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104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3752

To preserve the sovereignty of the United States over public lands and

acquired lands owned by the United States, and to preserve State sovereignty and private property rights in non-Federal lands surrounding

those public lands and acquired lands.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 27, 1996

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To preserve the sovereignty of the United States over public

lands and acquired lands owned by the United States,

and to preserve State sovereignty and private property

rights in non-Federal lands surrounding those public

lands and acquired lands.

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 ‘‘American Land Sov5 ereignty Protection Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) The power to dispose of and make all need2 ful rules and regulations governing lands belonging

3 to the United States is vested in the Congress under

4 article IV, section 3, of the Constitution.

5 (2) Some Federal land designations made pur6 suant to international agreements concern land use

7 policies and regulations for lands belonging to the

8 United States which under article IV, section 3, of

9 the Constitution can only be implemented through

10 laws enacted by the Congress.

11 (3) Some international land designations, such

12 as those under the United States Biosphere Reserve

13 Program and the Man and Biosphere Program of

14 the United Nations Scientific, Educational, and Cul15 tural Organization, operate under independent na16 tional committees, such as the United States Na17 tional Man and Biosphere Committee, which have no

18 legislative directives or authorization from the Con19 gress.

20 (4) Actions by the United States in making

21 such designations may affect the use and value of

22 nearby or intermixed non-Federal lands.

23 (5) The sovereignty of the States is a critical

24 component of our Federal system of government and
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1 a bulwark against the unwise concentration of

2 power.

3 (6) Private property rights are essential for the

4 protection of freedom.

5 (7) Actions by the United States to designate

6 lands belonging to the United States pursuant to

7 international agreements in some cases conflict with

8 congressional constitutional responsibilities and

9 State sovereign capabilities.

10 (8) Actions by the President in applying certain

11 international agreements to lands owned by the

12 United States diminishes the authority of the Con13 gress to make rules and regulations respecting these

14 lands.

15 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are the fol16 lowing:

17 (1) To reaffirm the power of the Congress

18 under article IV, section 3, of the Constitution over

19 international agreements which concern disposal,

20 management, and use of lands belonging to the

21 United States.

22 (2) To protect State powers not reserved to the

23 Federal Government under the Constitution from

24 Federal actions designating lands pursuant to inter25 national agreements.
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1 (3) To ensure that no United States citizen suf2 fers any diminishment or loss of individual rights as

3 a result of Federal actions designating lands pursu4 ant to international agreements for purposes of im5 posing restrictions on use of those lands.

6 (4) To protect private interests in real property

7 from diminishment as a result of Federal actions

8 designating lands pursuant to international agree9 ments.

10 (5) To provide a process under which the

11 United States may, when desirable, designate lands

12 pursuant to international agreements.

13 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF CONGRESSIONAL ROLE IN

14 WORLD HERITAGE SITE LISTING.

15 Section 401 of the National Historic Preservation Act

16 Amendments of 1980 (Public Law 96–515; 94 Stat. 2987)

17 is amended—

18 (1) in subsection (a) in the first sentence, by—

19 (A) inserting ‘‘(in this section referred to

20 as the ‘Convention’)’’ after ‘‘1973’’; and

21 (B) inserting ‘‘and subject to subsections

22 (b), (c), (d), and (e)’’ before the period at the

23 end; and

24 (2) adding at the end the following new sub25 sections:
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1 ‘‘(d) The Secretary of the Interior shall not nominate

2 any lands owned by the United States for inclusion on the

3 World Heritage List pursuant to the Convention unless

4 such nomination is specifically authorized by a law enacted

5 after the date of enactment of the American Land Sov6 ereignty Protection Act of 1996. The President may from

7 time to time submit to the Speaker of the House and the

8 President of the Senate proposals for legislation authoriz9 ing such a nomination.

10 ‘‘(e) The Secretary of the Interior shall object to the

11 inclusion of any property in the United States on the list

12 of World Heritage in Danger established under Article

13 11.4 of the Convention unless—

14 ‘‘(1) the Secretary has submitted to the Speak15 er of the House and the President of the Senate a

16 report describing the necessity for including that

17 property on the list; and

18 ‘‘(2) the Secretary is specifically authorized to

19 assent to the inclusion of the property on the list,

20 by a joint resolution of the Congress enacted after

21 the date that report is submitted.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION AND TERMINATION OF UNITED

2 NATIONS BIOSPHERE RESERVES.

3 Title IV of the National Historic Preservation Act

4 Amendments of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 470a–1 et seq.) is

5 amended by adding at the end the following new section:

6 ‘‘SEC. 403. (a) No Federal official may nominate any

7 lands in the United States for designation as a Biosphere

8 Reserve under the Man and Biosphere Program of the

9 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Or10 ganization.

11 ‘‘(b) Any designation of an area in the United States

12 as a Biosphere Reserve under the Man and Biosphere Pro13 gram of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and

14 Cultural Organization shall not have, and shall not be

15 given, any force or effect, unless the Biosphere Reserve—

16 ‘‘(1) is specifically authorized by a law enacted

17 after the date of enactment of the American Land

18 Sovereignty Protection Act of 1996 and before De19 cember 31, 1999;

20 ‘‘(2) consists solely of lands that on the date of

21 that enactment are owned by the United States; and

22 ‘‘(3) is subject to a management plan that spe23 cifically ensures that the use of intermixed or adja24 cent non-Federal property is not limited or restricted

25 as a result of that designation.’’.
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1 SEC. 5. INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS IN GENERAL.

2 Title IV of the National Historic Preservation Act

3 Amendments of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 470a–1 et seq.) is fur4 ther amended by adding at the end the following new sec5 tion:

6 ‘‘SEC. 404. (a) no Federal official may nominate,

7 classify, or designate any lands owned by the United

8 States and located within the United States for a special

9 or restricted use under any international agreement unless

10 such nomination, classification, or designation is specifi11 cally authorized by law. The President may from time to

12 time submit to the Speaker of the House of Representa13 tives and the President of the Senate proposals for legisla14 tion authorizing such a nomination, classification, or des15 ignation.

16 ‘‘(b) A nomination, classification, or designation of

17 lands owned by a State or local government, under any

18 international agreement shall have no force or effect un19 less the nomination, classification, or designation is spe20 cifically authorized by a law enacted by the State or local

21 government, respectively.

22 ‘‘(c) A nomination, classification, or designation of

23 privately owned lands under any international agreement

24 shall have no force or effect without the written consent

25 of the owner of the lands.
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1 ‘‘(d) In this section, the term ‘international agree2 ment’ means any treaty, compact, executive agreement,

3 convention, or bilateral agreement between the United

4 States or any agency of the United States and any foreign

5 entity or agency of any foreign entity, having a primary

6 purpose of conserving, preserving, or protecting the terres7 trial or marine environment, flora, or fauna.’’.

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