An Act for the establishment of a Public Land Law Review Commission to study existing laws and procedures relating to the administration of the public lands of the United States, and for other purposes
PL 88-606 (H.R.8070), enacted 09/19/1964

982 
PUBLIC LAW 88-606-SEPT. 19, 1964 
[78 STAT. 
Public Law 88-606 
September 19, 1964 
AN A C T 
[H. R. 8070] 
poj. tije establishment of a Public Land Law Review Commission to study exist-
ing laws and procedures relating to the administration of the public lands of 
the United States, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
Public Land 
United States of America in Congress assembled. That— 
Law Review Com- 
^ 
./ 
/ 
mission. 
Establishment, 
DECLARATION OF POLICY 
SECTION 1. It is hereby declared to be the policy of Congress that 
the public lands of the United States shall be (a) retained and man-
aged or (b) disposed of, all in a manner to provide the maximum 
benefit for the general public. 
Composition. 
Chairman. 
DECLARATION OF PURPOSE 
SEC. 2. Because the public land laws of the United States have 
developed over a long period of years through a series of Acts of 
Congress which are not fully correlated with each other and because 
those laws, or some o£ them, may be inadequate to meet the current 
and future needs of the American people and because administration 
of the public lands and the laws relating thereto has been divided 
among several agencies of the Federal Government, it is necessary to 
have a comprehensive review of those laws and the rules and regula-
tions promulgated thereunder and to determine whether and to what 
extent revisions thereof are necessary. 
COMMISSION ON PUBLIC LAND L
A
W REVIEW 
SEC. 3, (a) For the purpose of carrying out the policy and purpose 
set forth in sections 1 and 2 of this Act, there is hereby established a 
commission to be known as the Public Land Law Review Commission, 
hereinafter referred to as "the Commission." 
(b) The Commission shall be composed of nineteen members, as 
follows: 
(i) Three majority and three minority members of the Senate 
Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs to be appointed by the 
President of the Senate; 
(ii) Three majority and three minority members of the House 
Committee on Interior and Insular AflPairs to be appointed by the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives; 
(iii) Six persons to be appointed by the President of the United 
States from among persons who at the time appointment is to 
be made hereunder are not, and within a period of one year 
immediately preceding that time have not been, officers or 
employees of the United States; but, the foregoing or any other 
provision of law notwithstanding, there may be appointed, under 
this paragraph, any person who is retained, designated, appointed, 
or employed by any instrumentality of the executive branch oi 
the Government or by any independent agency of the United 
States to perform, with or without compensation, temporary 
duties on either a full-time or intermittent basis for not to exceed 
one hundred and thirty days during any period of three hundred 
and sixty-five consecutive days; and 
(iv) One person, elected by majority vote of the other eighteen, 
who shall be the Chairman of the Commission. 
78 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 88-606-SEPT. 19, 1964 
983 
(c) Any vacancy which may occur on the Commission shall not 
vacancies. 
affect its powers or functions but shall be filled in the same manner in 
which the original appointment was made. 
(d) The organization meeting of the Commission shall be held at 
such time and place as may be specified in a call issued jointly by the 
senior member appointed' by the President of the Senate and the senior 
member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
(e) Ten members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum, but 
a smaller number, as determined by the Commission, may conduct 
hearings. 
(f) Members of Congress who are members of the Commission shall 
serve without compensation in addition to that received for their 
services as Members of Congress; but they shall be reimbursed for 
travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in 
the performance of the duties vested in the Commission. 
(g) The members appointed by the President shall each receive $50 
per diem when engaged in the actual performance of duties vested 
m the Commission, plus reimbursement for travel, subsistence, and 
other necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of such 
duties. 
DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION 
SEC. 4. (a) The Commission shall (i) study existing statutes and 
regulations governing the retention, management, and disposition of 
the public lands; (ii) review the i)olicies and practices of the Federal 
agencies charged with administrative jurisdiction over such lands inso-
far as such policies and practices relate to the retention, management, 
and disposition of those lands; (iii) compile data necessary to under-
stand and determine the various demands on the public lands which 
now exist and which are likely to exist within the foreseeable future; 
and (iv) recommend such modifications in existing laws, regulations, 
policies, and practices as will, in the judgment of the Commission, 
best serve to carry out the policy set forth in section 1 of this Act. 
(b) The Commission shall, not later than December 31, 1968, sub- ^^S^°ll^°_^J^^^'' 
mit to the President and the Congress its final report. It shall cease 
to exist six months after submission of said report or on June 30,1969, 
Avhichever is earlier. All records and papers of the Commission shall 
thereupon be delivered to the Administrator of General Services for 
deposit in the Archives of the United States. 
DEPARTMENTAL LIAISON OFFICERS 
SEC. 5. The Chairman of the Commission shall request the head of 
each Federal department or independent agency which has an interest 
in or responsibility with respect to the retention, management, or 
disposition of the public lands to appoint, and the head of such depart-
ment or agency shall appoint, a liaison officer who shall work closely 
with the Commission and its staff in matters pertaining to this Act. 
ADVISORY C O U N C I L 
SEC. 6. (a) There is hereby established an Advisory Council, which 
shall consist of the liaison officers appointed under section 5 of this 
Act, together with 25 additional members appointed by the Commis-
sion who shall be representative of the various major citizens' groups 
interested in problems relating to the retention, management, and 
disposition of the public lands, including the following: Organizations 
representative of State and local government, private organizations 
working in the field of public land management and outdoor recreation 
resources and opportunities, landowners, forestry interests, livestock 
31-667 0-65—65 
dent and Con-
gress. 
