IB 
Union Calendar No. 826 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6682 
[Report No. 115–1060, Part I] 
To amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to improve 
the transparency and oversight of land conveyances involving disposal 
or acquisition of National Forest System lands or Bureau of Land 
Management public lands, to provide protections and certainty for private 
landowners related to resurveying such public lands, and for other pur-
poses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 28, 2018 
Mr. TIPTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
DECEMBER 3, 2018 
Reported by the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
DECEMBER 3, 2018 
Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the 
Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on August 28, 2018] 
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A BILL 
To amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976 to improve the transparency and oversight of 
land conveyances involving disposal or acquisition of Na-
tional Forest System lands or Bureau of Land Manage-
ment public lands, to provide protections and certainty 
for private landowners related to resurveying such public 
lands, and for other purposes. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protection and Trans-
parency for Adjacent Landowners Act’’. 
TITLE 
I—REQUIREMENTS 
FOR 
FOREST 
SERVICE 
AND 
BU-
REAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT 
LAND 
ACQUISITIONS 
AND 
CONVEYANCES 
SEC. 101. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR FOREST SERV-
ICE AND BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT 
LAND ACQUISITIONS AND CONVEYANCES. 
(a) NOTICE TO ADJACENT LANDOWNERS.— 
(1) LAND
ACQUISITIONS.—Section 205 of the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(43 U.S.C. 1715) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(f) NOTICE TO ADJACENT LANDOWNERS.—As part of 
the acquisition of a parcel of non-Federal lands under this 
section, section 206, or other applicable law that will be-
come public lands or National Forest System lands, the Sec-
retary or the Secretary of Agriculture, as the case may be, 
shall provide advance written notification to each owner of 
land that is adjacent to the parcel of land to be acquired. 
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To assist in identifying adjacent landowners, and to meet 
the requirements of this subsection, the Secretary concerned 
should use the most recently available property tax 
records.’’. 
(2) LAND
CONVEYANCES.—Section 208 of the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(43 U.S.C. 1718) is amended— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘(a) ISSUANCE OF PATENT 
AND OTHER CONVEYANCE DOCUMENTS.—’’ be-
fore the first sentence and ‘‘(b) OTHER TERMS 
AND CONDITIONS.—’’ before the second sentence; 
and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(c) NOTICE TO ADJACENT LANDOWNERS.—As part of 
the conveyance of a parcel of public lands or National For-
est System lands by sale, exchange, or other disposal method 
under section 203 or 206 or other applicable law, the Sec-
retary or the Secretary of Agriculture, as the case may be, 
shall provide advance written notification to each owner of 
land that is adjacent to the parcel of land to be conveyed. 
To assist in identifying adjacent landowners, and to meet 
the requirements of this subsection, the Secretary concerned 
should use the most recently available property tax 
records.’’. 
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(b) 
OVERSIGHT
OF
USE
OF
THIRD-PARTY 
FACILITATORS.— 
(1) ACQUISITION.—Section 205 of the Federal 
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
1715) is amended by inserting after subsection (f), as 
added by subsection (a)(1), the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(g) 
OVERSIGHT
OF
USE
OF
THIRD-PARTY 
FACILITATORS.—(1) If the acquisition process for a parcel 
of non-Federal lands under this section, section 206, or 
other applicable law that will become public lands or Na-
tional Forest System lands involves the use of a third-party 
facilitator, the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture, 
as the case may be, shall require, as a condition of the ap-
proval of the acquisition— 
‘‘(A) submission of all purchase contracts and re-
lated agreements held by the third-party facilitator 
related to the parcel to be acquired on written request 
by the appropriate official; 
‘‘(B) supervisor review of such purchase con-
tracts and related agreements, the purpose of the ac-
quisition, and other terms and conditions of the ac-
quisition; and 
‘‘(C) a clear statement to Bureau of Land Man-
agement and United States Forest Service employees 
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that the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture, as 
the case may be, has determined that all business in-
formation submitted under paragraphs (A), (B), and 
(C) of subsection (d) is confidential and all informa-
tion covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 
552a) will be protected to the extent allowed by law. 
‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘third-party 
facilitator’ means any entity (other than an agent of the 
United States) whose role in a real estate transaction is 
to assist the buyer or seller, or both, in reaching agreement 
in the transaction.’’. 
(2) LAND
CONVEYANCES.—Section 208 of the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(43 U.S.C. 1718) is amended by inserting after sub-
section (c), as added by subsection (a)(2), the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(d) 
OVERSIGHT
OF
USE
OF
THIRD-PARTY 
FACILITATORS.—(1) If the process by which a parcel of 
public lands or National Forest System lands will be con-
veyed by sale, exchange, or other disposal method under sec-
tion 203 or 206 or other applicable law, involves the use 
of a third-party facilitator, the Secretary or the Secretary 
of Agriculture, as the case may be, shall require, as a condi-
tion of the approval of the conveyance— 
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‘‘(A) submission of all purchase contracts and re-
lated agreements held by the third-party facilitator 
related to the Federal land to be conveyed on written 
request by the appropriate official; 
‘‘(B) submission to appraisers of contact infor-
mation for prospective end owners of the Federal land 
to be conveyed; 
‘‘(C) supervisor review of such purchase contracts 
and related agreements, the purpose of the convey-
ance, and other terms and conditions of the convey-
ance; and 
‘‘(D) a clear statement to Bureau of Land Man-
agement and United States Forest Service employees 
that the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture, as 
the case may be, has determined that all business in-
formation submitted under paragraphs (A), (B), and 
(C) of this subsection is confidential and all informa-
tion covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 
552a) will be protected to the extent allowed by law. 
‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘third-party 
facilitator’ means any entity (other than an agent of the 
United States) whose role in a real estate transaction is 
to assist the buyer or seller, or both, in reaching agreement 
in the transaction.’’. 
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in the Federal Register. Affected landowners may comment 
to the Secretary and by submitting formal comments to the 
Federal Register notice. 
SEC. 202. PROTECTION OF PERSONS. 
If a resurvey results in land previously thought to be 
privately owned to be reclassified as Federal land, the per-
sons thought to be a private owner of such land— 
(1) shall— 
(A) be given the right of first refusal to pur-
chase the land for fair market value minus the 
value of any significant improvements made to 
such lands; or 
(B) be reimbursed for the fair market value 
of any significant improvements made to such 
lands; and 
(2) may not be charged with willful trespass onto 
such land unless the person used such lands with the 
knowledge that the lands should be classified as Fed-
eral land. 
SEC. 203. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of this title: 
(1) RESURVEY.—The term ‘‘resurvey’’ means an 
official rerunning and remarking intended to super-
sede the records of the original survey. 
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Union Calendar No. 826 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6682 
[Report No. 115–1060, Part I] 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Land Policy and Manage-
ment Act of 1976 to improve the transparency 
and oversight of land conveyances involving dis-
posal or acquisition of National Forest System 
lands or Bureau of Land Management public 
lands, to provide protections and certainty for 
private landowners related to resurveying such 
public lands, and for other purposes. 
DECEMBER 3, 2018 
Reported by the Committee on Natural Resources with 
an amendment 
DECEMBER 3, 2018 
Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the 
Committee of the Whole House on the State of the 
Union and ordered to be printed 
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