II
Calendar No. 836
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2752
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
SEPTEMBER 27 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000
Received; read twice and placed on the calendar
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 Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
HR 2752 PCS
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 organized approach for expansion to the
north;
(4) citizens of the County would benefit through
enhanced county services and schools from the in-
creased 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 distribution 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 con-
tinuing communication between those entities;
HR 2752 PCS
(7) the Federal Government will be fairly com-
pensated for the sale of public land; and
(8) the proposed Caliente Management Frame-
work Amendment and Environmental Impact State-
ment for the Management of Desert Tortoise Habi-
tat Plan identify specific public land as being suit-
able 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 environ-
mentally sensitive land in the State of Nevada.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) CITY.—The term ‘‘City’’ means the City of
Mesquite, Nevada.
(2) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means Lin-
coln County, Nevada.
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of the Interior.
(4) SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘special ac-
count’’ means the account in the Treasury of the
United States established under section 5.
SEC. 4. DISPOSAL OF LAND.
(a) DISPOSAL.—
HR 2752 PCS
(1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after
the date of the enactment of this Act, notwith-
standing the land use planning and land sale re-
quirements 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 coopera-
tion with the County and the City, in accordance
with this Act, the Federal Land Policy and Manage-
ment 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 sub-
section (b) in a competitive bidding process, at a
minimum, 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 sub-
section (a) is the land depicted on the map entitled
‘‘Public Lands Identified for Disposal in Lincoln
HR 2752 PCS
County, Nevada’’ and dated July 24, 2000, con-
sisting of—
(A) the land identified on the map for dis-
posal within 1 year, comprising approximately
4,817 acres; and
(B) the land identified on the map for dis-
posal 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 geo-
thermal leasing laws.
(d) COMPLIANCE WITH LOCAL PLANNING AND ZON-
ING.—The Secretary shall ensure that qualified bidders in-
tend 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.