I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1235 

To limit the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary 

of the Interior to acquire land located in a State in which 25 percent 

or more of all land in the State is already owned by the United States, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 10, 2005 

Mr. FLAKE (for himself, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. CANNON, Mr. DUNCAN, 

Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. OTTER, Mrs. MUSGRAVE, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. 

TANCREDO, and Mr. DOOLITTLE) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL 

To limit the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture and 

the Secretary of the Interior to acquire land located 

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

in the State is already 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 Land Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON FEDERAL ACQUISITION OF LAND IN 

2 CERTAIN STATES. 

3 (a) ACQUISITION LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding any 

4 other provision of law, in the case of a State described 

5 in subsection (c), the Secretary of Agriculture and the 

6 Secretary of the Interior may acquire an interest in a par7 cel of land consisting of 100 or more acres in the State 

8 on behalf of the United States only if, before the acquisi9 tion of such interest, all right, title, and interest of the 

10 United States in the surface estate of another parcel of 

11 land in the State is conveyed in accordance with sub12 section (b). The Secretary concerned may not divide a par13 cel of land consisting of 100 or more acres into smaller 

14 parcels to avoid the requirements of this subsection. 

15 (b) CONDITIONS ON CONVEYANCE OF SURFACE ES16 TATE.—To qualify as a conveyance of the surface estate 

17 of a parcel of Federal land for purposes of subsection (a), 

18 the Secretary concerned shall certify to Congress that— 

19 (1) the conveyance was made for the purpose of 

20 complying with the requirements of subsection (a); 

21 and 

22 (2) the value of the surface estate of the con23 veyed Federal land is approximately equal to the 

24 value of the interest in land to be acquired by the 

25 Secretary concerned, as determined by the Secretary 

26 concerned. 
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1 (c) COVERED STATES.—Subsection (a) applies with 

2 respect each of the several States in which 25 percent or 

3 more of all land in the State is owned by the United 

4 States. 

5 (d) EXCEPTIONS.—This section does not apply to the 

6 acquisition of the following land: 

7 (1) Land to be held in trust for the benefit of 

8 an Indian tribe or individual or to be held by an In9 dian tribe or individual subject to a restriction by 

10 the United States against alienation. 

11 (2) Land acquired pursuant to a land exchange 

12 specifically authorized or required by an Act of Con13 gress. 

14 (3) Land acquired pursuant to a foreclosure 

15 under title 18, United States Code. 

16 (4) Land acquired by the United States in its 

17 capacity as a receiver, conserver, or liquidating 

18 agent and held by the United States in its capacity 

19 as a receiver, conserver, or liquidating agent pending 

20 disposal. 

21 (5) Land that is subject to seizure, levy, or lien 

22 under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

23 (6) Land that is securing a debt owed to the 

24 United States. 

25 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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1 (1) The term ‘‘acquire’’ includes acquisition by 

2 donation, purchase with donated or appropriated 

3 funds, exchange, devise, and condemnation. 

4 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means the 

5 Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the In6 terior. 

7 (f) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary concerned 

8 may waive the requirements of subsection (a) with respect 

9 to the acquisition of a particular parcel of land by the Sec10 retary concerned during any period in which there is in 

11 effect a declaration of war or a national emergency de12 clared by the President and the Secretary concerned cer13 tifies to Congress that the land acquisition is necessary 

14 as part of the United States response to the war or na15 tional emergency. 

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