[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 353 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 353

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to dispose of all public lands 
administered by the Bureau of Land Management that have been identified 
       for disposal under the Federal land use planning process.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 27, 2003

  Mr. Duncan introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to dispose of all public lands 
administered by the Bureau of Land Management that have been identified 
       for disposal under the Federal land use planning 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 ``Federal Lands Improvement Act of 
2003''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC LANDS DISPOSAL REQUIREMENT.

    (a) Disposal Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 7 years after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, and subject to paragraphs (2), (3), 
        and (4), the Secretary of the Interior shall dispose of all 
        right, title, and interest of the United States in and to all 
        public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management 
        that, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, have been 
        identified for disposal under the land use planning process 
        under section 203 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
        of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1713).
            (2) Milestones.--Of the lands referred to in paragraph (1), 
        the Secretary shall dispose of--
                    (A) at least \1/3\ before the end of the 3-year 
                period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
                Act; and
                    (B) at least \2/3\ before the end of the 5-year 
                period beginning on such date.
            (3) Retention of wilderness lands.--The Secretary shall not 
        under this section dispose of any lands located in any 
        wilderness area or wilderness study area.
            (4) Net cost limitation.--The Secretary shall not under 
        this section dispose of a parcel of land if cost to the United 
        States of the disposal exceeds the amount that would be 
        received by the United States for the parcel.
    (b) Manner of Disposal.--The Secretary shall dispose of public 
lands under this section--
            (1) in accordance with the procedures that apply under 
        subsection (f) of section 203 of the Federal Land Policy and 
        Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1713(f)) to sales of public 
        lands under that section; and
            (2) in parcels of 160 acres or less.
    (c) Determination of Lands for Disposal.--The Secretary may 
determine the public lands to be disposed of under this section.
    (d) Use of Proceeds.--Of amounts received by the United States as 
proceeds of disposals of public lands under this section--
            (1) \1/3\ shall be deposited in the account established by 
        subsection (e);
            (2) \1/3\ shall be paid to the county in which the lands 
        are located for use by the county for any purpose, which may 
        include education, transportation and infrastructure, or 
        preservation of open spaces; and
            (3) \1/3\ shall be deposited in the general fund of the 
        Treasury and utilized to reduce the public debt.
    (e) Special Account.--
            (1) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of 
        the United States a separate account to be used in carrying out 
        this section.
            (2) Contents.--The account shall consist of--
                    (A) amounts deposited in the account under 
                subsection (d); and
                    (B) interest added to the account under paragraph 
                (4) of this subsection.
            (3) Use.--
                    (A) In general.--Amounts in the account shall be 
                available to the Secretary until expended, without 
                further appropriation, to pay--
                            (i) subject to subparagraph (B), costs 
                        incurred by the Bureau of Land Management in 
                        arranging disposals of public lands under this 
                        section, 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 public notice;
                            (ii) the cost of acquisition from a willing 
                        seller of environmentally sensitive land or 
                        interests in such land in States in which are 
                        located public lands disposed of under this 
                        section;
                            (iii) the cost of carrying out any 
                        necessary revision or amendment of a current 
                        land use plan of the Bureau of Land Management 
                        that relates to public lands disposed of under 
                        this section;
                            (iv) the cost of projects or programs to 
                        restore or protect wetlands, riparian areas, or 
                        cultural, historic, prehistoric, or 
                        paleontological resources on public lands, 
                        including petroglyphs; and
                            (v) the cost of projects, programs, or land 
                        acquisition to stabilize or restore water 
                        quality for water located or used on public 
                        lands.
                    (B) Limitations.--
                            (i) Costs in arranging land disposals.--
                        Costs charged against the account for the 
                        purposes described in subparagraph (A)(i) shall 
                        not exceed the minimum amount practicable in 
                        view of the fair market value of the public 
                        lands disposed of.
                            (ii) Acquisition.--Not more than 50 percent 
                        of the amounts deposited in the account in any 
                        fiscal year may be used in that fiscal year or 
                        any subsequent fiscal year for the purpose 
                        described in subparagraph (A)(ii).
                    (C) Plan revisions and amendments.--The process of 
                revising or amending a land use plan shall not cause 
                delay or postponement in the implementation of this 
                section.
    (f) Annual Report.--Not later than October 31 of each year, the 
Secretary shall report to the Congress describing in detail the use 
under subsection (d) during the preceding fiscal year of proceeds of 
disposals of public lands under this section, including the 
expenditures in that fiscal year of amounts made available under 
subsection (e).
    (g) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Public lands.--The term ``public lands'' has the 
        meaning that term has under section 103(e) of the Federal Land 
        Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(e)).
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
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