39–006 

108TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 108–741 

TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN PUBLIC 

LAND IN CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA, FOR USE AS A HELIPORT 

OCTOBER 6, 2004.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. POMBO, from the Committee on Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 4285] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 4285) to provide for the conveyance of certain public land in 

Clark County, Nevada, for use as a heliport, having considered the 

same, report favorably theron without amendment and recommend 

that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 4285 is to provide for the conveyance of certain public land in Clark County, Nevada, for use as a heliport. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Las Vegas Valley is among the fastest growing communities 

in the United States, at present adding more than 6,000 new residents per month. The local economic community thrives on tourism 

with one of the most popular tourist excursions being the helicopter 

tour of the Grand Canyon. Currently, helicopter tour flight paths 

impact long-standing residential neighborhoods with overflights approaching ninety per day. 

The purpose of this legislation is to provide a suitable location 

for the establishment of a commercial service heliport facility to 

serve the Las Vegas Valley. One of the primary goals is also to 

minimize the impact of air tours on the Sloan Canyon National 

Conservation Area (Conservation Area) and North McCullough 

Mountains Wilderness that lie just north of the major residential 

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areas. The bill directs the Bureau of Land Management to convey 

to Clark County, Nevada, 229 acres of public land for a new Clark 

County Public Heliport Facility. H.R. 4285 also seeks to prevent 

helicopter flights over the Conservation Area except between 3 and 

5 miles north of the southern-most boundary, lower than 1,000 feet 

over eastern segments and lower than 500 feet over the western 

segments. 

In addition, any operator of a helicopter tour originating from or 

concluding at the new heliport shall pay the Clark County Department of Aviation a $3 conservation fee for each passenger on the 

tour if any of the helicopter tour overflies the Conservation Area. 

The fee collected will be placed in a special account in the Treasury 

of the United States. Those funds will then be made available to 

the Secretary of the Interior for management of cultural, wildlife 

and wilderness resources on public land in the State of Nevada. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

Representative Jim Gibbons (R–NV) introduced H.R. 4285 on 

May 5, 2004. The bill was then referred to the Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands. On September 14, 2004, 

the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On September 15, 

2004, the Full Resource Committee met to consider the bill. The 

Subcommittee was discharged from further consideration of the bill 

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 Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in 

the body of this report. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the Constitution 

of the United States grant Congress the authority to enact this bill. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) 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)(3)(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. 

2. 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, enactment of this bill 

will have a ‘‘negligible effect’’ on direct spending. 

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3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. The bill does not 

authorize funding and therefore clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the 

Rules of the House of Representatives does not apply. 

4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. 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. 4285—A bill to provide for the conveyance of certain public 

land in Clark County, Nevada, for use as a heliport 

CBO estimates that H.R. 4285 would have no significant impact 

of the federal budget. Enacting the bill would have a negligible effect on direct spending and would not affect revenues. 

H.R. 4285 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to give 229 

acres of federal land to Clark County, Nevada, The county would 

use that land to build a heliport facility, H.R. 4285 would require 

helicopter tour operators who use that facility to pay a fee of $3 

per passenger if they fly over the Sloan Canyon National conservation Area, which is adjacent to the proposed heliport site. Under 

the bill, the Secretary could retain and spend those fees, without 

further appropriation, to manage cultural, wildlife, and wilderness 

resources on federal land in Nevada. 

According to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the federal 

land to be conveyed currently generates no significant receipts and 

is not expected to do so over the next 10 years. Based on information from BLM, we estimate that charging helicopter tour operators 

a fee as proposed under H.R. 4285 would generate offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending) totaling less than $500,000 

annually. Because we expect those amounts would be largely offset 

within the year they are collected by increased spending for resource management, we estimate that any resulting net change in 

direct spending under H.R. 4285 would be negligible. 

H.R. 4285 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. Enacting this 

legislation would benefit Clark County by providing for the conveyance of federal land to the county at very little cost: only the administrative costs of the transfer. These costs would be incurred 

voluntarily. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. This 

estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

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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