[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2752 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.2752

                       One Hundred Sixth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
             the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand


                                 An Act


 
 To direct the Secretary of the Interior to sell certain public land in 
              Lincoln County through a competitive process.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Lincoln County Land Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
        (1) Lincoln County, Nevada, encompasses an area of 10,132 
    square miles of the State of Nevada;
        (2) approximately 98 percent of the County is owned by the 
    Federal Government;
        (3) the City of Mesquite, Nevada, needs land for an organized 
    approach for expansion to the north;
        (4) citizens of the County would benefit through enhanced 
    county services and schools from the increased private property tax 
    base due to commercial and residential development;
        (5) the County would see improvement to the budget for the 
    county and school services through the immediate distribution of 
    sale receipts from the Secretary selling land through a competitive 
    bidding process;
        (6) a cooperative approach among the Bureau of Land Management, 
    the County, the City, and other local government entities will 
    ensure continuing communication between those entities;
        (7) the Federal Government will be fairly compensated for the 
    sale of public land; and
        (8) the proposed Caliente Management Framework Amendment and 
    Environmental Impact Statement for the Management of Desert 
    Tortoise Habitat Plan identify specific public land as being 
    suitable for disposal.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
        (1) to provide for the orderly disposal of certain public land 
    in the County; and
        (2) to provide for the acquisition of environmentally sensitive 
    land in the State of Nevada.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
        (1) City.--The term ``City'' means the City of Mesquite, 
    Nevada.
        (2) County.--The term ``County'' means Lincoln County, Nevada.
        (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
    the Interior.
        (4) Special account.--The term ``special account'' means the 
    account in the Treasury of the United States established under 
    section 5.

SEC. 4. DISPOSAL OF LAND.

    (a) Disposal.--
        (1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of the 
    enactment of this Act, notwithstanding the land use planning and 
    land sale requirements contained in sections 202 and 203 of the 
    Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1711, 
    1712), the Secretary, in cooperation with the County and the City, 
    in accordance with this Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management 
    Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), and other applicable law, and 
    subject to valid existing rights, shall dispose of the land 
    described in subsection (b) in a competitive bidding process, at a 
    minimum, for fair market value.
        (2) Timing.--The Secretary shall dispose of--
            (A) the land described in subsection (b)(1)(A) not later 
        than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act; and
            (B) the land described in subsection (b)(1)(B) not later 
        than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Land Description.--
        (1) In general.--The land referred to in subsection (a) is the 
    land depicted on the map entitled ``Public Lands Identified for 
    Disposal in Lincoln County, Nevada'' and dated July 24, 2000, 
    consisting of--
            (A) the land identified on the map for disposal within 1 
        year, comprising approximately 4,817 acres; and
            (B) the land identified on the map for disposal within 5 
        years, comprising approximately 8,683 acres.
        (2) Map.--The map described in paragraph (1) shall be available 
    for public inspection in the Ely Field Office of the Bureau of Land 
    Management.
    (c) Segregation.--Subject to valid existing rights, the land 
described in subsection (b) is segregated from all forms of entry and 
appropriation (except for competitive sale) under the public land laws, 
including the mining laws, and from operation of the mineral leasing 
and geothermal leasing laws.
    (d) Compliance With Local Planning and Zoning.--The Secretary shall 
ensure that qualified bidders intend to comply with--
        (1) County and City zoning ordinances; and
        (2) any master plan for the area developed and approved by the 
    County and City.

SEC. 5. DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.

    (a) Land Sales.--Of the gross proceeds of sales of land under this 
Act in a fiscal year--
        (1) 5 percent shall be paid directly to the State of Nevada for 
    use in the general education program of the State;
        (2) 10 percent shall be returned to the County for use as 
    determined through normal county budgeting procedures, with 
    emphasis given to support of schools, of which no amount may be 
    used in support of litigation against the Federal Government; and
        (3) the remainder shall be deposited in a special account in 
    the Treasury of the United States (referred to in this section as 
    the ``special account'') for use as provided in subsection (b).
    (b) Availability of Special Account.--
        (1) In general.--Amounts in the special account (including 
    amounts earned as interest under paragraph (3)) shall be available 
    to the Secretary of the Interior, without further Act of 
    appropriation, and shall remain available until expended, for--
            (A) inventory, evaluation, protection, and management of 
        unique archaeological resources (as defined in section 3 of the 
        Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 
        470bb)) in the County;
            (B) development of a multispecies habitat conservation plan 
        in the County;
            (C)(i) reimbursement of costs incurred by the Nevada State 
        Office and the Ely Field Office of the Bureau of Land 
        Management in preparing sales under this Act, or other 
        authorized land sales within the County, including the costs of 
        land boundary surveys, compliance with the National 
        Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 
        appraisals, environmental and cultural clearances, and any 
        public notice; and
            (ii) processing public land use authorizations and rights-
        of-way stemming from development of the conveyed land; and
            (D) the cost of acquisition of environmentally sensitive 
        land or interests in such land in the State of Nevada, with 
        priority given to land outside Clark County.
        (2) Acquisition from willing sellers.--An acquisition under 
    paragraph (1)(D) shall be made only from a willing seller and after 
    consultation with the State of Nevada and units of local government 
    under the jurisdiction of which the environmentally sensitive land 
    is located.
    (c) Investment of Special Account.--All funds deposited as 
principal in the special account shall earn interest in the amount 
determined by the Secretary of the Treasury on the basis of the current 
average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the 
United States of comparable maturities.

SEC. 6. ACQUISITIONS.

    (a) Definition of Environmentally Sensitive Land.--In this section, 
the term ``environmentally sensitive land'' means land or an interest 
in land, the acquisition of which by the United States would, in the 
judgment of the Secretary--
        (1) promote the preservation of natural, scientific, aesthetic, 
    historical, cultural, watershed, wildlife, and other values 
    contributing to public enjoyment and biological diversity;
        (2) enhance recreational opportunities and public access;
        (3) provide the opportunity to achieve better management of 
    public land through consolidation of Federal ownership; or
        (4) otherwise serve the public interest.
    (b) Acquisitions.--
        (1) In general.--After the consultation process has been 
    completed in accordance with subsection (c), the Secretary may 
    acquire with the proceeds of the special account environmentally 
    sensitive land and interests in environmentally sensitive land. 
    Land may not be acquired under this section without the consent of 
    the landowner.
        (2) Use of other funds.--Funds made available from the special 
    account may be used with any other funds made available under any 
    other provision of law.
    (c) Consultation.--Before initiating efforts to acquire land under 
this subsection, the Secretary shall consult with the State of Nevada 
and with local government within whose jurisdiction the land is 
located, including appropriate planning and regulatory agencies, and 
with other interested persons, concerning the necessity of making the 
acquisition, the potential impacts on State and local government, and 
other appropriate aspects of the acquisition.
    (d) Administration.--On acceptance of title by the United States, 
land and interests in land acquired under this section that is within 
the boundaries of a unit of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, 
National Trails System, National Wilderness Preservation System, any 
other system established by Act of Congress, or any national 
conservation or national recreation area established by Act of 
Congress--
        (1) shall become part of the unit or area without further 
    action by the Secretary; and
        (2) shall be managed in accordance with all laws and 
    regulations and land use plans applicable to the unit or area.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.