49–006 

109TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 109–629 

SOUTHERN NEVADA READINESS CENTER ACT 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2006.—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. 4382] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 4382) to provide for the conveyance of certain land in Clark 

County, Nevada, for use by the Nevada National Guard, 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. 4382 is to provide for the conveyance of certain land in Clark County, Nevada, for use by the Nevada National 

Guard. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

This bill would allow Clark County, Nevada, to convey 35–50 

acres to the State and exempt it from the Southern Nevada Public 

Lands Management Act (SNPLMA) that would normally require 

the State to pay the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 85% of 

the value of the land. SNPLMA was intended to provide receipts 

to the BLM if and when the former BLM lands were sold by the 

County. The bill is supported by the Nevada delegation, the State, 

and Clark County. 

Since the 1990s, BLM, Clark County, and the State of Nevada 

have cooperatively managed roughly 5,000 acres around McCarran 

International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. The land is managed 

to be compatible with airport uses and to comply with noise abatement laws. With the passage of the SNPLMA, the BLM lands within the cooperative management area were conveyed to Clark County, Nevada, with the caveat that if the land was ever sold Clark 


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County must give the BLM 85% of the proceeds to be used to purchase more public land in the State of Nevada, or for other stated 

public purposes. The State of Nevada would like to build a National Guard facility (the Southern Nevada Readiness Center) on 

some of this land and needs roughly 35 to 50 acres to do so. Clark 

County would like to convey this land to the State for free, but is 

limited by SNPLMA. H.R. 4382 would simply allow Clark County 

to convey this land to the State, and would exempt them from 

SNPLMA. 

The Southern Nevada Readiness Center would likely serve as the 

new Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team for Nevada. 

Currently, National Guard units in Las Vegas must serve and operate from locations spread over 25 miles. The facility would also 

help to protect the airport and the City of Las Vegas against potential terrorist attacks. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 4382 was introduced on November 17, 2005, by Congressman Jon Porter (R–NV). The bill was referred to the Committee on 

Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. On March 9, 2006, the Subcommittee held 

a hearing on the bill. On July 19, 2006, the Full Resources 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 a 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 IV, section 3, clause 2, and Article I, section 8, clause 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. 


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3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This 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. 4382—Southern Nevada Readiness Center Act 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4382 would not significantly 

affect the federal budget. Under the Southern Nevada Public Land 

Management Act (SNPLMA), the Bureau of Land Management 

(BLM) conveyed certain federal land to Clark County, Nevada. 

That act specifies that, if the county ever conveys the land it must 

charge fair market value and give a portion of the proceeds to 

BLM. The agency could use such proceeds, without further appropriation, to acquire environmentally sensitive property and complete certain projects in Nevada. 

H.R. 4382 would authorize Clark County to convey to the state 

of Nevada, for no consideration, between 35 and 50 acres of land 

originally conveyed to the county under SNPLMA. The state would 

likely establish a National Guard facility on any land it receives 

under the bill. Based on information from BLM, CBO expects that 

the county would not sell the affected land under current law; 

therefore, we estimate it would generate no significant receipts (or 

subsequent direct spending) over the next 10 years. We also estimate that the bill would not affect federal costs for land management, which are subject to appropriation. 

H.R. 4382 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 

bill would benefit the state of Nevada and Clark County. 

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. 

Æ 


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