[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1276 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1276
To reaffirm the policy of the United States with respect to management
authority over public land, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 14, 2019
Mr. Lowenthal (for himself, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Perlmutter, Mr. Rouda, Mr.
Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Gomez, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Mr.
Cisneros, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. McNerney, Ms. Haaland, and Ms. Judy Chu
of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reaffirm the policy of the United States with respect to management
authority over public land, 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 ``America's Public Land Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) public land in the United States is--
(A) iconic, including national parks, wildlife
refuges, and national forests; and
(B) irreplaceable, including wildlife habitat,
archaeological resources, and other national treasures;
(2) public land--
(A) provides unrivaled recreational opportunities;
and
(B) is enjoyed by hundreds of millions of people in
the United States each year;
(3) public land--
(A) strengthens the United States economy; and
(B) powers a recreation industry that supports--
(i) 7,600,000 jobs; and
(ii) nearly $900,000,000,000 in direct
spending annually;
(4) United States public land provides numerous other
benefits to the people of the United States, including--
(A) clean air and water;
(B) public health gains; and
(C) access to the outdoors;
(5) retaining United States public land is in the public
interest; and
(6) except as expressly authorized by Congress, United
States public land should be retained under the ownership of
the United States.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Management authority.--The term ``management
authority'' means--
(A) the ability to determine--
(i) which uses to permit on public land,
including uses relating to--
(I) timber;
(II) grazing;
(III) renewable and nonrenewable
energy and mineral resources;
(IV) recreation; and
(V) vegetation management; or
(ii) where and how those uses of public
land take place; and
(B) the ability to regulate, permit, or authorize
use of public land.
(2) Public land.--
(A) In general.--The term ``public land'' means any
land or interest in land--
(i) owned by the United States; and
(ii) administered by--
(I) the Secretary of the Interior,
acting through--
(aa) the Director of the
Bureau of Land Management;
(bb) the Director of the
National Park Service; or
(cc) the Director of the
United States Fish and Wildlife
Service; or
(II) the Secretary of Agriculture,
acting through the Chief of the Forest
Service.
(B) Exclusion.--The term ``public land'' does not
include land held in trust for the benefit of an Indian
Tribe.
(3) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned''
means--
(A) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to
land or an interest in land under the jurisdiction of
the Department of the Interior; and
(B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to
land or an interest in land under the jurisdiction of
the Department of Agriculture.
SEC. 4. REAFFIRMATION OF POLICY.
Congress reaffirms that the policy of the United States is--
(1) to retain public land in Federal ownership unless the
disposal of public land has been authorized by an Act of
Congress;
(2) to retain management authority over public land, except
in any case in which a non-Federal individual or entity is
authorized to exercise management authority pursuant to--
(A) an Act of Congress; or
(B) another applicable law; and
(3) that retention of public land and the management
authority over public land is in the public interest.
SEC. 5. RETENTION REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Public Land.--Except as authorized by an Act of Congress, the
Secretary concerned shall not approve or permit the conveyance of
public land to any non-Federal individual or entity.
(b) Management Authority.--Except as authorized by an Act of
Congress or other applicable law, the Secretary concerned shall not
approve or permit the granting of management authority over public land
to any non-Federal individual or entity.
SEC. 6. EFFECT OF ACT.
Nothing in this Act--
(1) affects the jurisdiction of any State with respect to
the management of fish or wildlife on public land;
(2) diminishes the rights of any Indian Tribe, including
rights regarding access to public land for Tribal activities
(including spiritual, cultural, and traditional food-gathering
activities);
(3) alters, modifies, enlarges, diminishes, or abrogates
the treaty rights of any Indian Tribe, including off-
reservation reserved rights;
(4) creates an express or implied reservation by the United
States of any water or water right for any purpose;
(5) affects, modifies, or affects the use or allocation, as
in existence on the date of enactment of this Act, of any
water, water right, or interest in water; or
(6) affects any interstate water compact in existence on
the date of enactment of this Act.
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