[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4157 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4157

To transfer the lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management to 
               the State in which the lands are located.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 24, 1994

Mr. Thomas of Wyoming (for himself, Mr. Hansen, Mr. Skeen, Mr. Allard, 
Mr. Boehner, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. DeLay, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. 
Duncan, Mr. Emerson, Mr. Gallegly, Mr. Hefley, Mr. Kolbe, Mr. Lewis of 
California, Mr. Livingston, Mr. McCandless, Mr. McInnis, Mr. Pombo, Mr. 
 Roberts, Mr. Schaefer, Mr. Smith of Oregon, Mr. Stump, Mr. Taylor of 
 North Carolina, Mrs. Vucanovich, and Mr. Young of Alaska) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To transfer the lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management to 
               the State in which the lands are located.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. TRANSFER OF BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LANDS.

    (a) In General.--Subject to valid existing rights and except as 
otherwise provided in this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall 
offer to transfer in accordance with this section all right, title, and 
interest (including the surface and subsurface estates), as well as 
related water rights, of the United States in and to all lands 
administered by the Bureau of Land Management to the State in which 
such lands are located. A State may only accept the total offer of all 
such lands or reject such offer. Any transfer under this section shall 
be effective on September 30, 1998.
    (b) Valid Leases and Mining Claims.--Each State receiving lands 
under subsection (a) shall honor valid existing leases, permits, and 
mining claims on such lands for the term of such lease or permit, or 
until such mining claims are patented or otherwise extinguished.
    (c) Restrictive Covenant.--Lands transferred under this section 
that are not encumbered by a lease or permit may only be used for 
public purposes. Such lands shall revert to the United States if a 
State does not use them for public purposes.
    (d) Exempted Lands.--Lands administered by the Bureau of Land 
Management are exempt from transfer under this Act if such lands are--
            (1) wilderness;
            (2) wilderness study areas;
            (3) areas of critical environmental concern; or
            (4) determined by the Secretary to be too costly for the 
        United States to decontaminate.

                                 <all>