A bill to clear title to certain lands along the California-Nevada boundary.
PL 99-200 (H.R.3085), enacted 12/23/1985

PUBLIC LAW 99-200—DEC. 23, 1985 
99 STAT. 1663 
Public Law 99-200 
99th Congress 
An Act 
To clear title to certain lands along the California-Nevada boundary. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that— 
(1) thousands of acres of public lands transferred by the 
United States to the State of California or to the State of 
Nevada on or before June 1, 1982, are now located within the 
other State according to the boundary between them estab-
lished by the United States Supreme Court in the case of 
California against Nevada (447 U.S. 125 (1980)); 
(2) each State accepted such transfers as valid, and commenc-
ing over 125 years ago, conveyed substantially all of the land 
into private ownership; 
(3) the original title of each State and political subdivisions 
thereof and subsequent private parties has been treated as good 
and valid for all governmental and private purposes; 
(4) it is imperative that certainty of title to, and ownership of, 
these lands be established as soon as practicable in order to 
avoid any undue hardship on the States of California and 
Nevada and affected private parties; and 
(5) litigation is not an appropriate means of resolving the 
questions of title and ownership of the affected lands in that it 
would result in unprecedented and unnecessary burdens and 
expenses on the courts of the United States and the States of 
California and Nevada, as well as on private property owners. 
SEC. 2. TRANSFERS TO CALIFORNIA. 
Grants and all other transfers of public land to the State of 
California by the United States by a statute, clear list, selection, 
patent, or any other means on or before June 1,1982— 
(1) which are located in the State of Nevada according to the 
boundary between the States of California and Nevada, as 
defined in the case of California against Nevada (447 U.S. 125 
(1980)); and 
(2) which have been patented or otherwise conveyed to a third 
party by the State of California, 
are not invalid because such land or portions of such land are 
located in the State of Nevada. 
SEC. 3. TRANSFERS TO NEVADA. 
Grants and all other transfers of public land to the State of 
Nevada by the United States by a statute, clear list, selection, 
patent, or any other means on or before June 1,1982— 
(1) which are located in the State of California according to 
the boundary between the States of California and Nevada, as 
Dec. 23, 1985 
[H.R. 
3085] 
Grants. 
Grants. 
99 STAT. 1664 
PUBLIC LAW 99-200—DEC. 23, 1985 
Prohibition. 
Patents and 
trademarks. 
Federal 
Register, 
publication. 
Public 
availability. 
defined in the case of California against Nevada (447 U.S. 125 
(1980)); and 
(2) which have been patented or otherwise conveyed to a third 
party by the State of Neyada, 
are not invalid because such land or portions of such land are 
located in the State of California. 
SEC. 
4
. 
CERTAIN 
LANDS 
NOT 
AFFECTED. 
This Act shall not apply to any public land referred to in section 2 
or 3 which has not been patented or otherwise conveyed to a third 
party by the State of California or the State of Nevada, as the case 
maybe. 
SEC. 5. LANDS AFFECTED. 
As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall request the States of California and 
Nevada to submit to the Secretary maps and a list of patents or 
other conveyances for tracts of land the two States agree are 
affected by sections 2 and 3 of this Act. Upon concurring that the 
patents or other conveyances so listed are those intended to be 
covered by this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall publish the 
list of patents or other conveyances in the Federal Register. The 
Secretary is authorized to make clerical and typographical correc-
tions of errors in the list of patents or other conveyances and maps. 
Such maps, using the Department of the Interior Bureau of Land 
Management Master Title Plats showing the affected lands, shall be 
on file for illustrative purposes and along with the list of patents or 
other conveyances shall be available for public inspection with the 
State Directors of the Bureau of Land Management, Department of 
the Interior, in California and Nevada, and with the State Lands 
Administrator of Nevada and State Lands Commissioner of Califor-
nia. 
SEC. 6. STATE RIGHTS. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed as conferring on either the 
State of California or the State of Nevada any rights with regard to 
entitlements to Federal lands, or as enlarging, diminishing, or 
otherwise affecting any such rights which may exist under other 
provisions of law. 
Approved December 23, 1985. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 3085 (S. 1503): 
HOUSE REPORT No. 98-385 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 131 (1985): 
Dec. 9, considered and passed House. 
Dec. 11, considered and passed Senate.