984 
PUBLIC LAW 88-606-SEPT. 19, 1964 
[78 STAT. 
interests, mining interests, oil and gas interests, commercial and sport 
fishing interests, commercial outdoor recreation interests, industry, 
education, labor, and public utilities. Any vacancy occurring on the 
Advisory Council shall be filled in the same manner as the original 
appointment. 
(b) The Advisory Council shall advise and counsel the Commis-
sion concerning matters within the jurisdiction of the Commission. 
(c) Members of the Advisory Council shall serve without compen-
sation, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual travel and 
subsistence expenses incurred in attending meetings of the Council 
called or approved by the Chairman of the Commission or in carrying 
out duties assigned by the Chairman. 
(d) The Chairman of the Commission shall call an organization 
meeting of the Advisory Council as soon as practicable, a meeting of 
such council each six months thereafter, and a final meeting prior to 
approval of the final report by the Commission. 
GOVERNORS' REPRESENTATIVES 
SEC. 7. The Chairman of the Commission shall invite the Governor 
of each State to designate a representative to work closely with the 
Commission and its staff and with the advisory council in matters 
pertaining to this Act. 
POWERS OF THE COMMISSION 
SEC. 8. (a) The Commission or, on authorization of the Commis-
sion, any committee of two or more members, at least one of whom 
shall be of each major political party, may, for the purpose of carry-
ing out the provisions of this Act, hold such hearings and sit and 
act at such times and places as the Commission or such authorized 
committee may deem advisable. 
Subpenas for the attendance and 
testimony of witnesses or the production of written or other matter 
may be issued only on the authority of the Commission and shall be 
served by anyone designated by the Chairman of the Commission. 
The Commission shall not issue any subpena for the attendance and 
testimony of witnesses or for the production of written or other matters 
which would require the presence of the parties subpenaed at a hear-
ing to be held outside of the State wherein the witness is found or 
resides or transacts business. 
A witness may submit material on a confidential basis for the use of 
the Commission and, if so submitted, the Commission shall not make 
the material public. The provisions of sections 102-104, inclusive, of 
the Revised Statutes (2 U.S.C. 192-194) shall apply in case of any 
failure of any witness to comply with any subpena or testimony when 
summoned under this section. 
(b) The Commission is authorized to secure from any department, 
agency, or individual instrumentality of the executive branch of the 
Government any information it deems necessary to carry out its func-
tions under this Act and each such department, agency, and instru-
mentality is authorized and directed to furnish such information to the 
Commission upon request made by the Chairman or the Vice Chairman 
when acting as Chairman. 
(c) If the Commission requires of any witness or of any govern-
mental agency production of any materials which have theretofore 
been submitted to a government agency on a confidential basis, and 
the confidentiality of those materials is protected by statute, the 
material so produced shall be held confidential by the Commission. 
5 u s e 1071 
note. 
78 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 88-606-SEPT. 19, 1964 
985 
APPROPRIATIONS, EXPENSES, AND PERSONNEL 
SEC. 9. (a) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such 
sums, but not more than $4,000,000, as may be necessary to carry out 
the provisions of this Act and such moneys as may be appropriated 
shall be available to the Commission until expended. 
(b) The Commission is authorized, without regard to the civil 
service laws and regulations and without regard to the Classification 
Act of 1949, as amended, to fix the compensation of its Chairman and 
appoint and fix the compensation of its staff director, and such addi- "^An'te, p. 4oo. 
tional personnel as may be necessary to enable it to carry out its func-
tions except that any Federal employees subject to the civil service 
laws and regulations who may be employed by the Commission shall 
retain civil service status without interruption or loss of status or 
privilege. 
(c) The Commission is authorized to enter into contracts or agree-
ments for studies and surveys with public and private organizations 
and, if necessary, to transfer funds to Federal agencies from sums 
appropriated pursuant to this Act to carry out such aspects of the 
review as the Commission determines can best be carried out in that 
manner. 
(d) Service of an individual as a member of the Advisory Council, 
as the representative of a Governor, or employment by the Commission 
of an attorney or expert in any job or professional field on a part-time 
or full-time basis with or without compensation shall not be considered 
as service or employment bringing such individuals within the provi-
sions of the Act of October 23,1962 (76 Stat. 1119). 
is use 201 ^t 
seq. 
DEFINITION OF "pUBLIC LANDs" 
SEC. 10. As used in this Act, the term "public lands" includes (a) 
the public domain of the United States, (b) reservations, other than 
Indian reservations, created from the public domain, (c) lands per-
manently or temporarily withdrawn, reserved, or withheld from 
private appropriation and disposal under the public land laws, includ-
ing the mining laws, (d) outstanding interests of the United States 
in lands patented, conveyed in fee or otherwise, under the public land 
laws, (e) national forests, (f) wildlife refuges and ranges, and (g) 
the surface and subsurface resources of all such lands, including tne 
disposition or restriction on disposition of the mineral resources in 
lands defined by appropriate statute, treaty, or judicial determination 
as being under the control of the United States in the Outer Continental 
Shelf. 
Approved September 19, 1964.