99–006

107TH CONGRESS REPORT " HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ! 2d Session 107–639

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK LAND EXCHANGE ACT

SEPTEMBER 4, 2002.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. HANSEN, from the Committee on Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1105] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill (S. 

1105) to provide for the expeditious completion of the acquisition 

of State of Wyoming lands within the boundaries of Grand Teton 

National Park, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 

report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that 

the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of S. 1105 is to provide for the expeditious completion of the acquisition of State of Wyoming lands within the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park, and for other purposes. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

When Wyoming was granted statehood, they were given scattered parcels of trust lands for the benefit of Wyoming schools. 

Some of these lands were within what would eventually become 

Grand Teton National Park. The State of Wyoming is required by 

law to derive revenues from the lands for their public schools. However, due to their location within a national park, the state has 

only been able to realize minimal revenue from these trust lands 

by allowing them to be leased for grazing and wildlife purposes. 

The legislation would provide the process by which the Secretary 

of Interior would acquire approximately 1,366 acres of land and 

subsurface mineral interests on 39 acres of land within the Grand 

Teton National Park. The 39 acre mineral interest is located in the 

northern part of the park near Jackson Lake. The smallest land 

parcel of state land comprises 86 acres and is located across the 

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Snake River from the Jackson Hole Airport. The two largest parcels, 640 acres in size each, are in the southern and eastern portion 

of the park close to some of the park’s developed road system. 

These lands, rich in wildlife habitat, would be exchanged for other 

federal lands or assets of equal value. The legislation details the 

process under which the exchange would take place, including the 

selection of an appraiser, approval of the values of lands, and the 

opportunity for appeals. In turn, the state would be able to acquire 

lands that have greater potential to generate revenue for public 

schools. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

S. 1105 was introduced on March 1, 2001 by Senator Craig 

Thomas (R–WY). The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on 

Energy and Natural Resources. On July 31, 2001, the Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the bill. On August 

2, 2001, the Committee reported the bill favorably, with an amendment, to the Senate during its business meeting. On October 17, 

2001, the Senate passed the bill, as amended, by unanimous consent. On October 23, 2001, the bill was received in the House and 

referred to the Committee on Resources. On November 5, 2001, the 

bill was referred within the Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands. On July 24, 2002, the 

Full Resources Committee met to markup the bill and the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands was 

discharged from further consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and the bill, as forwarded by 

the Senate, 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 auVerDate Sep 04 2002 04:50 Sep 07, 2002 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR639.XXX HR639
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thority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. 

According to the Congressional Budget Office, enactment of this 

legislation is estimated to cost $1 million, subject to appropriations. 

3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the general performance goal and objective of this legislation 

is to provide for the expeditious completion of the acquisition of 

State of Wyoming lands within the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park, and for other purposes. 

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:

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, July 31, 2002. 

Hon. JAMES V. HANSEN, 

Chairman, Committee on Resources, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1105, the Grand Teton National Park Land Exchange Act. 

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan Carroll. 

Sincerely, 

BARRY B. ANDERSON, 

(For Dan L. Crippen, Director). 

Enclosure.

S. 1105—Grand Teton National Park Land Exchange Act 

Summary: S. 1105 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior 

to acquire about 1,400 acres of state-owned lands and associated 

interests that lie within the boundaries of the Grand Teton National Park in Teton County, Wyoming. The Secretary could acquire those lands by donation, purchase, or, under certain conditions, by exchanging them for other federal lands and interests. 

The Secretary would manage any lands acquired under S. 1105 as 

part of the Grand Teton National Park. 

CBO estimates that implementing S. 1105 would cost $1 million 

in 2003, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. The 

legislation could affect direct spending (including offsetting receipts); therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply, but we estimate that any net change in direct spending would be negligible. 

S. 1105 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 

and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

This exchange would be voluntary on the part of the Wyoming 

state government. 

