80TH CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session { REPORT No. 1676 RATIFYING ACT 237 OF THE SESSION LAWS OF HAWAII, 1947 APRIL 7, 1948.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. WELCH, from the Committee on Public Lands, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 4091] The Committee on Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4091) to ratify Act 237 of the Session Laws of Hawaii, 1947, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. EXPLANATION OF THE BILL The purpose of this bill is to give congressional approval to Act 237 of the Session Laws of Hawaii, 1947, which grants a nonexclusive franchise to the Wahiawa Water Co., Ltd., city and county of Honolulu, T. H., to furnish and distribute domestic water. The Wahiawa Water Co., Ltd., was organized in 1902 for the purpose of furnishing irrigation water and electricity to its stockholders. The stockholders consisted of Waialua Agricultural Co., Ltd., owners and operators of a sugar plantation, and 15 individuals who held homesteads in the area. The company found it impractical to enter the field of furnishing electricity and has never done so. Today the character of the company's operations is radically changed. The homesteaders' lands have become a fast-growing community due to their proximity to Schofield Barracks and to the growth of the pineapple industry in the vicinity. The need for irrigation water within the homestead area has disappeared and the demand for domestic water has increased; therefore, the company has gradually installed domestic water pipes within the area. Waialua Agricultural Co., Ltd., eventually acquired all the stock in the Wahiawa Water Co., Ltd., and now is the only irrigation customer of its subsidiary. At the present time a portion of the Waialua Agricultural Co.'s lands are being subdivided for residential purposes and will require domestic water service. The population of the Wahiawa vicinity in 1930 was 3,700; in 1940, 5,435; and is now estimated at approximately 8,000 persons. Major improvements to the water system which could not be made during the war are needed to provide adequate water service. New underground sources of supply strongly recommended by the Territorial board of health have been developed and are being supplemented to replace the stream water now used, which is not satisfactory for domestic purposes. By law the company cannot make major improvements in its domestic water system without obtaining a franchise and becoming a public utility. The franchise authorizes the local government to purchase the water system at any time it desires, the purchase price to be determined by specifications set forth therein and agreed to by local authorities. As a utility the company can safely make improvements which would be reimbursable in any future purchase of the system by the local government; or, if the company continues to operate the water system, it would be permitted to earn a reasonable. return on its investment. The franchise was approved without a dissenting vote in both houses of the Territorial legislature. It was testified before a subcommittee of the Committee on Public Lands that no opposition to the granting of this franchise has been expressed by anyone. The franchise is nonexclusive and is similar to those already granted to public utilities in the Territory of Hawaii. In the following communication of the Secretary of the Interior, it is stated that this legislation is necessary for the development of an adequate water-supply system in the area covered by the franchise. Enactment of H. R. 4091 is unanimously recommended by the Committee on Public Lands. Hon. RICHARD J. WELCH, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington 25, D. C., December 29, 1947. Chairman, Committee on Public Lands, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. WELCH: This is in response to your request of July 14 for my views on H. R. 4091, a bill to ratify Act 237 of the Session Laws of Hawaii 1947. The act of April 30, 1900 (31 Stat. 150, 48 U. S. C., sec. 562), authorizes the Legislature of Hawaii to grant franchises with the approval of the Congress. Act 237 which was enacted to provide for the development, storage, distribution, and supply of water in and near the district of Wahiawa, in the city and county of Honolulu, T. H., would, if approved by the Congress, grant a franchise to the Wahiawa Water Co., Ltd., to furnish, distribute, and supply water within the district for domestic, industrial, and fire protection uses, and set up the rules and regulations to govern operations of the company under the franchise. This legislation is necessary for the development of an adequate water supply system in the district of Wahiawa. I recommend, therefore, that H. R. 4091 receive favorable consideration from your committee. The Director, Bureau of the Budget, has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Sincerely yours, J. A. KRUG, Secretary of the Interior. O 80TH CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session { REPORT No. 1677 AUTHORIZING PAYMENTS TO THE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT OR DISTRICTS SERVING THE FORT PECK PROJECT, MONTANA, FOR THE EDUCATION OF DEPENDENTS OF PERSONS ENGAGED ON THAT PROJECT APRIL 7, 1948.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. WELCH, from the Committee on Public Lands, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 4201] The Committee on Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4201) to authorize payments to the public school district or districts serving the Fort Peck project, Montana, for the education of dependents of persons engaged on that project, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. The amendments are as follows: Page 1, line 3, strike out the word "War" and insert in lieu thereof the words "the Army". Page 2, line 12, strike out the word "War" and insert in lieu thereof the words "the Army". EXPLANATION OF THE BILL The purpose of this bill is to authorize payments to the public school district serving the Fort Peck project, Montana, for the education of dependents of persons employed on the project. Eighty-five percent of the land included in the Fort Peck school district is federally owned and is not subject to taxation. The school budget for the school year 1947-48 requires approximately $28,000, but the entire income of the school district during the year will be only $19,000. Since the total value of the taxable property in the district (15 percent of the total lands) is only $62,000, it is obviously impossible for the district to meet a budget of $28,000. As of December 1, 1947, there were 240 pupils enrolled in the Fort Peck school, of whom 200 were dependents of Federal employees. Of the total amount of money received in the school district this year, 50 percent came from the State of Montana, 44 percent from the county and 6 percent from the district. Inasmuch as most of the district is on federally owned land and most of the students are dependents of the employees of the Federal Government, it would appear only right for the Federal Government to share a part of the expense. H. R. 4201 contemplates that the funds for this schooling will be derived from the power revenue of the Fort Peck project and will not come out of the general funds of the Treasury. The bill has been amended by the Committee on Public Lands to correct the title of Secretary of War to Secretary of the Army. Since this is emergency legislation, the bill has not been amended in accordance with the suggestion of the Secretary of the Army, as set forth in his letter of February 2, 