STATE OF FLORIDA, County of Dade, City of Miami: I, Frank J. Kelly, as city clerk of the city of Miami, Fla., do hereby certify that the foregoing and attached pages numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, contain a true and correct copy of a resolution passed and adopted by the commission of the city of Miami, Fla., under date of September 20, 1939, and known as Resolution No. 15635. Witness my hand and the eal of the city of Miami, Fla., this 20th day of September A. D. 1939. FRANK J. KELLY, as City Clerk. RESOLUTION No. 16087 A RESOLUTION DELETING PARAGRAPHS TWO AND THREE SHOWN ON PAGES THREE AND FOUR OF RESOLUTION NO. 15635 PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THIS COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 20, 1939 Whereas under city commission Resolution No. 15635, the city of Miami offered to deed to the United States Government certain lands in the vicinity of Opa Locka, Fla., for Naval Reserve aviation purposes; and Whereas hearings are now being held by the United States Naval Affairs Committee at Washington, of which Congressman Pat Cannon is a member; and Whereas Congressman Cannon has reported that the committee, before submitting the bill to Congress for acceptance, has requested that paragraphs two (2) and three (3) shown on pages three (3) and four (4) of the original resolution should be deleted: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the commission of the city of Miami, That this commission does hereby delete and strike out said paragraphs two (2) and three (3) of Resolution No. 15635 worded as follows: "2. All buildings, fences, and improvements on the land covered by this deed at the time of its execution and delivery, except only those which were constructed and placed thereon by the grantee herein, shall be subject to removal at any time by the grantor and express right of ingress and egress for this purpose is reserved by the grantor. "3. The grantor also reserves the right to occupy and to use any buildings now located on the lands covered by this instrument which were erected or constructed by the grantor until the time when the grantee may wish to improve, occupy, or use the area on which such buildings are situated, at which time the grantor shall have the right to remove any and all such buildings, and indeed must remove them then or suffer their destruction by the grantee herein." Be it further resolved, That copies of this resolution be forwarded immediately to Congressman Pat Cannon for presentation to the Naval Affairs Committee. Passed and adopted this 5th day of April A. D. 1940. STATE OF FLORIDA, County of Dade, City of Miami: I, Frank J. Kelly, clerk of the city of Miami, Fla., hereby certify that the attached page contains a true and correct copy of a resolution adopted by the commission of said city at a meeting held on April 5, 1940, designated Resolution No. 16087. Witness my hand and the official seal of said city of Miami, Fla., this 6th day of April A. D. 1940. [SEAL] FRANK J. KELLY, City Clerk. Most of the land, about 940 acres, it is proposed to grant to the United States is now, and has been for a number of years, used and occupied by the Navy Department as a Naval Reserve aviation base under lease from the city of Miami, Fla. In addition to using this base as a place for the training of Naval Reserve aviation squadrons, it is used by the Navy Department for the preliminary training of aviation cadets selected from the southeastern section of the United States, which extends from North Carolina to the south and to the west as far as Texas. Not only will this base be used by the Naval Reserve aviation units, but it will also be of great value to the Navy and to the national defense as a supplement to the aviation training facilities at Pensacola, Fla. The objections of the Navy Department to some of the conditions in the original resolution adopted by the commission of the city of Miami have been met by the amending resolution of the commission; therefore, the amendment recommended in the Department's letter is not now necessary. The Navy Department favors the enactment of this proposed legislation as indicated in the letter from the Acting Secretary of the Navy to the chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs of the House of Representatives which is hereby made a part of this report: The CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON NAVAL AFFAIRS, NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, February 12, 1940. House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The bill (H. R. 7543) to authorize the Secretary of the Navy to accept real estate granted to the United States by the city of Miami, Fla., and for other purposes, was referred to the Navy Department by your committee with a request for its views and recommendations. The land described in the resolution mentioned in this bill comprises 1,284 acres, more or less. Most of this area, or 941.09 acres, is now, and has been for a number of years, used and occupied by the Navy Department as a Naval Reserve aviation base and mooring-mast site under leases from the city of Miami. The Government pays an annual rental of $3,600 for 221.09 acres of this land and the remaining 720 acres is leased for the nominal sum of $1 per annum. It is believed to be in the interests of the national defense that additional permanent facilities be established to supplement the aviation training facilities at Pensacola, Fla., and the site proposed in this bill is recognized as the most suitable site available for this purpose. In view of the fact that substantial improvements already have been constructed by the Navy Department on the area now held under lease, the cost of developing the proposed permanent site as compared with other potential sites would be relatively reduced. The resolution mentioned in this bill authorizes the city manager and city clerk to execute to the United States a deed substantially in compliance with the terms of a deed which is incorporated in full therein. It may become necessary in the interests of the naval service that certain changes be made in some of the conditions or reservations now contained in the deed. These may or may not affect the substance of the deed, but it is considered desirable that the bill be amended by adding at the end thereof the following language: "or as may hereafter be amended, provided such amendments meet the approval of the Secretary of the Navy." The enactment of the bill as so amended is recommended. LEWIS COMPTON, Acting S. Repts.. 