[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1235 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1235

    To limit the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture and the 
 Secretary of the Interior to acquire land located in a State in which 
  25 percent or more of all land in the State is already owned by the 
                 United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 10, 2005

  Mr. Flake (for himself, Mr. Bishop of Utah, Mr. Cannon, Mr. Duncan, 
 Mrs. Cubin, Mr. Otter, Mrs. Musgrave, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Tancredo, and 
Mr. Doolittle) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To limit the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture and the 
 Secretary of the Interior to acquire land located in a State in which 
  25 percent or more of all land in the State is already owned by the 
                 United States, and for other purposes.

    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 ``No Net Loss of Private Land Act''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON FEDERAL ACQUISITION OF LAND IN CERTAIN STATES.

    (a) Acquisition Limitation.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, in the case of a State described in subsection (c), the Secretary 
of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior may acquire an 
interest in a parcel of land consisting of 100 or more acres in the 
State on behalf of the United States only if, before the acquisition of 
such interest, all right, title, and interest of the United States in 
the surface estate of another parcel of land in the State is conveyed 
in accordance with subsection (b). The Secretary concerned may not 
divide a parcel of land consisting of 100 or more acres into smaller 
parcels to avoid the requirements of this subsection.
    (b) Conditions on Conveyance of Surface Estate.--To qualify as a 
conveyance of the surface estate of a parcel of Federal land for 
purposes of subsection (a), the Secretary concerned shall certify to 
Congress that--
            (1) the conveyance was made for the purpose of complying 
        with the requirements of subsection (a); and
            (2) the value of the surface estate of the conveyed Federal 
        land is approximately equal to the value of the interest in 
        land to be acquired by the Secretary concerned, as determined 
        by the Secretary concerned.
    (c) Covered States.--Subsection (a) applies with respect each of 
the several States in which 25 percent or more of all land in the State 
is owned by the United States.
    (d) Exceptions.--This section does not apply to the acquisition of 
the following land:
            (1) Land to be held in trust for the benefit of an Indian 
        tribe or individual or to be held by an Indian tribe or 
        individual subject to a restriction by the United States 
        against alienation.
            (2) Land acquired pursuant to a land exchange specifically 
        authorized or required by an Act of Congress.
            (3) Land acquired pursuant to a foreclosure under title 18, 
        United States Code.
            (4) Land acquired by the United States in its capacity as a 
        receiver, conserver, or liquidating agent and held by the 
        United States in its capacity as a receiver, conserver, or 
        liquidating agent pending disposal.
            (5) Land that is subject to seizure, levy, or lien under 
        the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
            (6) Land that is securing a debt owed to the United States.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``acquire'' includes acquisition by donation, 
        purchase with donated or appropriated funds, exchange, devise, 
        and condemnation.
            (2) The term ``Secretary concerned'' means the Secretary of 
        Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior.
    (f) Waiver Authority.--The Secretary concerned may waive the 
requirements of subsection (a) with respect to the acquisition of a 
particular parcel of land by the Secretary concerned during any period 
in which there is in effect a declaration of war or a national 
emergency declared by the President and the Secretary concerned 
certifies to Congress that the land acquisition is necessary as part of 
the United States response to the war or national emergency.
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