

A lot of development has happened on Santa Rosa Island in the 

sixty years since the land was first conveyed to Escambia County, 

but Congressional intent remains the same: federal land conveyed 

to Escambia must be used for a public purpose. H.R. 1452 undermines that intent. 

Santa Rosa County is considering plans to create a marina at 

Navarre Beach. The proposed marina would cut off public access to 

local beaches and have sizable impacts on the estuaries and wetlands that support wildlife habitat at Gulf Island National Seashore. Barrier islands play a critical role in the ecosystem, providing protection from storm surges and erosion. Dredging a channel to create a marina will lead to beach erosion, requiring continuous, costly restoration and stabilization efforts to preserve the 

beach. Making our coasts more vulnerable to flooding, erosion, and 

storm surge is not in the public interest. 

The National Park Service, in a statement for the record on a 

similar bill in the 113th Congress, recommended several amendments to the bill that would authorize the conveyance in a manner 

consistent with Congressional intent. Unfortunately, these amendments were not adopted. 


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For these reasons, we oppose H.R. 1452. 

RAU ́ L M. GRIJALVA. 

NIKI TSONGAS. 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL. 

MATT CARTWRIGHT. 

JARED HUFFMAN. 

GRACE F. NAPOLITANO. 

Æ 


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