H. R. 2752
One Hundred Sixth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand
An Act
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to sell certain public land in Lincoln County
through a competitive process.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lincoln County Land Act of
2000’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) Lincoln County, Nevada, encompasses an area of 10,132
square miles of the State of Nevada;
(2) approximately 98 percent of the County is owned by
the Federal Government;
(3) the City of Mesquite, Nevada, needs land for an orga-
nized approach for expansion to the north;
(4) citizens of the County would benefit through enhanced
county services and schools from the increased private property
tax base due to commercial and residential development;
(5) the County would see improvement to the budget for
the county and school services through the immediate distribu-
tion of sale receipts from the Secretary selling land through
a competitive bidding process;
(6) a cooperative approach among the Bureau of Land
Management, the County, the City, and other local government
entities will ensure continuing communication between those
entities;
(7) the Federal Government will be fairly compensated
for the sale of public land; and
(8) the proposed Caliente Management Framework Amend-
ment and Environmental Impact Statement for the Manage-
ment of Desert Tortoise Habitat Plan identify specific public
land as being suitable for disposal.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to provide for the orderly disposal of certain public
land in the County; and
(2) to provide for the acquisition of environmentally sen-
sitive land in the State of Nevada.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) CITY.—The term ‘‘City’’ means the City of Mesquite,
Nevada.
H. R. 2752—2
(2) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means Lincoln County,
Nevada.
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(4) SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘special account’’ means
the account in the Treasury of the United States established
under section 5.
SEC. 4. DISPOSAL OF LAND.
(a) DISPOSAL.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the date
of the enactment of this Act, notwithstanding the land use
planning and land sale requirements contained in sections 202
and 203 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1711, 1712), the Secretary, in cooperation
with the County and the City, in accordance with this Act,
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), and other applicable law, and subject
to valid existing rights, shall dispose of the land described
in subsection (b) in a competitive bidding process, at a min-
imum, for fair market value.
(2) TIMING.—The Secretary shall dispose of—
(A) the land described in subsection (b)(1)(A) not later
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act;
and
(B) the land described in subsection (b)(1)(B) not later
than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) LAND DESCRIPTION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The land referred to in subsection (a)
is the land depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Public Lands Identi-
fied for Disposal in Lincoln County, Nevada’’ and dated July
24, 2000, consisting of—
(A) the land identified on the map for disposal within
1 year, comprising approximately 4,817 acres; and
(B) the land identified on the map for disposal within
5 years, comprising approximately 8,683 acres.
(2) MAP.—The map described in paragraph (1) shall be
available for public inspection in the Ely Field Office of the
Bureau of Land Management.
(c) SEGREGATION.—Subject to valid existing rights, the land
described in subsection (b) is segregated from all forms of entry
and appropriation (except for competitive sale) under the public
land laws, including the mining laws, and from operation of the
mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws.
(d) COMPLIANCE WITH LOCAL PLANNING AND ZONING.—The Sec-
retary shall ensure that qualified bidders intend to comply with—
(1) County and City zoning ordinances; and
(2) any master plan for the area developed and approved
by the County and City.
SEC. 5. DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.
(a) LAND SALES.—Of the gross proceeds of sales of land under
this Act in a fiscal year—
(1) 5 percent shall be paid directly to the State of Nevada
for use in the general education program of the State;
(2) 10 percent shall be returned to the County for use
as determined through normal county budgeting procedures,
with emphasis given to support of schools, of which no amount