[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1219 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>





                                                       Calendar No. 690
115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1219

   To provide for stability of title to certain land in the State of 
                   Louisiana, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 24, 2017

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

                           November 29, 2018

              Reported by Ms. Murkowski, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide for stability of title to certain land in the State of 
                   Louisiana, and for other purposes.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Lake Bistineau Land Title 
Stability Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) on December 8, 1842, the Surveyor General 
        approved an original survey of land in northern Louisiana, 
        which included the land surrounding Lake Bistineau;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) under the equal footing doctrine, the State of 
        Louisiana was entitled to the land underlying the navigable 
        waters in place within the boundaries of the State as of the 
        date on which the State joined the Union;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) the State of Louisiana delineated the 
        ownership of the land in the State based on the Original 
        Survey;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) in 1901, the State of Louisiana--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) transferred more than 7,000 acres of 
                land to the commissioners of the Bossier Levee District 
                through Louisiana Act Number 89 of 1892; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) conducted a survey that followed the 
                same path around Lake Bistineau as the path included in 
                the Original Survey;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) in 1904, the Bossier Levee District 
        subsequently conveyed the land described in paragraph (4)(A) to 
        private ownership;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) parcels of the land described in paragraph 
        (4)(A) were bought and sold in good faith based on the 
        stability of the title to the land;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) on September 16, 1967, the Bureau of Land 
        Management submitted a resurvey of the land described in 
        paragraph (4)(A) for S30-T16N-R10W and 2 adjacent islands, 
        which presented a new line to represent what the Bureau of Land 
        Management surveyors believed to be the contour of Lake 
        Bistineau as of the date on which the State of Louisiana joined 
        the Union;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) on January 15, 1969, the Bureau of Land 
        Management approved the Resurvey;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) on February 27, 1969, notice of the filing of 
        the Resurvey was filed in the Federal Register (34 Fed. Reg. 
        2677), but the Bureau of Land Management has presented no 
        records of further notice provided to the affected landowners 
        regarding--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the effects of the Resurvey; 
                or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the right of affected landowners to 
                contest the Resurvey;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) on September 27, 2013, the Bureau of Land 
        Management responded to an inquiry by certain owners of land 
        subject to the Resurvey to inform the landowners that title to 
        the land of the landowners would ``appear to be still vested in 
        the United States''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (11) there are estimated to be more than 200 acres 
        of, and more than 50 residential homes located on, the land 
        subject to the Resurvey.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to direct the 
Secretary of the Interior to issue a recordable disclaimer of interest 
of the United States in and to--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) any land described in paragraphs (1) and (2) 
        of subsection (b) of section 4 that is located outside the 
        record meander lines described in that subsection; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) any omitted land.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In this Act:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Omitted land.--The term ``omitted land'' means 
        any land in S30-T16N-R10W, including adjacent islands and the 
        meander lines of the water body, that was in place during the 
        Original Survey, but that was not included in the Original 
        Survey, regardless of whether the exclusion of the land was due 
        to gross error in the Original Survey or fraud by any 
        individual conducting the Original Survey.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Original survey.--The term ``Original Survey'' 
        means the survey of land in northern Louisiana approved by the 
        Surveyor General on December 8, 1842.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Resurvey.--The term ``Resurvey'' means the 
        document entitled ``Dependent Re-Survey, Extension Survey and 
        Survey of Two Islands, Sections 17, 29, and 30'', which was 
        completed on November 24, 1967, approved on January 15, 1969, 
        and published in the Federal Register on February 27, 1969 (34 
        Fed. Reg. 2677).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the 
        Secretary of the Interior.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. LEGAL STATUS OF RESURVEY.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--The Resurvey--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) shall not be considered to be, or serve as, a 
        gross error determination; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) shall have no legal force or effect on the 
        ownership of the land described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of 
        subsection (b).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Meander Lines.--The meander lines in the Original 
Survey are definitive for purposes of determining title to--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the land in S30-T16N-R10W; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the 2 islands adjacent to the land described 
        in paragraph (1).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Disclaimer of Interest.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Secretary shall prepare a 
        disclaimer of interest in which the United States disclaims any 
        right, title, or interest of the United States in and to--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) any land described in paragraphs (1) 
                and (2) of subsection (b) that is located outside the 
                recorded meander lines described in that subsection; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) any omitted land.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Filing.--The Secretary shall record the 
        disclaimer of interest prepared under paragraph (1) in the 
        appropriate local office in the State of Louisiana in which 
        real property documents are recorded.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Inclusions.--The disclaimer of interest filed 
        under paragraph (2) shall include legal descriptions of the 
        land subject to the disclaimer of interest using the lot or 
        tract numbers included in the Resurvey.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Lake Bistineau Land Title Stability 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Claimant.--The term ``claimant'' means any individual, 
        group, or corporation authorized to hold title to land or 
        mineral interests in land in the State of Louisiana with a 
        valid claim to the omitted land, including any mineral 
        interests.
            (2) Map.--The term ``Map'' means the map entitled ``Lands 
        as Delineated by Original Survey December 18, 1842 showing the 
        1969 Meander Line at the 148.6 Elevation Line'' and dated 
        January 30, 2018.
            (3) Omitted land.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``omitted land'' means 
                the land in lots 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 of sec. 
                30, T. 16 N., R. 10 W., Louisiana Meridian, comprising 
                a total of approximately 229.72 acres, as depicted on 
                the Map, that--
                            (i) was in place during the Original 
                        Survey; but
                            (ii) was not included in the Original 
                        Survey.
                    (B) Inclusion.--The term ``omitted land'' 
                includes--
                            (i) Peggy's Island in lot 1 of sec. 17, T. 
                        16 N., R. 10 W., Louisiana Meridian; and
                            (ii) Hog Island in lot 1 of sec. 29 , T. 16 
                        N., R. 10 W., Louisiana Meridian.
            (4) Original survey.--The term ``Original Survey'' means 
        the survey of land surrounding Lake Bistineau, Louisiana, 
        conducted by the General Land Office in 1838 and approved by 
        the Surveyor General on December 8, 1842.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 3. CONVEYANCES.

    (a) In General.--Consistent with the first section of the Act of 
December 22, 1928 (commonly known as the ``Color of Title Act'') (45 
Stat. 1069, chapter 47; 43 U.S.C. 1068), except as provided by this 
Act, the Secretary shall convey to the claimant the omitted land, 
including any mineral interests, that has been held in good faith and 
in peaceful, adverse possession by a claimant or an ancestor or grantor 
of the claimant, under claim or color of title, based on the Original 
Survey.
    (b) Confirmation of Title.--The conveyance or patent of omitted 
land to a claimant under subsection (a) shall have the effect of 
confirming title to the surface and minerals in the claimant and shall 
not serve as any admission by a claimant.

SEC. 4. PAYMENT OF COSTS.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the 
conveyance required under section 3 shall be without consideration.
    (b) Exception.--Before the conveyance of the omitted land under 
section 3, the claimant shall pay to the Secretary any costs incurred 
by the Secretary relating to any survey, platting, legal description, 
or associated activities required to prepare and issue a patent under 
that section.

SEC. 5. MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.

    As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall file, and make available for public inspection in the 
appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land and Management, the Map and 
legal descriptions of the omitted land to be conveyed under section 3.
                                                       Calendar No. 690

115th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1219

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

   To provide for stability of title to certain land in the State of 
                   Louisiana, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           November 29, 2018

                       Reported with an amendment