Title: REAL Protection Act
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Resurveys Entitle Adjacent Landowners to Protection Act or the REAL Protection Act
This bill directs the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to notify all property owners with land abutting or adjacent to federal land being resurveyed of the pending resurvey. A resurvey is an official rerunning and remarking intended to supersede the records of the original survey.
The BLM shall notify affected landowners within 30 days of completion of the resurvey if it extends the boundaries of federal land.
If a resurvey results in private land being reclassified as federal land, the affected landowners shall be given the right of first refusal to purchase the land for fair market value minus the value of any significant improvements made to such lands, or be reimbursed for the fair market value of any such improvements. Affected landowners may not be charged with willful trespass onto the land unless they used such lands with the knowledge that they should be classified as federal land.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1966 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1966

To provide protections and certainty for private landowners related to 
resurveying certain Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction 
       of the Bureau of Land Management, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 6, 2017

  Mr. Tipton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide protections and certainty for private landowners related to 
resurveying certain Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction 
       of the Bureau of Land Management, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Resurveys Entitle Adjacent 
Landowners to Protection Act'' or the ``REAL Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. BUREAU RESURVEY TRANSPARENCY; NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Notice.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days before the 
        commencement of a resurvey of Federal land under the 
        administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, 
        the Secretary shall notify all property owners with land 
        abutting or adjacent to the Federal land being resurveyed of 
        the pending resurvey. If a resurvey extends the boundaries of 
        Federal land, the Secretary shall notify affected landowners of 
        the results of the resurvey not later than 30 days after the 
        completion of the survey.
            (2) Notification.--The Secretary shall use certified or 
        registered mail to notify landowners under this subsection.
            (3) Identification of landowners.--When identifying 
        affected landowners for the purpose of notification under this 
        subsection, the Secretary shall use the most recently available 
        tax records.
    (b) Public Comment.--Not later than 30 days after completing a 
resurvey, the Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register. 
Affected landowners may comment to the Secretary and by submitting 
formal comments to the Federal Register notice.

SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF PERSONS.

    If a resurvey results in land previously thought to be privately 
owned to be reclassified as Federal land, the persons thought to be a 
private owner of such land--
            (1) shall--
                    (A) be given the right of first refusal to purchase 
                the land for fair market value minus the value of any 
                significant improvements made to such lands; or
                    (B) be reimbursed for the fair market value of any 
                significant improvements made to such lands; and
            (2) may not be charged with willful trespass onto such land 
        unless the person used such lands with the knowledge that the 
        lands should be classified as Federal land.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act:
            (1) Resurvey.--The term ``resurvey'' means an official 
        rerunning and remarking intended to supersede the records of 
        the original survey.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of 
        Land Management.
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