H.R. 497 would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to convey 327 acres of federal land to the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District in California in exchange for 310 acres of land owned by the district. Under the legislation, BLM would be required to complete the exchange if the district requests, under the condition that the parcels to be exchanged are of equal value. If the parcels are not of equal value, the number of acres conveyed by the party with the lower valued land would be increased. Any lands received by BLM in the exchange would be managed for conservation purposes.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 497 would affect direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that any net effect on direct spending would be negligible. The federal lands that would be exchanged under the legislation generate receipts totaling $7,000 a year from several rights-of-way. If those lands were conveyed, the agency could request that the holders of those rights purchase permanent easements prior to the conveyance. The proceeds from the sale of those easements would partially or fully offset the lost receipts from the rights-of-way. Enacting the legislation would not affect revenues.
CBO also estimates that enacting H.R. 497 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
H.R. 497 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. The land exchange authorized in the legislation would benefit the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District. Any costs incurred by the district associated with the land exchange would be voluntary.
On May 22, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 497, the Santa Ana River Wash Plan Land Exchange Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on April 27, 2017. The two versions of the legislation are similar, and CBO’s estimates of their budgetary effects are the same.