1948, since it is felt such an amendment is more applicable to long-range legislation. The committee agrees with the view of the Department of the Interior and the Secretary of the Army that it would be preferable to include such legislation as this in an over-all program. However, an acute emergency exists in this case as the school will be forced to close between April 15 and May 1, 1948, unless congressional action is taken. The committee therefore unanimously recommends that this legislation be enacted without delay. Set forth below are communications from the Acting Secretary of the Interior, dated March 18, 1948, and the Secretary of the Army, dated February 2, 1948, respectively, addressed to Hon. Richard J. Welch, chairman of the Committee on Public Lands, which are made. a part of this report. Hon. RICHARD J. WELCH, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Chairman, Committee on Public Lands, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. WELCH: We are glad to comply with your request for an expression of the views of this Department on H. R. 4201, a bill to authorize payments to the public school district or districts serving the Fort Peck project, Montana, for the education of dependents of persons engaged on that project. Enactment of this bill would permit the Secretary of the Army (referred to in the bill by his former title of Secretary of War) to reimburse the school district or districts serving the area in which the Fort Peck project, Montana, is located for the cost or part of the cost of furnishing educational facilities to the dependents of persons engaged in the construction, operation, and maintenance of the project who live in the vicinity of Fort Peck upon real property of the United States which is not subject to taxation and upon which payments in lieu of taxes are not made by the United States. Enactment of the bill would further require the Secretary of the Interior to reimburse the Secretary of the Army for that part of the expenditures made by him under its authority "which is properly chargeable as an operation expense incident to the generation and transmission of power" delivered to the Bureau of Reclamation under the act of May 18, 1938 (52 Stat. 403). I am advised that, as of December 1, 1947, there were about 240 pupils enrolled in the Fort Peck schools, that about 200 of these pupils were dependents of Federal employees, and that, of these 200 pupils, 14 are dependents of employees of the Bureau of Reclamation; that the school budget for the school year 1947-48 requires approximately $28,000; that the entire income of the school district during the year will be about $19,000; and that the total value of the taxable property in the district is only about $62,000. I am further advised that the schools may have to be closed for lack of funds in the near future unless help is forthcoming at once. Enactment of H. R. 4201 may well be thought necessary by your committee as an emergency measure without awaiting the coming into effect of such more comprehensive legislation as that which is proposed in, for instance, H. R. 2743 or S. 1011. The committee may also consider it to be in line with the authority given the Chief of Engineers by Section 6 of the Flood Control Act of 1946 (Public Law 526, 79th Cong.) to make provision for educational facilities at various projects named in that act. The Bureau of the Budget has informed us that, while there is no objection to the submission of this report to your committee, "in view of the desirability of a general approach to the problem of education of children on Government reservations, * * * the enactment of special legislation for a particular locality, such as H. R. 4201 could not be considered to be in accord with the program of the President." In explanation of this position the Bureau of the Budget cites its report of January 26, 1948, to the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare on S. 1011, title I of which makes provision for the education of children residing on Federal reservations and other federally owned property with respect to which no taxes or payments in lieu of taxes are authorized. That report states: "The purpose of title I of S. 1011 is in accord with the President's program. In the absence of general legislation providing for payments in lieu of taxes where acquisition of property by the Federal Government has resulted in an excessive burden on local governments, title I would provide a practical solution to a portion of the problem. The personnel of several Federal agencies, such as the National Military Establishment, the Departments of Agriculture and Interior, and the Veterans' Administration, have in many cases been required to pay tuition for the education of their children in public schools because the Federal property on which they are living is not subject to State or local taxation or to payments in lieu of taxes. Title I would give to children residing on Federal property their rightful opportunity for a free public education without imposing special burdens upon the local communities. In establishing a general policy which applies to the children of employees of all Federal agencies concerned, title I offers a more equitable and workable solution than piecemeal grants of authority to individual agencies." Sincerely yours, OSCAR L. CHAPMAN, Acting Secretary of the Interior. FEBRUARY 2, 1948. Hon. RICHARD J. WELCH, Chairman, Committee on Public Lands, House of Representatives. DEAR MR. WELCH: Reference is made to your request for report on H. R. 4201, a bill to authorize payments to the public school district or districts serving the Fort Peck project, Montana, for the education of dependents of persons engaged on that project. Elementary schooling for children residing within the Government-owned and operated townsite of Fort Peck, Mont., is provided by School District 21, Valley County, Mont. Approximately 95 percent of the school pupils within the district are children of parents employed directly or indirectly by the Federal Government in the construction, maintenance, and operation of the Fort Peck project or serving the project. These parents reside within the Government-owned townsite, upon real property which is not subject to taxation by State or local agencies. However, approximately 80 percent of the school enrollment are dependents of persons residing in Fort Peck who are legal residents of Montana and are subject to and pay all State and county taxes. Twenty percent of the school enrollment are dependents of nonresident construction personnel engaged in construction of the Fort Peck project. The elementary school for District 21 is located in Fort Peck. The land and buildings therefor are owned by the United States and are leased to School District 21 for the nominal sum of $25 per annum. High school facilities, in an adjacent school district, and transportation thereto, are provided by the Valley County school authorities. It is understood that school district No. 21 has a budget deficit of $11,480 for the school year 1947-48, and is unable to obtain that amount from any State fund. The proposed legislation contemplates that the United States reimburse the school districts for its proportionate share of the entire cost of maintaining and operating facilities. In view of the fact that the United States is contributing the land, buildings, and some services to school district No. 21, and that 80 percent of the school enrollment are dependents of persons who are legal residents in the State of Montana, it is believed that such proposed apportionment of costs would be inequitable to the United States. |