[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2568 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2568

To enhance the management of public lands, reduce Federal expenditures 
  associated with such lands, and empower States with respect to the 
  ownership and control over lands that are or have been part of the 
                 public domain, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            December 1 (legislative day, September 12), 1994

  Mr. Wallop introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To enhance the management of public lands, reduce Federal expenditures 
  associated with such lands, and empower States with respect to the 
  ownership and control over lands that are or have been part of the 
                 public domain, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be 
referred to as the ``Public Land Emancipation and Management 
Improvement Act''.
    Sec. 2. Effective on January 1, 1998, all right, title, and 
interest in and to any real property owned by the United States that is 
or has been at any time part of the public domain, including, but not 
limited to, lands that have been withdrawn or disposed of and 
reacquired, is vested by operation of law in the State in which such 
property is located subject only to the limitations set forth in 
section 3 of this Act and any valid existing rights.
    Sec. 3. For the purposes of this Act, the definition of real 
property shall exclude--
            (a) any lands or interests therein owned by the United 
        States as of January 1, 1998, within the exterior boundaries of 
        any unit of the National Park System;
            (b) any lands or interests therein which the United States 
        holds title to in trust for the benefit of a federally 
        recognized Indian Tribe, a member thereof, or an individual 
        allottee;
            (c) such lands as the President shall have identified for 
        continued Federal retention, except that the total of all lands 
        and interests therein identified pursuant to this subsection, 
        when combined with any other lands or interests therein owned 
        by the United States, excluding only lands included under 
        subsection (b) or (d) of this section, may not exceed 20 
        percent of the total acreage within any given State; and
            (d) any lands or interests therein which the Governor of 
        the State in which such lands are located does not wish to have 
        transferred pursuant to this Act and which the Governor has 
        identified in writing to the President prior to January 1, 1998 
        as not subject to transfer.
    Sec. 4. Not later than January 1, 1997, the President shall prepare 
a comprehensive inventory of all real property owned by the Federal 
Government within each of the several States and transmit such list to 
the Governor of each State and shall accompany such list with an 
identification of all real property which meets the requirements of 
subsection 3 (a) or (b) or which have been identified for continued 
Federal retention under subsection 3(c).
    Sec. 5. In the event that the identification of real property under 
section 3(c) exceeds 20 percent of the total acreage within a State, 
the Governor of the State may bring an action to modify the list of 
lands in any Federal district court within such State. Review shall be 
limited solely to whether the acreage exceeds 20 percent of the total 
acreage within the State. If the court concludes that the acreage 
contained in the listing prepared pursuant to subsection 3(c) does 
exceed 20 percent, then the court shall exclude such acreage as is 
necessary to reduce the total to no more than 20 percent. The acreage 
to be excluded shall be based solely on a priority list furnished by 
the Governor. The list shall be final and shall not be subject to any 
review or modification.
    Sec. 6. For the purpose of this Act, the term ``State'' shall 
include the several States of the Union, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American 
Samoa, and the Virgin Islands.
    Sec. 7. The Federal Government shall remain strictly liable for the 
costs of any cleanup associated with hazardous materials or 
contamination associated with any lands transferred pursuant to this 
Act.
                                 <all>