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HR 837

Milton Eagles boys cross country team; winning the 2024 GHSA 5A Boys Cross Country State Championship; commend

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Brent Cox and 3 co-sponsors

The bill contains two distinct provisions: a ceremonial commendation for the Milton Eagles cross country team and a proposal to convey about 233 acres of Gila County’s Tonto Nation

House Read and Adopted
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Bill Summary · HR 837

Summary — H.R. 837

Overview

H.R. 837 is recorded as a House resolution titled “Milton Eagles boys cross country team; winning the 2024 GHSA 5A Boys Cross Country State Championship; commend.” The official bill record also contains, in multiple versions, text authorizing conveyance of a parcel of National Forest System land in the Tonto National Forest to Gila County, Arizona. The record therefore reflects two distinct subject matters appearing in different versions of the bill. Below are concise, separate summaries of each.

A. Commendation Resolution (primary classification: resolution)

  • Purpose and intent: To formally commend the Milton Eagles boys cross country team for winning the 2024 GHSA 5A Boys Cross Country State Championship and to extend best wishes for future success.
  • Key provisions:
    • Recognizes the team’s athletic achievement, character, academics, coaching (Head Coach Katie Bailey), and season performance.
    • Directs the Clerk of the House to prepare and make available an appropriate copy of the resolution for distribution to the team.
  • Who is affected: Symbolic recognition of the Milton Eagles boys cross country team and its coaches; no legal or budgetary effects.
  • Procedural status (from record):
    • Introduced: January 31, 2025.
    • Considered under suspension of the rules; passed the House by voice vote (February 5, 2025).
    • Placed on the Congratulatory & Memorial Resolutions Calendar, laid before the House, and adopted (May 23, 2025).
    • Sponsors listed: Elijah Crane, Matt Reeves, Charles Martin, Jan Jones, Brent Cox (primaries).

B. Gila County — Tonto National Forest Land Conveyance (text appearing in versions)

(Note: This text appears repeatedly in the bill versions and describes a statutory land conveyance; it is substantively different from the commendation resolution.)
- Purpose: Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (through the Forest Service) to convey a defined parcel of National Forest System land to Gila County, Arizona, for use serving veterans.
- Key provisions:
- Property: Approximately 232.9 acres shown as “Gila County Area” on the map titled “Pleasant Valley Admin Site Proposal,” dated September 23, 2021. Exact acreage to be fixed by a Secretary‑approved survey.
- Conditions for conveyance:
- County must submit a written request within 180 days of enactment.
- Conveyance by quitclaim deed, without consideration, and subject to valid existing rights.
- County must pay all conveyance costs (survey, environmental/resource analyses required by federal law, and analyses required under the National Historic Preservation Act).
- Secretary may correct minor map errors; copy of map to be on file in Forest Service offices.
- No covenant or warranty required from the Secretary (explicitly notwithstanding CERCLA §120(h)(3)(A)).
- Land must be used only for serving and supporting veterans of the Armed Forces.
- If used inconsistently, title may revert to the United States at the Secretary’s discretion.
- Who is affected: Gila County (recipient), the U.S. Forest Service, veterans’ programs in the county; potential impacts on public land management and local veterans’ services.
- Procedural note: The legislative actions list the measure as received in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (February 6, 2025), indicating that the conveyance text was at some point part of a version considered at the chamber-to-chamber stage.

Legislative status and related bill

  • Statuses recorded include House passage (voice vote), adoption (for the resolution), and Senate receipt and committee referral (for the conveyance language). The record also notes a companion bill S.700.
  • Because the bill record contains two different substantive texts, review of the enrolled/adopted text or official Congressional Record entry is recommended to determine which version was finally adopted or transmitted between chambers.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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