II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 528 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain land to La 

Paz County, Arizona, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 2 (legislative day, MARCH 1), 2021 

Ms. SINEMA (for herself and Mr. KELLY) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain 

land to La Paz County, Arizona, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘La Paz County Solar 

5 Energy and Job Creation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means La 

9 Paz County, Arizona. 


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1 (2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

2 means the approximately 4,800 acres of land man3 aged by the Bureau of Land Management and des4 ignated as ‘‘Federal Land To Be Conveyed’’ on the 

5 map. 

6 (3) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map 

7 prepared by the Bureau of Land Management enti8 tled ‘‘La Paz County Land Conveyance Map’’ and 

9 dated June 19, 2020. 

10 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of the Interior. 

12 SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE TO LA PAZ COUNTY, ARIZONA. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the planning re14 quirement of sections 202 and 203 of the Federal Land 

15 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712, 

16 1713) and in accordance with this section and other appli17 cable law, as soon as practicable after receiving a request 

18 from the County to convey the Federal land, the Secretary 

19 shall convey the Federal land to the County. 

20 (b) RESTRICTIONS ON CONVEYANCE.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The conveyance under sub22 section (a) shall be subject to— 

23 (A) valid existing rights; and 

24 (B) such terms and conditions as the Sec25 retary determines to be necessary. 


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1 (2) EXCLUSION.—The Secretary shall exclude 

2 from the conveyance under subsection (a) any Fed3 eral land that contains significant cultural, environ4 mental, wildlife, or recreational resources. 

5 (c) PAYMENT OF FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The con6 veyance under subsection (a) shall be for the fair market 

7 value of the Federal land to be conveyed, as determined— 

8 (1) in accordance with the Federal Land Policy 

9 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 

10 seq.); and 

11 (2) based on an appraisal that is conducted in 

12 accordance with— 

13 (A) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for 

14 Federal Land Acquisitions; and 

15 (B) the Uniform Standards of Professional 

16 Appraisal Practice. 

17 (d) PROTECTION OF TRIBAL CULTURAL ARTI18 FACTS.—As a condition of the conveyance under sub19 section (a), the County shall, and as a condition of any 

20 subsequent conveyance, any subsequent owner shall— 

21 (1) make good faith efforts to avoid disturbing 

22 Tribal artifacts; 

23 (2) minimize impacts on Tribal artifacts if the 

24 artifacts are disturbed; 


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1 (3) coordinate with the Colorado River Indian 

2 Tribes Tribal Historic Preservation Office to identify 

3 artifacts of cultural and historic significance; and 

4 (4) allow Tribal representatives to rebury un5 earthed artifacts at or near where the artifacts were 

6 discovered. 

7 (e) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The map shall be on file and 

9 available for public inspection in the appropriate of10 fices of the Bureau of Land Management. 

11 (2) CORRECTIONS.—The Secretary and the 

12 County may, by mutual agreement— 

13 (A) make minor boundary adjustments to 

14 the Federal land to be conveyed under sub15 section (a); and 

16 (B) correct any minor errors in the map, 

17 an acreage estimate, or the description of the 

18 Federal land. 

19 (f) WITHDRAWAL.—The Federal land is withdrawn 

20 from the operation of the mining and mineral leasing laws 

21 of the United States. 

22 (g) COSTS.—As a condition of the conveyance of the 

23 Federal land under subsection (a), the County shall pay— 

24 (1) an amount equal to the appraised value de25 termined in accordance with subsection (c)(2); and 


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1 (2) all costs related to the conveyance, including 

2 all surveys, appraisals, and other administrative 

3 costs associated with the conveyance of the Federal 

4 land to the County under subsection (a). 

5 (h) PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF LAND.—The pro6 ceeds from the sale of land under this section shall be— 

7 (1) deposited in the Federal Land Disposal Ac8 count established by section 206(a) of the Federal 

9 Land Transaction Facilitation Act (43 U.S.C. 

10 2305(a)); and 

11 (2) used in accordance with that Act (43 U.S.C. 

12 2301 et seq.). 

Æ 


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