69–010 

Calendar No. 667 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 110–315 

SOUTHERN NEVADA READINESS CENTER ACT 

APRIL 10, 2008.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 815] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the Act (H.R. 815) to provide for the conveyance of certain 

land in Clark County, Nevada, for use by the Nevada National 

Guard, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with 

an amendment and recommends that the Act, as amended, do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof 

the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Southern Nevada Readiness Center Act’’. 

SEC. 2. NEVADA NATIONAL GUARD LAND CONVEYANCE. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Clark County, Nevada, may convey, without consideration, to the Nevada Division of State Lands for 

use by the Nevada National Guard approximately 51 acres of land in Clark County, 

Nevada, as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Southern Nevada Readiness 

Center Act’’ and dated October 4, 2005. 

(b) LIMITATION.—If the land described in subsection (a) ceases to be used by the 

Nevada National Guard, the land shall revert to Clark County, Nevada, for management in accordance with the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 

1998 (Public Law 105–263; 112 Stat. 2343). 

PURPOSE

The purpose H.R. 815 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey, without consideration and notwithstanding any 

other provision of law, between 35 and 50 acres of Federal land in 

Clark County, Nevada, to the Nevada Division of State Lands, for 

use by the Nevada National Guard. 


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BACKGROUND AND NEED

H.R. 815 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey 

lands in Clark County, Nevada, to the Nevada Division of State 

Lands for use by the Nevada National Guard. The lands to be conveyed are within the disposal boundary of lands identified for sale 

as part of the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act 

(SNPLMA; Public Law 105–263). These lands are located within 

the Airport Environs Overlay District for McCarran International 

Airport, and SNPLMA requires that the land be managed in accordance with airport noise compatibility planning agreements. 

That law also requires that the lands be sold at public auction, for 

no less than fair market value, with the sale proceeds distributed 

among the Bureau of Land Management, the Southern Nevada 

Water Authority and the State of Nevada’s general education fund. 

H.R. 815 would waive this requirement, allowing the land to be 

conveyed without consideration for use by the Nevada National 

Guard. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 815, sponsored by Rep. Porter, passed the House of Representatives by a voice vote on April 17, 2007. A Senate companion 

measure, S. 1608, was introduced by Senators Ensign and Reid on 

June 13, 2007. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests 

held a hearing on both bills on September 20, 2007. (S. Hrg. 110– 216.) 

During the 109th Congress, the House of Representatives passed 

a similar measure, H.R. 4382. That bill was not considered in the 

Senate. 

At its business meeting on January 30, 2008, the Committee on 

Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 815 favorably reported, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on January 30, 2008, by a voice vote of a quorum 

present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 815, if amended as 

described herein. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

During its consideration of H.R. 815, the Committee adopted an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment corrected the acreage reference in the bill and added a reversionary 

clause, as recommended by the Bureau of Land Management at the 

subcommittee hearing on the bill. The amendment is explained in 

detail in the section-by-section analysis, below. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 contains the short title, the ‘‘Southern Nevada Readiness Center Act.’’

Section 2(a) provides that notwithstanding any other provision of 

law, Clark County, Nevada, may convey approximately 51 acres of 

land in Clark County to the Nevada Division of State Lands for use 

by the Nevada National Guard, as generally depicted on the referenced map. The conveyance is to be made without consideration. 


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Subsection (b) states that if the land described in subsection (a) 

ceases to be used by the Nevada National Guard, the land shall revert to Clark County, Nevada, for management in accordance with 

the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–263). 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 815—Southern Nevada Readiness Center Act 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 815 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. 815 would authorize Clark County to convey to the state of 

Nevada, for no consideration, about 51 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 legislation. 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 H.R. 815 would not affect federal costs for land management, 

which are subject to appropriation. 

H.R. 815 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 the state of Nevada and Clark County. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. This 

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

Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying H.R. 

815. The Act is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing 

Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of H.R. 815, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

H.R. 815, as reported, does not contain any congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 


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EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by the Bureau of Land Management at 

the September 20, 2007 Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 815 follows: 

STATEMENT OF MICHAEL NEDD, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, MIN- ERALS, REALTY AND RESOURCE PROTECTION, BUREAU OF

LAND MANAGEMENT

Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank 

you for the opportunity to testify on S. 1608, the Southern 

Nevada Readiness Center Act. S. 1608 would convey without consideration between 35 and 50 acres of land from 

Clark County, Nevada, to the Nevada Division of State 

Lands for use by the Nevada National Guard for defense 

and security training. All right, title, and interest to these 

lands was conveyed by the BLM to Clark County, Nevada, 

in 1999, as directed by Section 4(g) of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 (SNPLMA), for 

inclusion in the McCarran Airport Cooperative Management Area (CMA). 

The CMA was established in 1992 through an agreement 

between Clark County and BLM to manage development 

around McCarran Airport, which services the greater Las 

Vegas area. As directed by SNPLMA, approximately 5,000 

acres of public lands was conveyed by the BLM to Clark 

County for inclusion in the CMA boundary. SNPLMA requires that Clark County manage the lands in the CMA in 

accordance with 49 U.S.C. 47504, relating to airport noise 

compatibility planning, so that development in the CMA is 

compatible with the nature of airport operations. Further, 

section (4)(g) of SNPLMA requires that any conveyance of 

CMA lands by Clark County be for fair market value, and 

the revenue distributed according to the formula outlined 

in Section (4)(g) of SNPLMA. 

The BLM is mindful that S. 1608 conveys the CMA 

lands from one public entity to another for important national defense and security purposes. In balancing these 

considerations against the provisions of SNPLMA that require the sale of CMA lands for fair market value, the 

BLM supports the bill and the conveyance of the CMA 

lands for no consideration. However, we suggest that the 

bill be amended to include a provision that if the State of 

Nevada ceases to use the lands for the purpose intended 

in S. 1608, the lands revert to the County to be managed 

consistent with the provisions of SNPLMA. We also recommend an amendment to correct the acreage identified in 

S. 1608 from ‘‘between 35 and 50 acres’’ to ‘‘approximately 

51 acres.’’

Thank you for the opportunity to testify on S. 1608. We 

look forward to working with the sponsor and the Committee on this important piece of legislation. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:39 Apr 12, 2008 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR315.XXX SR315

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ing law are made by the bills S. 1608 and H.R. 815, as ordered reported. 

Æ 


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