I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8517 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Federal land in 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 23, 2024 

Mr. GOSAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain 

Federal land in Arizona 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 3,400 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 ‘‘BLM Arizona - La Paz County Land Convey9 ance Map’’ and dated June 29, 2023. 

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

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the planning re12 quirement of sections 202 and 203 of the Federal Land 

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

14 1713) and in accordance with this section and other appli15 cable law, as soon as practicable after receiving a request 

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

17 shall convey the Federal land to the County. 

18 (b) RESTRICTIONS ON CONVEYANCE.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The conveyance under sub20 section (a) shall be subject to— 

21 (A) valid existing rights; and 

22 (B) such terms and conditions as the Sec23 retary determines to be necessary. 

24 (2) EXCLUSION.—The Secretary shall exclude 

25 from the conveyance under subsection (a) any FedVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Jul 06, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8517.IH H8517

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1 eral land that contains significant cultural, environ2 mental, wildlife, or recreational resources. 

3 (c) PAYMENT OF FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The con4 veyance under subsection (a) shall be for the fair market 

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

6 (1) in accordance with the Federal Land Policy 

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

8 seq.); and 

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

10 accordance with— 

11 (A) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for 

12 Federal Land Acquisitions; and 

13 (B) the Uniform Standards of Professional 

14 Appraisal Practice. 

15 (d) PROTECTION OF TRIBAL CULTURAL ARTI16 FACTS.—As a condition of the conveyance under sub17 section (a), the County shall, and as a condition of any 

18 subsequent conveyance, any subsequent owner shall— 

19 (1) make good faith efforts to avoid disturbing 

20 Tribal artifacts; 

21 (2) minimize impacts on Tribal artifacts if they 

22 are disturbed; 

23 (3) coordinate with the Colorado River Indian 

24 Tribes Tribal Historic Preservation Office to identify 

25 artifacts of cultural and historic significance; and 


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1 (4) allow Tribal representatives to rebury un2 earthed artifacts at or near where they were discov3 ered. 

4 (e) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.— 

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

6 available for public inspection in the appropriate of7 fices of the Bureau of Land Management. 

8 (2) CORRECTIONS.—The Secretary and the 

9 County may, by mutual agreement— 

10 (A) make minor boundary adjustments to 

11 the Federal land to be conveyed under sub12 section (a); and 

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

14 an acreage estimate, or the description of the 

15 Federal land. 

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

17 from the operation of the mining and mineral leasing laws 

18 of the United States. 

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

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

21 (1) an amount equal to the appraised value de22 termined in accordance with subsection (c)(2); and 

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

24 all surveys, appraisals, and other administrative 


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1 costs associated with the conveyance of the Federal 

2 land to the County under subsection (a). 

3 (h) PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF LAND.—The pro4 ceeds from the sale of land under this section shall be— 

5 (1) deposited in the Federal Land Disposal Ac6 count established by section 206(a) of the Federal 

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

8 2305(a)); and 

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

10 2301 et seq.). 

Æ 


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