76–3, vol. 3 О MAY 24 (legislative day, APRIL 24), 1940.-Ordered to be printed Mr. O'MAHONEY, from the Committee on Public Lands and Surveys, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany S. 2915] The Committee on Public Lands and Surveys, having considered the bill (S. 2915) relating to rentals in certain oil and gas leases issued under the authority of the act of February 25, 1920, as amended, and for other purposes, report the same with an amendment and recommend that the bill as thus amended be passed. Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the following: That the Secretary of the Interior, in the case of lands not within any known geologic structure of a productive oil or gas field, shall waive the rentals stipulated in oil and gas leases issued pursuant to section 17 of the Act of February 25, 1920, as amended by the Act of August 21, 1935 (49 Stat. 674), for the second and third lease years, unless a valuable deposit of oil or gas be sooner discovered. The above amendment is suggested by the Secretary of the Interior and although it does not accomplish all of the purposes of the original bill, it has been accepted by the committee. As introduced, the bill provided for the waiver of rentals for the second and third lease years of all oil or gas leases not within any known geologic structure of a productive oil or gas field; eliminated the present requirement of a rental bond during the first 3 years of any such lease, but retained the present requirement for a drilling bond. The waiver of rentals under the bill would have extended to leases issued under section 13 of the Leasing Act in exchange for prospecting permits, as well as to original leases under section 17 of the said act. The Department of the Interior disapproved the inclusion of exchange leases on the ground that no rentals are required under the present law for such leases during the first 2 years. The Department also disapproved the provision eliminating the requirement of a rental bond inasmuch as after the introduction of the bill on July 28, 1939, the Department, by regulation, has provided that the filing of a $1,000 lease bond will not be required so long as the annual rental under a lease is paid 90 days in advance of its due date. The bill, as modified by the recommendation of the Department of the Interior, waives the rental for the second and third lease years of all leases issued under section 17 of the Leasing Act on lands not within any known geologic structure of a productive oil or gas field. The report of the Secretary follows: Hon. ALVA B. ADAMS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Chairman, Committee on Public Lands and Surveys, United States Senate. MY DEAR SENATOR ADAMS: You have submitted for a report on the bill a copy of S. 2915, entitled "A bill relating to rentals in certain oil and gas leases issued under authority of the act of February 25, 1920, as amended, and for other purposes." The bill provides that the rental stipulated in oil and gas leases issued subsequent to the act of August 21, 1935 (49 Stat. 674), for lands not within any known geological structure of a producing field shall be waived for the second and third lease years, and that no bond shall be required for the first 3 years of such leases except where otherwise provided by law and except that a bond shall be required before permission to drill under the lease is granted. Certain changes should be made in the bill as hereinafter recommended, and if so amended I will interpose no objection to its enactment. The amendatory act of August 21, 1935, provides for the payment in advance by the lessee of a rental to be fixed in the lease of not less than 25 cents per acre per annum. The regulations under this act (Circular 1386), prescribe a rental of 50 cents per acre for the first year, payable prior to the issuance of the lease, and for the succeeding lease years 25 cents per acre until oil or gas in commercial quantities is discovered. Thereafter, the rental is $1 per acre, any rental paid for any 1 year to be credited against the royalties as they accrue for that year. The lessee must furnish prior to the beginning of drilling operations and thereafter maintain a $5,000 lease bond, and the regulations originally provided that until such bond was filed, he must submit and maintain a bond in the sum of $1,000 conditioned upon compliance with the terms of the lease. However, under a regulation approved November 27, 1939 (Circular 1464), the lessee will not be required to furnish the $1,000 lease bond before the lease is issued, and he may defer the filing of such bond so long as the annual rental under the lease is paid 90 days in advance of its due date. Since a lessee may, by paying the rental in advance, hold the lease without bond until he desires to commence drilling, the provision of the bill to exempt the lessee from furnishing the bond for the first 3 years of the lease appears to be unnecessary. Under the bill the lessee would pay only 50 cents per acre rental in the first 3 years of the lease, whereas under present law and regulations, a total rental of $1 per acre is required for those years. However, the initial payment of 50 cents per acre would appear to be sufficient in amount to discourage generally the filing of applications for the purpose of speculating in the leases, and this reduction in the amount of rental under each lease will in all probability be more than compensated by the rentals received from the increased acreage that will be leased because of the lower rental requirement. While the amount of rental now required is of little significance when compared to the cost of drilling a well under the lease, the general view seems to be that it is higher than shou.d be charged for the class of public lands for which such leases may under the law be obtained. Although I am not convinced that such a view is justified, inasmuch as the policies embodied in the amendatory act of August 21, 1935, and the objectives attained under that act, will remain unaffected, I will not oppose the proposed reduction of rentals. Leases issued under section 13 of the Leasing Act as amended by the act of August 31, 1935, in exchange for prospecting permits, are free of rental for the first two lease years. Clearly, the proposed waiver of rentals should not apply to such leases, but the provisions of the bill should be made applicable only to those leases issued under section 17 of the Leasing Act as amended for lands not within any known geologic structure of a producing oil or gas field. |