69–006 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 115–124 

REMOVING OUTDATED RESTRICTIONS TO ALLOW FOR 

JOB GROWTH ACT 

MAY 16, 2017.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. CONAWAY, from the Committee on Agriculture, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1177] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Agriculture, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 1177) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to release on behalf of the United States the condition that certain lands conveyed 

to the City of Old Town, Maine, be used for a municipal airport, 

and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do 

pass. 

BRIEF EXPLANATION

The Removing Outdated Restrictions to Allow for Job Growth 

Act, H.R. 1177, directs the Secretary of Agriculture to release on 

behalf of the United States the condition that certain lands conveyed to the City of Old Town, Maine, be used for a municipal airport. 

PURPOSE AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

In the early 1980s, the City of Old Town, Maine, purchased land 

from the federal government to be part of the Old Town Airport. 

The deed included a use restriction, as required by a 1941 amendment to the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937, limiting use 

of the land to a municipal airport or other public use. Old Town 

has invested heavily in this land in order to attract businesses, but 

the deed restriction needs to be lifted before further economic development can occur. 


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H.R. 1177 provides for the removal of the deed restriction on the 

parcel of land around the Old Town airport to allow for business 

development. The bill allows the City of Old Town to send a letter 

to the Secretary of Agriculture detailing which lands it would like 

released from the deed restriction and directs the Secretary to release that land to the City of Old Town. 

The committee believes H.R. 1177 will allow economic development in Old Town to move forward, creating 175 much-needed jobs. 

This legislation will provide certainty to private investors in the 

community and help the local economy thrive. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short title 

Section 1 of the bill designates the title of the bill as the ‘‘Removing Outdated Restrictions to Allow for Job Growth Act.’’ 

Section 2. Release of reversionary interest 

Section 2 of the bill allows the land conveyed from the United 

States to the City of Old Town, Maine, under section 32(c) of the 

Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act to be released from the deed restriction if the city makes a written request to the Secretary of Agriculture. 

Upon receipt of such a request, the bill directs the Secretary to 

release, convey, and quitclaim, without monetary consideration, all 

rights, title and interest in the land specified. 

The intent of the Committee is for Section 2 to release the land 

in question from a deed restriction prohibiting economic development and allow the City of Old Town, Maine to move forward with 

development plans that will create 175 new jobs. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

I. HEARINGS

No hearings were held by the Committee on the Removing Outdated Restrictions to Allow for Job Growth Act. 

II. FULL COMMITTEE

The Committee on Agriculture met, pursuant to notice, with a 

quorum present, on May 3, 2017, to consider H.R. 1177, Removing 

Outdated Restrictions to Allow for Job Growth Act. 

H.R. 1177 was placed before the Committee for consideration. 

Without objection, a first reading of the bill was waived, and it was 

open to amendment at any point. 

Chairman Conaway and Mr. Peterson were recognized for statements. Chairman Conaway then recognized Mr. Peterson to offer 

a motion that the bill H.R. 1177 be reported favorably to the House 

with recommendation that it do pass. The motion was subsequently 

approved by voice vote. 

Chairman Conaway advised Members that pursuant to the rules 

of the House of Representatives Members had until May 5, 2017, 

to file any supplemental, minority, additional, or dissenting views 

with the Committee. 

Without objection, staff was given permission to make any necessary clerical, technical or conforming changes to reflect the intent 


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of the Committee. Chairman Conaway thanked all the Members 

and adjourned the meeting. 

COMMITTEE VOTES

In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the House of Representatives, H.R. 1177 was reported by voice vote with a majority 

quorum present. There was no request for a recorded vote. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee on Agriculture’s oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

BUDGET ACT COMPLIANCE (SECTIONS 308, 402, AND 423) 

The provisions of clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives and section 308(a)(1) of the Congressional 

Budget Act of 1974 (relating to estimates of new budget authority, 

new spending authority, new credit authority, or increased or decreased revenues or tax expenditures) are not considered applicable. The estimate and comparison required to be prepared by the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office under clause 3(c)(3) of 

rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and sections 

402 and 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 submitted to 

the Committee prior to the filing of this report are as follows: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, May 9, 2017. 

Hon. K. MICHAEL CONAWAY, 

Chairman, Committee on Agriculture, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1177, the Removing Outdated Restrictions to Allow for Job Growth Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 1177—Removing Outdated Restrictions to Allow for Job 

Growth Act 

H.R. 1177 would remove a deed restriction from certain lands 

previously conveyed to the city of Old Town, Maine. Under current 

law, the affected lands can only be used for public purposes. The 

bill would allow the city to dispose of some of the affected lands to 

allow for the development of private businesses. 

Based on information provided by the Forest Service, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1177 would have no effect on the 

federal budget. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending 

or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO also estimates that enacting the legislation would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 

consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028. 


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H.R. 1177 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. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. This estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

H.R. 1177 does not authorize funding, therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of 

rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives is inapplicable. 

COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

Pursuant to clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee report incorporates the cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 

pursuant to sections 402 and 423 of the Congressional Budget Act 

of 1974. 

ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

No advisory committee within the meaning of section 5(b) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act was created by this legislation. 

APPLICABILITY TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the 

terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or 

accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 104–1). 

FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

The Committee adopted as its own the estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 

pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(Public Law 104–4). 

EARMARK STATEMENT REQUIRED BY CLAUSE 9 OF RULE XXI OF THE

RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. 1177 does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), 

or 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

This bill does not establish or reauthorize a program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of another Federal program, a program that was included in any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of 

Public Law 111–139, or a program related to a program identified 

in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. 


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DISCLOSURE OF DIRECTED RULE MAKINGS

The Committee does not believe that the legislation directs an 

executive branch official to conduct any specific rule making proceedings within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 551. 

Æ 


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