H.R. 3954House108th Congress (2003-2005)Passed House

Rancho El Cajon Boundary Reconciliation Act

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to resolve boundary discrepancies in San Diego County, California, arising from an erroneous survey conducted by a Government contractor in 1881 that resulted in overlapping boundaries for certain lands, and for other purposes.

Legislative Activity

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17 earlier actions

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Received in the Senate.

September 29, 2004

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

March 11, 2004

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Resources.

Natural Resources Committee

March 11, 2004

HouseCommittee

Referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands.

Federal Lands Subcommittee

March 15, 2004

HouseCommittee

Executive Comment Requested from Interior.

Natural Resources Committee

March 15, 2004

HouseCommittee

Subcommittee Hearings Held.

Federal Lands Subcommittee

June 15, 2004

HouseCommittee

Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

Federal Lands Subcommittee

July 8, 2004

HouseCommittee

Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee (Amended).

Federal Lands Subcommittee

July 8, 2004

HouseCommittee

Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.

Natural Resources Committee

July 14, 2004

HouseCommittee

Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.

Natural Resources Committee

July 14, 2004

HouseCommittee

Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Resources. H. Rept. 108-647.

Natural Resources Committee

September 7, 2004

HouseCalendars

Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 391.

September 7, 2004

HouseFloor

Mr. Radanovich moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.

September 28, 2004 • 2:56 PM

HouseFloor

Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H7661)

September 28, 2004 • 2:56 PM

HouseFloor

DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 3954.

September 28, 2004 • 2:56 PM

HouseFloor

Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.(text: CR H7661)

September 28, 2004 • 2:58 PM

HouseFloor

On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H7661)

September 28, 2004 • 2:58 PM

HouseFloor

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

September 28, 2004 • 2:58 PM

SenateIntro Referral

Received in the Senate.

September 29, 2004

Floor Debate

3 members

What members said about H.R. 3954 on the floor

2 Republicans1 Democrat

Rep. Duncan HunterR-CA-52 · Sep 28, 2004

Mr. Speaker, when Fred Gruner returned from World War II he did what we encourage all of our young veterans to do, invested his money and planned for his family's future. Mr. Gruner chose to build…

Mr. Speaker, when Fred Gruner returned from World War II he did what we encourage all of our young veterans to do, invested his money and planned for his family's future. Mr. Gruner chose to build equity by purchasing land in San Diego County. Unfortunately, due to an erroneous Federal Government survey that resulted in overlapping boundaries for certain lands, Mr. Gruner is now told that he does not, in fact, own the land that he paid for and on which he has been paying taxes for over 40 years. Although the Department of the Interior recognizes the mistake, they have communicated to me that they are not authorized to provide the necessary compensation for Mr. Gruner. H.R. 3954 simply allows the Secretary of the Interior to provide compensation through conveyance of lands or cash payment.

The error dates back to an 1881 survey which failed to correctly locate the El Cajon northern boundary thereby creating a 1,100 foot overlap of land, essentially creating land on paper that did not exist. Nevertheless, titles were sold or passed on and taxes were assessed as if it did. Though he purchased his property in good faith in 1962, Mr. Gruner eventually learned of the overlap. When a recent survey was completed by the Department of the Interior in response to Mr. Gruner's concerns, the full scope of his problem was discovered. According to the survey, lots one and two of Section nine fell into the overlap and as a result, the 23 acres no longer belong to him.

Part of the mission of the Federal Government agencies is to set standards and uphold them where the private sector is not able. This is one of those situations. The main mission of the General Land Office (the Interior agency that completed the 1881 survey) was the survey and sale of public lands. When a well-intentioned citizen that has served his country seeks to purchase a piece of land, he ought to be able to trust that the existing Federal Government survey of the land is reliable. Mr. Gruner worked his entire life to build this nest-egg. He has spent over 20 years fighting to protect it. This is his last recourse. Please join me in doing what is right. I urge my colleagues to join with me in supporting H.R. 3954.

I would like to thank Chairman Pombo and Subcommittee Chairman Radanovich for their leadership on this issue and their dedication to righting this wrong.

Rep. George RadanovichR-CA-19 · Sep 28, 2004

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3954) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to resolve boundary discrepancies in San Diego County, California, arising from an…

Rep. George RadanovichR-CA-19 · Sep 28, 2004

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 752, H.R. 3954, H.R. 4066,…

Rep. Madeleine Z. BordalloD-GU · Sep 28, 2004

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we have no objection to the consideration of this measure. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Bill Text

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Received in SenateIssued September 29, 2004

        [Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3954 Received in Senate (RDS)]

2d Session
H. R. 3954

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

September 29, 2004

Received

_______________________________________________________________________

AN ACT

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to resolve boundary
discrepancies in San Diego County, California, arising from an
erroneous survey conducted by a Government contractor in 1881 that
resulted in overlapping boundaries for certain lands, and for other
purposes.

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 ``Rancho El Cajon Boundary
Reconciliation Act''.

SEC. 2. RESOLUTION OF BOUNDARY DISCREPANCIES, SAN DIEGO COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA.

(a) Resolution of Boundary Discrepancies.--The Secretary of the
Interior shall provide compensation to any landowner whose title to
land in lots 1 and 2 of section 9, township 15 south, range 1 east, San
Bernardino Meridian, in San Diego County, California, is based on an
erroneous survey conducted by a Government contractor in 1881 and is
rendered void because that title is inferior to the title to the same
land established by a survey of the Rancho El Cajon conducted in 1872
and approved by the Commissioner of the General Land Office in 1876.
(b) Forms of Compensation.--Compensation under subsection (a) shall
be mutually agreed upon by the Secretary and the landowner and shall
consist of--
(1) public lands in San Diego or Imperial Counties,
California, selected jointly by the Secretary and the landowner
and conveyed by the Secretary to the landowner;
(2) a cash payment to the landowner; or
(3) a combination of a conveyance under paragraph (1) and a
cash payment under paragraph (2).
(c) Equal Value.--Compensation provided under subsection (a) for a
parcel of land whose title was rendered void, as described in such
subsection, may not exceed the fair market value of the land, as
determined by an appraisal satisfactory to the Secretary and the
landowner.
(d) Source of Funds.--The Secretary may make payments under
subsection (a) using funds available to the Secretary to equalize land
exchanges under section 206(b) of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(b)).
(e) Public Lands Defined.--In this section, the term ``public
lands'' has the meaning given the term in section 103(e) of the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (7 U.S.C. 1702(e)).

SEC. 3. REVOCATION OF PUBLIC LAND ORDER WITH RESPECT TO LANDS
ERRONEOUSLY INCLUDED IN CIBOLA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE,
CALIFORNIA.

(a) Revocation.--Public Land Order 3442, dated August 21, 1964, is
revoked insofar as it applies to the following described lands: San
Bernardino Meridian, T11S, R22E, sec. 6, all of lots 1, 16, and 17, and
SE\1/4\ of SW\1/4\ in Imperial County, California, aggregating
approximately 140.32 acres.
(b) Resurvey and Notice of Modified Boundaries.--The Secretary of
the Interior shall, by not later than 6 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act--
(1) resurvey the boundaries of the Cibola National Wildlife
Refuge, as modified by the revocation under section 1;
(2) publish notice of, and post conspicuous signs marking,
the boundaries of the refuge determined in such resurvey; and
(3) prepare and publish a map showing the boundaries of the
refuge.

Passed the House of Representatives September 28, 2004.

Attest:

JEFF TRANDAHL,

Clerk.