[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 440 Referred in Senate (RFS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 440


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             February 2 (legislative day, January 30), 1995

   Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To provide for the conveyance of lands to certain individuals in Butte 
                          County, California.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds and declares that--
            (1) certain landowners in Butte County, California who own 
        property adjacent to the Plumas National Forest have been 
        adversely affected by certain erroneous surveys;
            (2) these landowners have occupied or improved their 
        property in good faith and in reliance on erroneous surveys of 
        their properties that they believed were accurate; and
            (3) the 1992 Bureau of Land Management dependent resurvey 
        of the Plumas National Forest will correctly establish accurate 
        boundaries between such forest and private lands.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to authorize and direct 
the Secretary of Agriculture to convey, without consideration, certain 
lands in Butte County, California, to persons claiming to have been 
deprived of title to such lands.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purpose of this Act--
            (1) the term ``affected lands'' means those Federal lands 
        located in the Plumas National Forest in Butte County, 
        California, in sections 11, 12, 13, and 14, township 21 north, 
        range 5 East, Mount Diablo Meridian, as described by the 
        dependent resurvey by the Bureau of Land Management conducted 
        in 1992, and subsequent Forest Service land line location 
        surveys, including all adjoining parcels where the property 
        line as identified by the 1992 BLM dependent resurvey and 
        National Forest boundary lines before such dependent resurvey 
        are not coincident;
            (2) the term ``claimant'' means an owner of real property 
        in Butte County, California, whose real property adjoins Plumas 
        National Forest lands described in subsection (a), who claims 
        to have been deprived by the United States of title to property 
        as a result of previous erroneous surveys; and
            (3) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        Agriculture.

SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF LANDS.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary is 
authorized and directed to convey, without consideration, all right, 
title, and interest of the United States in and to affected lands as 
described in section 2(1), to any claimant or claimants, upon proper 
application from such claimant or claimants, as provided in section 4.

SEC. 4. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF CONVEYANCE.

    (a) Notification.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, claimants shall notify the Secretary, through 
the Forest Supervisor of the Plumas National Forest, in writing of 
their claim to affected lands. Such claim shall be accompanied by--
            (1) a description of the affected lands claimed;
            (2) information relating to the claim of ownership of such 
        lands; and
            (3) such other information as the Secretary may require.
    (b) Issuance of Deed.--(1) Upon a determination by the Secretary 
that issuance of a deed for affected lands is consistent with the 
purpose and requirements of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a 
quitclaim deed to such claimant for the parcel to be conveyed.
    (2) Prior to the issuance of any such deed as provided in paragraph 
(1), the Secretary shall ensure that--
            (A) the parcel or parcels to be conveyed have been surveyed 
        in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the 
        Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, dated 
        November 11, 1989;
            (B) all new property lines established by such surveys have 
        been monumented and marked; and
            (C) all terms and conditions necessary to protect third 
        party and Government Rights-of-Way or other interests are 
        included in the deed.
    (3) The Federal Government shall be responsible for all surveys and 
property line markings necessary to implement this subsection.
    (c) Notification to BLM.--The Secretary shall submit to the 
Secretary of the Interior an authenticated copy of each deed issued 
pursuant to this Act no later than 30 days after the date such deed is 
issued.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary to 
carry out the purposes of this Act.

            Passed the House of Representatives February 1, 1995.

            Attest:

                                                ROBIN H. CARLE,

                                                                 Clerk.