I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 687
To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain lands in the
Sam Houston National Forest in the State of Texas to the current
occupant of the lands, the Gulf Coast Trades Center.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 25, 1995
Mr. WILSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain
lands in the Sam Houston National Forest in the State
of Texas to the current occupant of the lands, the Gulf
Coast Trades Center.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. LAND CONVEYANCE, SAM HOUSTON NATIONAL
FOREST, TEXAS.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) The Gulf Coast Trades Center (in this sec-
tion referred to as the ‘‘Center’’), a private nonprofit
organization chartered by the State of Texas, occu-
pies a 46.7 acre former Job Corps site under the ju-
risdiction of the Department of Agriculture in the
Sam Houston National Forest near New Waverly,
Texas.
(2) The Center has expended over $400,000 in
performing necessary repairs and maintenance to
buildings and improvements on the site and has re-
placed dilapidated buildings on the site with new
structures at a cost to the Center of over
$1,500,000.
(3) The residual value of the buildings and im-
provements owned by the United States is a minor
contributory portion of the value of the site.
(4) The Center operates a residential vocational
training program on the site and has provided train-
ing for approximately 8,000 disadvantaged youth
since 1971.
(5) The Center also provides educational, social,
and support services, preemployment and work ma-
turity instruction, group counseling, and instruction
in substance abuse prevention and transitional living
skills at the site.
(b) CONVEYANCE REQUIRED.—Subject to valid exist-
ing rights, the Secretary of Agriculture shall convey to the
Center by quitclaim deed all right, title, and interest of
the United States in a parcel of National Forest System
land, including all buildings and improvements owned by
the United States on the parcel, consisting of approxi-
mately 46.7 acres and containing the former New Waverly
Job Corps Center in the Sam Houston National Forest,
Texas, which is currently occupied by the Center under
a special use permit. The parcel to be conveyed is identi-
fied upon a map entitled ‘‘Gulf Coast Trades Center Ex-
change’’, dated September 1994, and available for inspec-
tion in the offices of the Supervisor of the National For-
ests in Texas and the Chief of the Forest Service.
(c) CONSIDERATION.—
(1) PAYMENT
OF
FAIR
MARKET
VALUE.—As
consideration for the conveyance under subsection
(b), the Center shall pay to the Secretary of Agri-
culture an amount equal to the fair market value of
the parcel to be conveyed, as determined by the Sec-
retary under paragraph (2).
(2) VALUATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture
shall appraise the parcel to be conveyed under sub-
section (b) to determine the fair market value of the
federally owned lands and interests in the parcel; ex-
cept that the Secretary shall—
(A) limit the appraised value to the value
of the land and the contributory value of the in-
frastructure, including the water and sewer sys-
tems; and
(B) exclude from the appraisal the value of
all buildings on the parcel and all improvements
made by the Center on the parcel.
(3) DEPOSIT OF PAYMENT.—The Secretary of
Agriculture shall deposit amounts received under
paragraph (1) into the special fund in the Treasury
into which funds are deposited pursuant to the Act
of December 4, 1967 (16 U.S.C. 484a), commonly
known as the Sisk Act. Upon appropriation, the
amounts deposited shall be available to the Secretary
until expended for the acquisition of lands and inter-
ests in lands in the State of Texas that are suitable
for inclusion in the National Forest System.
(4) CONVEYANCE COSTS.—The Secretary and
the Center shall share equally in the costs of prepar-
ing and executing the conveyance required by sub-
section (b), including the costs of conducting the ap-
praisal under this subsection.
(d) CONDITION OF CONVEYANCE.—The conveyance
under subsection (b) shall be subject to the condition that
the Center (or any successor in interest to the Center)
use the conveyed lands for nonprofit educational and
training purposes.
(e) RIGHT OF REENTRY.—If the Secretary of Agri-
culture determines that the conveyed parcel is not being
used in accordance with subsection (d), then, at the option
of the Secretary, the United States shall have a right of
reentry with regard to the property.
(f) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Sec-
retary of Agriculture may require such additional terms
and conditions in connection with the conveyance under
subsection (b) as the Secretary considers appropriate to
protect the interests of the United States.
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