39–006 

113TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 113–298 

ANCHORAGE LAND CONVEYANCE ACT OF 2013 

DECEMBER 16, 2013.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, from the Committee on Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

together with 

DISSENTING VIEWS 

[To accompany H.R. 585] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 585) to provide for the unencumbering of title to non-Federal land owned by the city of Anchorage, Alaska, for purposes of 

economic development by conveyance of the Federal reversion interest to the City, 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. 585 is to provide for the unencumbering of 

title to non-Federal land owned by the city of Anchorage, Alaska, 

for purposes of economic development by conveyance of the Federal 

reversion interest to the City. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

H.R. 585 would remove the reversionary interest and clear title 

to three small parcels of land owned by the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska, comprising 2.65 acres in total. 

Decades ago, these parcels were conveyed to either the former 

‘‘City of Anchorage’’ or more recently the ‘‘Municipality of Anchorage.’’ They were transferred by the federal government to the local 

government for a wide variety of specified purposes, but all were 


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transferred for the overarching purpose of helping the then nascent 

municipality of Anchorage, which is surrounded by federal lands. 

The tracts are no longer necessary for municipal purposes or use 

by the federal government but the reversionary clauses on the 

three parcels are preventing their conversion to productive use and 

a future source of revenue for the City of Anchorage. 

Parcel 1. In 1922 the City of Anchorage received a number of 

properties around Anchorage for municipal/school purposes. One of 

the properties was the 1.93-acre site in Block 42 downtown that, 

since the early 1980s, has been the site of the William A. Egan 

Convention Center. With the completion in 2010 of the larger 

Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center, the tract is surplus to municipal needs, and could best be utilized for sale to an entity that 

could afford the cost of conversion of the property for future use, 

adding to the federal income tax base and local property tax base. 

Parcel 2. This lot of .48 acres, at Seventh and I Streets downtown, is currently being used as a municipal parking lot. The land, 

obtained by the city as part of a 1982 land exchange that cleared 

the site for a major office building across the street, is too small 

for municipal or federal office space use, or for park construction, 

but might be properly sized for a commercial enterprise. It is zoned 

for business, but because of the inability of the Municipality to sell 

the property due to the federal reversionary clause, it cannot be 

used for business and contribute to the local property tax base or 

federal income tax base. 

Parcel 3. The .24-acre site at the corner of H Street and 

Christiansen Drive was obtained by the City in 1963. It currently 

sits vacant and idle. It is too small for municipal or federal office 

space, unneeded for park space, but might be of use for a retail establishment given its location near a municipal parking facility. 

Likewise, it is zoned for business/commercial, but cannot be used 

and potentially contribute to the local and federal tax bases due to 

the federal reversion clause. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 585 was introduced on February 6, 2013, by Congressman 

Don Young (R–AK). The bill was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 

Public Lands and Environmental Regulation. On June 6, 2013, the 

Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On October 30, 2013, the 

Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation was discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and 

the bill was then adopted and ordered favorably reported to the 

House of Representatives 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. 


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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: 

H.R. 585—Anchorage Land Conveyance Act of 2013 

H.R. 585 would require the Secretary of the Interior to convey 

the reversionary interest of the United States in three acres of land 

to the city of Anchorage, Alaska. Under current law, the city holds 

title to those lands and will retain title as long as the lands are 

used for public purposes. If the city stops using the lands for such 

purposes, title would revert back to the federal government. 

Based on information provided by the city of Anchorage, CBO expects that, under current law, the city would continue to use the 

affected lands for public purposes and hold title to those lands over 

the next 10 years. Furthermore, under the bill, any administrative 

costs associated with conveying the reversionary interest in those 

lands would be paid by the city; therefore, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have no effect on the federal budget. Because enacting H.R. 585 would not affect direct spending or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

H.R. 585 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, 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. CBO estimates that implementing the bill would 

have no 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 provide for the unencumbering of title to non-Federal land owned by the city of Anchorage, Alaska, for purposes of 

economic development by conveyance of the Federal reversion interest to the City. 

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 does not believe that this 

bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any specific 

rule-making 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. 585 will convey to the City, free of charge, the federal government’s reversionary interest in 2.7 acres of land in downtown 

Anchorage, Alaska. The 2.7 acres in question were federally owned 

and transferred to the City of Anchorage using various authorities. 

In each case, the land was conveyed free of charge with the requirement that it revert to federal ownership if it ceased being 

used for public purposes. H.R. 585 will extinguish that reversionary 

interest. 

The problem with H.R. 585 is not that the City will continue to 

own the land; the problem is the removal of the longstanding reversionary clause which protects the public interest. Without it, the 

federal government is giving the City land for free, allowing for the 

sale of the property and a windfall profit for Anchorage. The land 

is a prime location for commercial development and is valued above 

$1 million. 

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has responded to requests to release similar reversionary interests in the past and has 

consistently required the payment of fair market value for the interest. That is what should occur here. 

PETER A. DEFAZIO. 

Æ 


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