Estimated cost to the Federal Government: For this estimate, 

CBO assumes that S. 110–5 will be enacted near the start of fiscal 

year 2003 and that amounts necessary to implement this legislation will be provided soon thereafter. The estimated budgetary impact of S. 1105 is shown in the following table. The costs of this 

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legislation fall within budget function 300 (natural resources and 

environment).

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars—

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION 1

Estimated authorization level ....................................................................... 1 0 0 0 0

Estimated outlays ......................................................................................... 1 0 0 0 0

1 Enacting S. 1105 also could affect direct spending, but CBO estimates that any such effects would be negligible. 

Basis of estimate 

S. 1105 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire 

state-owned lands through donation or purchase, or, under certain 

conditions, by exchanging them for other federal lands. The act 

does not specify the federal lands to be exchanged but does require 

that they be identified for disposal under approved land use plans 

in effect on the date of the legislation’s enactment. If lands eligible 

for exchange under S. 1105 are not sufficient to acquire the state’s 

lands, S. 1105 would authorize the Secretary to identify other federal lands or interior, including mineral rights, that may be used 

to complete the exchange. Under S. 1105, however, a subsequent 

act of the Congress would be necessary to authorize the Secretary 

to proceed with an exchange of other such lands or interests. 

Spending subject to appropriation 

Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts and based on 

information from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), CBO estimates that the agency would spend $1 million for administrative 

and analytical work associated with the acquisition authorized by 

S. 1105. We estimate that most of that spending would occur during 2003. 

Direct spending (including offsetting receipts) 

Based on information from BLM, CBO assumes that the agency 

would most likely attempt to acquire the state’s lands through an 

exchange of federal lands that have been identified for disposal. 

Under current law, the agency has authority to sell such lands and 

to keep and spend the proceeds for various purposes. Hence, we estimate that conveying lands that have been identified for disposal 

as part of a land exchange with Wyoming would result in forgone 

offsetting receipts from the sale of such lands, but that any such 

forgone receipts would be fully offset by a corresponding decrease 

in direct spending of sale proceeds. Thus, CBO estimates that the 

net change in spending under S. 1105 would be negligible. 

Alternatively, CBO estimates that conveying other federal lands 

and interests that are not identified for disposal could result in a 

net increase in direct spending. Because S. 1105 does not authorize 

the conveyance of such lands and interests, however, any such effects would be contingent on a future act of Congress. 

Pay-as-you-go considerations 

The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act sets up 

pay-as-you-go procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or 

receipts. CBO estimates that enacting S. 1105 could result in forgone receipts from the sale of federal lands identified for disposal. 

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Because BLM has authority to spend such receipts, we also estimate that any such forgone receipts would be fully offset by a corresponding decrease in direct spending. Hence, we estimate that 

the net change in direct spending would be negligible. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact 

S. 1105 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, 

local, or tribal governments. This exchange would be voluntary on 

the part of the Wyoming state government. 

Previous CBO estimate 

On September 10, 2001, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 

1105 as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources on August 2, 2001. Differences in our estimates 

of spending subject to appropriation reflect a change in our assumption regarding when the legislation will be enacted. 

Unlike the House Resources Committee’s version of S. 1105, the 

Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources’ version of S. 

1105 would authorize the Secretary to convey federal lands and interests that are not identified for disposal as part of a land exchange to acquire Wyoming’s lands. As a result, for that version of 

the legislation, CBO assumed the Secretary would convey to the 

state the reserved royalty interest in one or more oil or gas leases 

that are expected to produce a stream of royalties with a net 

present value equal to the estimated value of the state lands. 

Hence, we estimated that the previous version of this legislation 

would result in a net increase in direct spending of $23.5 million 

over the 2003–2011 period. 

Estimate prepared by 

Federal costs: Megan Carroll impact on state, local, and tribal 

governments: Marjorie Miller; impact on the private sector: Lauren 

Marks. 

Estimate 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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