[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1331 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1331

 To give Lincoln County, Nevada, the right to purchase at fair market 
                value certain public land in the county.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 1, 1999

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To give Lincoln County, Nevada, the right to purchase at fair market 
                value certain public land in the county.

    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 1999''.

SEC. 2. SALE OF PUBLIC LAND.

    (a) Right To Purchase.--For a period of 10 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, Lincoln County, Nevada, shall have the exclusive 
right to purchase the parcels of public land described in subsection 
(b).
    (b) Land Description.--The parcels of public land referred to in 
subsection (a) are the following parcels in T. 12 S., R. 71 E., Mount 
Diablo Meridian, Nevada:
            (1) Sec. 16: NW \1/4\ SW \1/4\, S \1/2\ SW \1/4\, SE \1/4\.
            (2) Sec. 17: SW \1/4\, W \1/2\ SE \1/4\, SE \1/4\ SE \1/4\.
            (3) Sec. 18: SE \1/4\.
            (4) Sec. 19: E \1/2\.
            (5) Sec. 20.
            (6) Sec. 21: W \1/2\.
            (7) Sec. 28: W \1/2\.
            (8) Sec. 29.
            (9) Sec. 30: E \1/2\.
            (10) Sec. 31: E \1/2\.
            (11) Sec. 32.
            (12) Sec. 33: W \1/2\, SE \1/4\.
            (13) Sec. 34: S \1/2\.
    (c) Notification.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, Lincoln County, Nevada, shall notify the 
Secretary of the Interior which of the parcels of public land described 
in subsection (b) the county intends to purchase.
    (d) Terms and Conditions of Sale.--All sales of public land under 
this section--
            (1) shall be subject to valid existing rights; and
            (2) shall be made for fair market value, as determined by 
        the Secretary.
    (e) Conveyance.--Not later than 1 year after receiving notification 
by Lincoln County that the county wishes to proceed with a purchase 
under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall convey to 
Lincoln County the parcels of land selected for purchase.
    (f) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, until the date 
that is 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the public 
land described in subsection (b) is withdrawn from all forms of entry 
and appropriation under the public land laws, including the mining 
laws, and from operation of the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing 
laws.

SEC. 3. 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 Lincoln 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) 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;
                    (B) development of a multispecies habitat 
                conservation plan in Lincoln County, Nevada; and
                    (C) reimbursement of costs incurred by the Bureau 
                of Land Management in preparing sales under this Act, 
                or other authorized land sales or exchanges within 
                Lincoln County, Nevada, 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.
            (2) Acquisition from willing sellers.--An acquisition under 
        paragraph (1)(A) 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.
            (3) Interest.--Amounts in the special account shall earn 
        interest in the amount determined by the Secretary of Treasury 
        on the basis of current average market yield on outstanding 
        marketable obligations of the United States of comparable 
        maturities.
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