IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3954 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 18, 2010 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

and Forestry 

AN ACT 

To release Federal reversionary interests retained on certain 

lands acquired in the State of Florida under the 

Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, to authorize the 

interchange of National Forest System land and State 

land in Florida, to authorize an additional conveyance 

under the Florida National Forest Land Management 

Act of 2003, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Florida National For5 est Land Adjustment Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RELEASE OF DEED RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN 

7 LANDS ACQUIRED UNDER THE BANKHEAD8 JONES FARM TENANT ACT IN FLORIDA. 

9 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

10 (1) Certain lands in the State of Florida were 

11 conveyed by the United States to the State under 

12 the authority of section 32(c) of the Bankhead-Jones 

13 Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1011(c)), and now are 

14 part of the Blackwater River and Withlacoochee 

15 State Forests. 

16 (2) The lands were conveyed to the State sub17 ject to deed restrictions that the lands could be only 

18 used for public purposes. 

19 (3) The deed restrictions impede the ability of 

20 the State to remedy boundary and encroachment 

21 problems involving the lands. 

22 (4) The release of the deed restrictions by the 

23 Secretary of Agriculture (hereafter referred to as the 

24 ‘‘Secretary’’) will further the purposes for which the 

25 lands are being managed as State forests and will 


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1 alleviate future Federal responsibilities with respect 

2 to the lands. 

3 (b) RELEASE REQUIRED.—Subject to valid existing 

4 rights, and such reservations as the Secretary considers 

5 to be in the public interest, the Secretary shall release, 

6 convey, and quitclaim to the State of Florida, without 

7 monetary consideration, all rights, title, and remaining in8 terest of the United States in and to those lands within 

9 or adjacent to the Blackwater River and Withlacoochee 

10 State Forests that were conveyed to the State under the 

11 authority of section 32(c) of the Bankhead-Jones Farm 

12 Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1011(c)) or under any other law 

13 authorizing conveyance subject to restrictions or rever14 sionary interests retained by the United States. 

15 (c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The conveyances au16 thorized by subjection (b) are subject to the following 

17 terms and conditions: 

18 (1) The State shall cover or reimburse the Sec19 retary for reasonable costs incurred by the Secretary 

20 to make the conveyances, including title searches, 

21 surveys, deed preparation, attorneys’ fees, and simi22 lar expenses. The Secretary may not seek reimburse23 ment for administrative overhead costs. 

24 (2) By accepting the conveyances authorized by 

25 this section, the State agrees— 


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1 (A) that all net proceeds from any sale, ex2 change, or other disposition of the real property 

3 subject to deed restrictions shall be used by the 

4 State for the acquisition of lands or interests in 

5 lands within or adjacent to units of the state 

6 forest and park systems; 

7 (B) to affirmatively address and resolve 

8 boundary encroachments in accordance with 

9 State law for the affected State forests; and 

10 (C) to indemnify and hold the United 

11 States harmless with regard to any boundary 

12 disputes related to any parcel released under 

13 this section. 

14 SEC. 3. INTERCHANGE INVOLVING NATIONAL FOREST SYS15 TEM LAND AND STATE LAND IN FLORIDA. 

16 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

17 (1) There are intermingled Federal and State 

18 lands within units of the National Forest System in 

19 Florida that are of comparable quantity and quality 

20 and of approximately equal value. 

21 (2) Interchanging these lands would be in the 

22 public interest by facilitating more efficient public 

23 land management. 

24 (b) APPROXIMATELY EQUAL VALUE DEFINED.—In 

25 this section, the term ‘‘approximately equal value’’ means 


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1 a comparative estimate of the value between lands to be 

2 interchanged, regarding which, without the necessity of an 

3 appraisal, the elements of value, such as physical charac4 teristics and other amenities, are readily apparent and 

5 substantially similar. 

6 (c) LAND INTERCHANGE AUTHORIZED.— 

7 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to valid existing 

8 rights, if the State of Florida offers to convey to the 

9 United States those State lands designated for inter10 change on the two maps entitled ‘‘State of Florida— 

11 U.S. Forest Service Interchange—January, 2009’’ 

12 and title to such lands is otherwise acceptable to the 

13 Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary shall convey 

14 and quitclaim to the State those National Forest 

15 System lands in the Ocala National Forest and the 

16 Apalachicola National Forest designated for inter17 change on the maps. 

18 (2) MAPS.—The maps referenced in paragraph 

19 (1) shall be available for public inspection in the of20 fice of the Chief of the Forest Service and in the of21 fice of the Supervisor of the National Forests in 

22 Florida for a period of at least 5 years after comple23 tion of the land interchanges authorized by this sec24 tion. 


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1 (d) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Any land interchange 

2 under this section shall be subject to such reservations and 

3 rights-of-way as may be mutually acceptable to the Sec4 retary and the authorized officer of the State. 

5 (e) REPLACEMENT LAND.—In the event that any of 

6 the designated lands are in whole or part found to be un7 acceptable for interchange under this section due to title 

8 deficiencies, survey problems, the existence of hazardous 

9 materials, or for any other reason, the Secretary and the 

10 authorized officer of the State may substitute or modify 

11 the lands to be interchanged insofar as it is mutually 

12 agreed that the lands are of comparable quality and ap13 proximately equal value. 

14 SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL LAND DISPOSAL UNDER FLORIDA NA15 TIONAL FOREST LAND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 

16 2003. 

17 (a) DISPOSAL AUTHORIZED.—In accordance with the 

18 provisions of the Florida National Forest Land Manage19 ment Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–152; 117 Stat. 1919), 

20 the Secretary of Agriculture may convey, by means of sale 

21 or exchange, all right, title, and interest of the United 

22 States in and to a parcel of land comprising approximately 

23 114 acres, located within Township 1 South, Range 1 

24 West, section 25, Leon County, Florida, and designated 

25 as tract W–1979. 


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1 (b) USE OF PROCEEDS.— 

2 (1) TRACT W–1979.—The Secretary shall use 

3 the proceeds derived from any sale of tract W–1979, 

4 as authorized by subsection (a), only— 

5 (A) to acquire lands and interests in land 

6 for inclusion in the Apalachicola National For7 est; and 

8 (B) to cover the disposal costs incurred by 

9 the Secretary to carry out the sale of such 

10 tract. 

11 (2) CERTAIN OTHER TRACTS.—With respect to 

12 tract A–943, tract A–944, and tract C–2210, as de13 scribed in paragraphs (5), (6), and (16) of sub14 section (b) of section 3 of the Florida National For15 est Land Management Act of 2003 and authorized 

16 for sale by subsection (a) of such section, being 

17 lands having permanent improvements and infra18 structure, the Secretary may use the net proceeds 

19 derived from any sale of such tracts to acquire, con20 struct, or maintain administrative improvements for 

21 units of the National Forest System in Florida. 

22 SEC. 5. REQUIRED DESIGNATION IN PAYGO ACTS. 

23 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

24 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 

25 (Public Law 111–39; 124 Stat. 8), shall be determined 


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1 by reference to the latest statement titled ‘‘Budgetary Ef2 fects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this Act, submitted for 

3 printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of 

4 the House Budget Committee, provided that such state5 ment has been submitted prior to the vote on passage. 

Passed the House of Representatives March 17, 

2010. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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