H.R. 4284, Small Cemetery Conveyance Act

H.R. 4284 would amend the Small Tract Act of 1983 to allow the Department of Agriculture to convey, without consideration, National Forest System lands that are currently or were previously used as cemeteries. The land could be conveyed to state or local governments, Indian Tribes, or land grant-mercedes in New Mexico that have historic claims; the bill would require the land to be used as a cemetery. Under current law, the department may convey, for consideration, certain federal land currently authorized for cemetery use.

According to the Forest Service, 129 permitted cemeteries on National Forest System land would be eligible for conveyance without consideration under the bill. In total, the permits for those cemeteries generate receipts of less than $5,000 annually, which are recorded in the budget as reductions in direct spending. Under current law, the agency may collect and spend receipts generated from land conveyance and cemetery permits without further appropriations. CBO estimates that the resulting reduction in receipts and the associated spending would have a negligible effect on net direct spending over the 2026-2036 period.

Based on information from the Forest Service, CBO expects that the agency would convey a few parcels each year. The administrative cost of conveyance would depend on the characteristics of each parcel but would be less than $50,000 per parcel. On that basis, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4284 would cost $1 million over the 2026-2031 period; any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Emilia Oliva. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.