II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 518

To limit the acquisition by the United States of land located in a State

in which 25 percent or more of the land in that State is owned by

the United States, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 9 (legislative day, MARCH 6), 1995

Mr. THOMAS (for himself, Mr. NICKLES, Mr. HELMS, Mr. BURNS, Mr. LOTT,

Mr. STEVENS, and Mr. KYL) introduced the following bill; which was

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

A BILL

To limit the acquisition by the United States of land located

in a State in which 25 percent or more of the land

in that State is owned by the United States, 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 ‘‘No Net Loss of Private

5 Lands Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON ACQUISITION OF LAND.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other law,

3 the United States may acquire an interest in 100 or more

4 acres of land within a State described in subsection (c)

5 only if, before any such acquisition, the United States dis6 poses of the surface estate to land in that State in accord7 ance with subsection (b).

8 (b) DISPOSITION OF SURFACE ESTATE.—The dis9 position of the surface estate in land by the United States

10 qualifies for the purposes of this section if—

11 (1) the value of the surface estate of the land

12 disposed of by the United States is approximately

13 equal to the value of the interest in land subject to

14 this section that is to be acquired by the United

15 States, as determined by the head of the depart16 ment, agency, or independent establishment con17 cerned; and

18 (2) the head of the department, agency, or

19 independent establishment concerned certifies that

20 the United States has disposed of land for the pur21 pose of this section.

22 (c) AFFECTED STATES.—A State is described in this

23 section if—

24 (1) it is one of the States of the United States;

25 and
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1 (2) 25 percent or more of the land within that

2 State is owned by the United States.

3 (d) ACQUISITION.—For the purpose of this section,

4 the term ‘‘acquire’’ includes acquisition by donation, pur5 chase with donated or appropriated funds, exchange, de6 vise, and condemnation.

7 (e) APPLICABILITY.—This section does not apply

8 to—

9 (1) any land held in trust for the benefit of an

10 Indian tribe or individual or held by an Indian tribe

11 or individual subject to a restriction by the United

12 States against alienation;

13 (2) real property acquired pursuant to a fore14 closure under title 18, United States Code;

15 (3) real property acquired by any department,

16 agency, or independent establishment in its capacity

17 as a receiver, conserver, or liquidating agent which

18 is held by that department, agency, or independent

19 establishment in its capacity as a receiver, conserver,

20 or liquidating agent pending disposal;

21 (4) real property that is subject to seizure, levy,

22 or lien under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or

23 (5) real property that is securing a debt owed

24 to the United States.
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1 (e) WAIVER.—The head of a department, agency, or

2 instrumentality of the United States may waive the re3 quirements of this section with respect to the acquisition

4 of land by that department, agency, or instrumentality

5 during any period in which there is in effect a declaration

6 of war or a national emergency declared by the President.

Æ