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“REASONABLE RIGHT-OF-WAY FEES ACT OF 2003” mentioning the Department of Interior was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H2534-H2535 on April 1, 2003.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
REASONABLE RIGHT-OF-WAY FEES ACT OF 2003
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 762) to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Mineral Leasing Act to clarify the method by which the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture determine the fair market value of certain rights-of-way granted, issued, or renewed under these Acts.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 762
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Reasonable Right-of-Way Fees Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF FAIR MARKET RENTAL VALUE
DETERMINATIONS FOR PUBLIC LANDS AND FOREST
SERVICE RIGHTS-OF-WAY.
(a) Linear Rights-of-Way Under Federal Land Policy and Management Act.--Section 504 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(k) Determination of Fair Market Value of Linear Rights-of-Way.--(1) Effective upon the issuance of the rules required by paragraph (2), for purposes of subsection (g), the Secretary concerned shall determine the fair market rental for the use of land encumbered by a linear right-of-way granted, issued, or renewed under this title using the valuation method described in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4).
``(2) Not later than one year after the date of enactment of the Reasonable Right-of-Way Fees Act of 2003, and in accordance with subsection (k), the Secretary of the Interior shall amend section 2803.1-2 of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of such Act, to revise the per acre rental fee zone value schedule by State, county, and type of linear right-of-way use to reflect current values of land in each zone. The Secretary of Agriculture shall make the same revisions for linear rights-of-way granted, issued, or renewed under this title on National Forest System lands.
``(3) The Secretary concerned shall update annually the schedule revised under paragraph (2) by multiplying the current year's rental per acre by the annual change, second quarter to the second quarter (June 30 to June 30) in the Gross National Product Implicit Price Deflator Index published in the Survey of Current Business of the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
``(4) Whenever the cumulative change in the index referred to in paragraph (3) exceeds 30 percent, or the change in the 3-year average of the 1-year Treasury interest rate used to determine per acre rental fee zone values exceeds plus or minus 50 percent, the Secretary concerned shall conduct a review of the zones and rental per acre figures to determine whether the value of Federal land has differed sufficiently from the index referred to in paragraph (3) to warrant a revision in the base zones and rental per acre figures. If, as a result of the review, the Secretary concerned determines that such a revision is warranted, the Secretary concerned shall revise the base zones and rental per acre figures accordingly.''.
(b) Rights-of-Way Under Mineral Leasing Act.--Section 28(l) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185(l)) is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following: ``using the valuation method described in section 2803.1-2 of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations, as revised pursuant to section 504(k) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764(k))''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi) and the gentlewoman from Guam (Mr. Bordallo) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi).
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin).
Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 762, the Reasonable Right-of-Way Fees Act of 2003, which I introduced February 13, 2003.
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This bill will help to facilitate the deployment of critical infrastructure to States that are made up largely of Federal lands, such as Wyoming and almost every western State. While exploring ways to bring advanced telecommunications services and pipeline infrastructure to Wyoming, I found that Federal land management agencies were considering ways which would actually discourage deployment of critical infrastructure. The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service had started down a road to abandon a commonsense right-of-way fee schedule that had been in place for many years by charging a per-
line fee for fiberoptic deployment instead of a fee based on linear footage of the pipe. In other words, when fiberoptics were being deployed to rural areas, the agencies wanted to charge a right-of-way fee for every single line that went down the pipe which would obviously make it financially impossible to deploy fiberoptics to rural areas. My bill ensures that rights-of-way fees are reasonable and that private users of public lands pay a fair price for that privilege.
This bill creates a policy that protects the value of our Federal lands and at the same time helps to ensure that these Federal lands continue to be available to a multitude of compatible uses. This bill will not increase the environmental impact of the rights-of-way corridors, nor will it reduce any environmental monitoring. I am confident as we work to place the Reasonable Right-of-Way Fee Act into law that there is little public interest in turning our Federal lands into roadblocks on the information superhighway or along the path of any of our Nation's critical infrastructures.
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Ms. BORDALLO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, investigations conducted by the Department of the Interior's Inspector General and the General Accounting Office have provided ample evidence that the right-of-way fees currently being charged by the Federal land management agencies are far below fair market values. States, local governments, and private individuals all charge significantly more than the Federal Government for rights-of-way across lands that they own. This undercharging for the use of Federal public lands means that large corporations, who stand to make vast profits from the use of those lands, are not being required to pay the American people a fair rate of return for that privilege.
As a result, we share, the gentlewoman from Wyoming's desire to correct this problem. This legislation will require the agencies to review their existing fee schedules and the land valuations which underlie them to ensure that they represent current values. In addition, Mr. Speaker, this measure will ensure that once these new fees have been promulgated, they will be adjusted annually for inflation. This approach is a significant improvement over the status quo and should move us closer to a system that adequately compensates the taxpayers for the use of their lands.
We would like to thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin) for her willingness to work together on this legislation, and we do support H.R. 762.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RENZI. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Miller of Florida). The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Renzi) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 762.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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