I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 934 
To convey certain submerged lands to the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands in order to give that territory the same benefits in 
its submerged lands as Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa 
have in their submerged lands. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 10, 2009 
Mr. SABLAN (for himself, Mr. FLAKE, and Ms. BORDALLO) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To convey certain submerged lands to the Commonwealth 
of the Northern Mariana Islands in order to give that 
territory the same benefits in its submerged lands as 
Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have 
in their submerged lands. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN SUBMERGED LANDS 
TO THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN 
MARIANA ISLANDS. 
The first section of Public Law 93–435 (48 U.S.C. 
1705) is amended— 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
06:42 Feb 11, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H934.IH
H934
jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
(1) in the second sentence of subsection (b), by 
inserting ‘‘the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar-
iana Islands,’’ after ‘‘Guam,’’ each place it appears; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(e)(1) Subject to valid existing rights, all right, title, 
and interest of the United States in lands permanently 
or periodically covered by tidal waters up to but not above 
the line of mean high tide and seaward to a line 3 geo-
graphical miles distant from the coastline of the territory 
of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 
(as modified before, on, or after the date of enactment 
of this subsection by accretion, erosion, or reliction, or in 
artificially made, filled in, or reclaimed lands that were 
formerly permanently or periodically covered by tidal wa-
ters) are conveyed to the Government of the Common-
wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to be adminis-
tered in trust for the benefit of the people of the Common-
wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 
‘‘(2) The conveyance shall be subject to subsections 
(b), (c), and (d) except that each reference to the ‘date 
of enactment of this Act’ in those clauses shall (for the 
purposes of this subsection) be considered to be a ref-
erence to the date of enactment of this subsection.’’. 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
06:42 Feb 11, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H934.IH
H934
jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF PUBLIC LAW 93–435. 
Public Law 93–435 (48 U.S.C. 1705 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 7. CONSISTENT APPLICATION. 
‘‘This Act is intended to be applied in a consistent 
manner to Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, 
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 
except to the extent that there is a specific and express 
exception in this Act regarding its application to one or 
more of these territories.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
06:42 Feb 11, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H934.IH
H934
jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS