Red River Private Property Protection Act

Bill: 114-hr-2130
Sponsor: Rep. Thornberry, Mac [R-TX-13]
Introduced: 2015-04-30 in the House
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
Subjects: Administrative remedies
Lakes and rivers
Land transfers
Oklahoma
Texas

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-30
text: 

Red River Private Property Protection Act

 
 Declares that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of the Department of the Interior disclaims any right, title, and interest to certain lands along a stretch of the Red River between Texas and Oklahoma (the affected area) located south of the South Bank boundary line. 
 
Directs the BLM, in identifying the current South Bank boundary line along the affected area, to commission a new survey that: (1) adheres to the gradient boundary survey method, (2) spans the entire length of the affected area, (3) is conducted by Licensed State Land Surveyors chosen by the Texas General Land Office, and (4) is completed within two years of enactment of this Act. Requires submission of the survey to the Texas General Land Office for approval. 
 
Permits a private property owner who holds, right, title, or interest in the affected area, after the survey is completed and approved, to appeal public domain claims by the BLM to an Administrative Law Judge. 
 
Instructs the BLM to:
 
 
ensure that no parcels of land in the affected area are treated as federal land for the purpose of any resource management plan until the survey has been completed and approved and the parcel is no longer subject to further appeal, and, subsequently,
 
offer any remaining identified federal lands for disposal by competitive sale for at least fair market value.
 
 
Requires the BLM to submit to Congress a list of identified federal lands that have not been sold and the reasons why.

action_date: 2015-11-04
text: 

Red River Private Property Protection Act

 
 (Sec. 2) Declares that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of the Department of the Interior disclaims any right, title, and interest to certain lands along a stretch of the Red River between Texas and Oklahoma (the affected area) located south of the South Bank boundary line. 
 
States that surveys conducted by the BLM before enactment of this Act shall have no force or effect in determining the South Bank boundary line. 
 
(Sec. 3) Directs the BLM, in identifying the current South Bank boundary line along the affected area, to commission a new survey that: (1) adheres to the gradient boundary survey method, (2) spans the entire length of the affected area, (3) is conducted by Licensed State Land Surveyors chosen by the Texas General Land Office, and (4) is completed within two years of enactment of this Act.
 
Requires submission of the survey, including surveys of individual parcels, to the Texas General Land Office, not to the BLM, for approval, in consultation with the Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office. 
 
Requires the Texas Land Office to notify the BLM of its approval of a survey, together with a copy and related field notes. 
 
Requires the BLM, after receiving this notification, to notify the landowners adjacent to the surveyed parcel, together with a copy and related field notes. 
 
(Sec. 4) Allows a landowner who receives such a notification and who claims to hold right, title, or interest in the affected area to appeal the survey's determination to an Administrative Law Judge of the Department of the Interior. 
 
(Sec. 5) Requires BLM, if it determines that a surveyed parcel is not subject to appeal, to notify adjacent landowners that the BLM shall accept applications for patents for that parcel for a period of 210 days. Requires the BLM also at least once every six months to check the status of any appeals related to a parcel that is subject to appeal until it is no longer subject to one. 
 
Authorizes the BLM to issue to an applicant, on the payment of $1.25 per acre, a patent for the surface rights to a parcel of identified federal lands that has been held in good faith and in peaceful adverse possession by the applicant (or the applicant's ancestors or grantors) for more than 20 years under a claim (including through a state land grant or deed or color of title). Subjects such a patent, however, to conditions that:
 
 
reserve to the United States all minerals contained in the parcel, subject to sale or disposal under leasing and mineral land laws; and 
 
recognize the right of U.S. permittees, lessees, or grantees to enter the parcel to prospect for and mine deposits.
 
 
(Sec. 6) Directs the BLM, after the period for applications expires, but for a period of only 60 days, to offer for purchase by specified adjacent landowners located in Oklahoma or Texas for each right of refusal (first, second, third, and fourth) the surface rights to the remaining identified federal land located north or south of the vegetation line of the South Bank.
 
Defines &quot;remaining identified federal lands&quot; as any parcel of identified federal lands: 
 
 
not subject to appeal, 
 
not determined by an Interior Administrative Law Judge or a federal court to be the property of an adjacent landowner, and 
 
not patented or subject to a pending request for a patent. 
 
 
Requires an offer for competitive sale for fair market value of any such parcel not purchased. 
 
Subjects any such sale to: (1) the condition that all minerals contained in the parcel are reserved to the United States and subject to sale or disposal under applicable leasing and mineral land laws; (2) the condition that permittees, lessees, or grantees have the right to enter the parcel to prospect for and mine deposits; and (3) valid existing state, tribal, and local rights. 
 
(Sec. 7) Bars the BLM from treating a parcel of identified federal lands as federal land for purposes of a resource management plan if the treatment does not comply with this Act. 

action_date: 2015-12-09
text: 

Red River Private Property Protection Act

 
 (Sec. 2) This bill declares that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) of the Department of the Interior disclaims any right, title, and interest to certain lands along a stretch of the Red River between Texas and Oklahoma (the affected area) located south of the South Bank boundary line. 
 
 BLM surveys conducted before enactment of this Act shall have no force or effect in determining the South Bank boundary line. 
 
(Sec. 3) The BLM, in identifying the current South Bank boundary line along the affected area, shall commission a new survey that: (1) adheres to the gradient boundary survey method, (2) spans the entire length of the affected area, (3) is conducted by Licensed State Land Surveyors chosen by the Texas General Land Office and each affected federally recognized Indian tribe, and (4) is completed within two years of enactment of this Act.
 
 The survey, including surveys of individual parcels, shall be submitted to the Texas General Land Office, not to the BLM, for approval, in consultation with the Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office and each affected federally recognized Indian tribe. 
 
 The Texas Land Office shall notify the BLM of its approval of a survey, together with a copy and related field notes. 
 
 The BLM, after receiving this notification, shall notify the landowners adjacent to the surveyed parcel, together with a copy and related field notes. 
 
(Sec. 4) A landowner who receives such a notification and who claims to hold right, title, or interest in the affected area may appeal the survey's determination to an Administrative Law Judge of the Department of the Interior. 
 
A landowner who files such an appeal and is adversely affected by the final decision may file a civil action in the U.S. district court for the district in which the person resides or in which the affected area is located. 
 
(Sec. 5) If the BLM determines that a surveyed parcel is not subject to appeal or judicial review, it shall notify federally recognized Indian tribes with jurisdiction over lands adjacent to the parcel that it shall accept patent applications for that parcel for 210 days. The BLM shall also check at least once every six months the status of any appeals or further judicial reviews related to a parcel that is subject to appeal or further judicial review until it is no longer subject to appeal or further judicial review. 
 
 The BLM may issue to an applicant, on the payment of fair market value per acre, a patent for the surface rights to a parcel of identified federal lands that the applicant (or the applicant's ancestors or grantors) have held in good faith and in peaceful adverse possession for more than 20 years under a claim (including through a state land grant). Such a patent shall:
 
 
reserve to the United States all minerals contained in the parcel, which shall be subject to sale or disposal under leasing and mineral land laws; and 
 
recognize the right of U.S. permittees, lessees, or grantees to enter the parcel to prospect for and mine deposits.
 
 
(Sec. 6) After the period for applications expires, but for only 60 days, the BLM shall offer for purchase the surface rights to the remaining identified federal land located north or south of the vegetation line of the South Bank. The purchase offer shall go first to federally recognized Indian tribes holding reservation or allotment land on June 5, 1906, that possess the right of first refusal, then to specified adjacent landowners located in Oklahoma or Texas for each next right of refusal.
 
 The bill defines &quot;remaining identified federal lands&quot; as any parcel of identified federal lands: 
 
 
not subject to appeal or further judicial review, 
 
not determined by an Interior Administrative Law Judge or a federal court to be the property of an adjacent landowner, and 
 
not patented or subject to a pending request for a patent. 
 
 
 Any such parcel that is not purchased shall be offered by BLM for disposal by a competitive sale for not less than fair market value. 
 
 Any such sale shall be subject to: (1) the condition that all minerals contained in the parcel are reserved to the United States and subject to sale or disposal under applicable leasing and mineral land laws; (2) the condition that permittees, lessees, or grantees have the right to enter the parcel to prospect for and mine deposits; and (3) valid existing state, tribal, and local rights. 
 
(Sec. 7) The BLM may not treat a parcel of identified federal lands as federal land for purposes of a resource management plan if the treatment does not comply with this Act. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2015-12-10
text: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 253 - 177 (Roll no. 686).
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 253 - 177 (Roll no. 686).
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: On motion to table the motion to appeal the ruling of the chair Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 246 - 182 (Roll no. 685).
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: Mr. Bishop (UT) moved to table the motion to appeal the ruling of the chair
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: Mr. Thompson (CA) appealed the ruling of the chair. The question was then put on sustaining the ruling of the chair.
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: Mr. Bishop (UT) raised a point of order against the motion to recommit with instructions. Sustained by the Chair.
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: Point of order sustained against the motion to recommit with instructions.
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: Floor summary: DEBATE - The House proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Thompson (CA) motion to recommit with instructions, pending reservation of point of order. The instructions in the motion seek to report the same back to the House forthwith with an amendment to amend the federal criminal code to grant the Attorney General the authority to deny the transfer or issuance of firearm and explosives licenses to any individual whom the Attorney General has determined to be engaged in terrorist activities.
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: Mr. Thompson (CA) moved to recommit with instructions to the Committee on Natural Resources. (consideration: CR H9182-9185; text: CR H9182-9183)
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: The House adopted the amendment in the nature of a substitute as agreed to by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union. (text of amendment in the nature of a substitute: CR H9178-9179)
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule. (consideration: CR H9181)
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: The House rose from the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union to report H.R. 2130.
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 556, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Cole (OK) amendment.
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 556, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Bishop (UT) amendment.
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: GENERAL DEBATE - The Committee of the Whole proceeded with one hour of general debate on H.R. 2130.
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: The Speaker designated the Honorable Ted Poe to act as Chairman of the Committee.
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union pursuant to H. Res. 556 and Rule XVIII.
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 2130 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without instructions. Measure will be considered read. Specified amendments are in order.
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 556. (consideration: CR H9173-9186)
action_date: 2015-12-09
text: Rule H. Res. 556 passed House.
action_date: 2015-12-08
text: Rules Committee Resolution H. Res. 556 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 2130 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without instructions. Measure will be considered read. Specified amendments are in order.
action_date: 2015-11-04
text: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 248.
action_date: 2015-11-04
text: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 114-327.
action_date: 2015-11-04
text: Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 114-327.
action_date: 2015-09-10
text: Subcommittee on Federal Lands Discharged.
action_date: 2015-09-10
text: Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 21 - 11.
action_date: 2015-09-10
text: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2015-09-09
text: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2015-07-01
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
action_date: 2015-04-30
text: Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
action_date: 2015-04-30
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-04-30
text: Introduced in House