IB
Union Calendar No. 502
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2752
[Report No. 106–847]
To give Lincoln County, Nevada, the right to purchase at fair market value
certain public land located within that county, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 5, 1999
Mr. GIBBONS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
SEPTEMBER 14, 2000
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House
on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on August 5, 1999]
A BILL
To give Lincoln County, Nevada, the right to purchase at
fair market value certain public land located within that
county, 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. 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 Sec-
retary 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 com-
munication between those entities;
(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 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 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.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after
the date of enactment of this Act, notwithstanding the
land use planning and land sale requirements con-
tained 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 de-
scribed in subsection (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
enactment of this Act; and
(B) the land described in subsection
(b)(1)(B) not later than 5 years after the date of
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
County, Nevada’’ and dated July 24, 2000, consisting
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.
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 budg-
eting procedures, with emphasis given to support of
schools, of which no amount may be used in support
of litigation against the Federal Government; and
(3) the remainder shall be deposited in a special
account in the Treasury of the United States (referred
to in this section as the ‘‘special account’’) for use as
provided in subsection (b).
(b) AVAILABILITY OF SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the special ac-
count (including amounts earned as interest under
paragraph (3)) shall be available to the Secretary of
the Interior, without further Act of appropriation,
and shall remain available until expended, for—
(A) inventory, evaluation, protection, and
management of unique archaeological resources
(as defined in section 3 of the Archaeological Re-
sources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C.
470bb)) in the County;
(B) development of a multispecies habitat
conservation plan in the County;
(C)(i) reimbursement of costs incurred by
the Nevada State Office and the Ely Field Office
of the Bureau of Land Management in preparing
sales under this Act, or other authorized land
sales within the County, including the costs of
land boundary surveys, compliance with the Na-
tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), appraisals, environmental
and cultural clearances, and any public notice;
and
(ii) processing public land use authoriza-
tions and rights-of-way stemming from develop-
ment of the conveyed land; and
(D) the cost of acquisition of environ-
mentally sensitive land or interests in such land
in the State of Nevada, with priority given to
land outside Clark County.
(2) ACQUISITION FROM WILLING SELLERS.—An
acquisition under paragraph (1)(D) shall be made
only from a willing seller and after consultation with
the State of Nevada and units of local government
under the jurisdiction of which the environmentally
sensitive land is located.
(c) INVESTMENT OF SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—All funds de-
posited as principal in the special account shall earn inter-
est in the amount determined by the Secretary of the Treas-
ury on the basis of the current average market yield on out-
standing marketable obligations of the United States of
comparable maturities.
SEC. 6. ACQUISITIONS.
(a) DEFINITION
OF ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE
LAND.—In this section, the term ‘‘environmentally sensitive
land’’ means land or an interest in land, the acquisition
of which by the United States would, in the judgment of
the Secretary—
(1) promote the preservation of natural, sci-
entific, aesthetic, historical, cultural, watershed, wild-
life, and other values contributing to public enjoy-
ment and biological diversity;
(2) enhance recreational opportunities and pub-
lic access;
(3) provide the opportunity to achieve better
management of public land through consolidation of
Federal ownership; or
(4) otherwise serve the public interest.
(b) ACQUISITIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—After the consultation process
has been completed in accordance with subsection (c),
the Secretary may acquire with the proceeds of the
special account environmentally sensitive land and
interests in environmentally sensitive land. Land
may not be acquired under this section without the
consent of the landowner.
(2) USE OF OTHER FUNDS.—Funds made avail-
able from the special account may be used with any
other funds made available under any other provision
of law.
(c) CONSULTATION.—Before initiating efforts to ac-
quire land under this subsection, the Secretary shall consult
with the State of Nevada and with local government within
whose jurisdiction the land is located, including appro-
priate planning and regulatory agencies, and with other
interested persons, concerning the necessity of making the
acquisition, the potential impacts on State and local gov-
ernment, and other appropriate aspects of the acquisition.
(d) ADMINISTRATION.—On acceptance of title by the
United States, land and interests in land acquired under
this section that is within the boundaries of a unit of the
National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, National Trails
System, National Wilderness Preservation System, any
other system established by Act of Congress, or any national
conservation or national recreation area established by Act
of Congress—
(1) shall become part of the unit or area without
further action by the Secretary; and
(2) shall be managed in accordance with all laws
and regulations and land use plans applicable to the
unit or area.
Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to direct the
Secretary of Interior to sell certain public land in Lincoln
County through a competitive process.’’.
Union Calendar No. 502
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2752
[Report No. 106–847]
A BILL
To give Lincoln County, Nevada, the right to pur-
chase at fair market value certain public land lo-
cated within that county, and for other purposes.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2000
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
dered to be printed