I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 153
To establish certain requirements relating to the transfer or disposal of
public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and for
other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 6, 1999
Mr. HEFLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
A BILL
To establish certain requirements relating to the transfer
or disposal of public lands managed by the Bureau of
Land Management, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) the Bureau of Land Management presently
holds title to 1,800,000,000 acres of public land;
(2) much of this land is marginal in value and
left over from the 19th century;
(3) in many cases, the costs of maintaining and
surveying this land far exceed the actual value of
these parcels;
(4) the agency is presently facing a sizable
budget backlog which is hampering its ability to
properly manage all of this property;
(5) under the Federal Land Policy and Man-
agement Act of 1976, the Bureau is required to
identify public lands suitable for sale, exchange, or
transfer; and
(6) the transfer of some of these parcels could
effect budget savings and greater management effi-
ciencies for the Bureau.
SEC. 2. ACQUISITION OF LANDS BY THE BUREAU OF LAND
MANAGEMENT.
(a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided by section 3,
amounts appropriated or otherwise made available after
the date of the enactment of this Act may not be obligated
or expended by the Secretary of the Interior (hereafter in
this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) for the acquisition
of any lands or interests therein which are to be adminis-
tered by the Bureau of Land Management.
(b) ACQUISITION WITH DONATED FUNDS OR PRO-
CEEDS FROM THE SALE OF CERTAIN LANDS OR BY EX-
CHANGE.—After the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary may only acquire lands or interests therein
for administration by the Bureau of Land Management
by exchange, donation, or from amounts made available
from the Fund pursuant to section 3.
SEC. 3. BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LAND SALE AND
ACQUISITION FUND.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Bu-
reau of Land Management Land Sale and Acquisition
Fund (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Fund’’).
(b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Fund shall be adminis-
tered by the Secretary.
(c) DEPOSITS INTO FUND.—There shall be deposited
into the Fund—
(1) all amounts received by the Secretary from
the disposal of any lands or interests therein admin-
istered by the Bureau of Land Management; and
(2) all amounts received by the United States
by gift for acquisition of lands to be administered by
the Bureau of Land Management.
(d) EXPENDITURES FROM FUND.—Amounts may be
made available from the Fund for the acquisition of lands
or interests therein to be administered by the Bureau of
Land Management.
SEC. 4. INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE INCLUDED IN AN-
NUAL BUDGET REQUESTS RELATING TO THE
TRANSFER OR DISPOSAL OF PUBLIC LANDS.
Annual budget requests submitted by the Secretary
shall be accompanied by information as to whether the Bu-
reau of Land Management, through preparation of land-
use plans pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Man-
agement Act of 1976, has identified public lands which
are suitable for transfer to other management or for dis-
posal through exchange or otherwise, the transfer or dis-
posal of which have been delayed because of incomplete
surveys or other reasons. If enactment of additional legis-
lation would be desirable in order to facilitate the transfer
or disposal of public lands described in the request, the
Secretary may include a proposal for such additional legis-
lation in such request.
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