[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6718 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6718

   To authorize, direct, expedite, and facilitate a land exchange in 
                  California, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 12, 2023

Mr. McCarthy (for himself, Mr. Kiley, and Mr. Obernolte) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize, direct, expedite, and facilitate a land exchange in 
                  California, 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 ``City of Ridgecrest Land Exchange 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) City.--The term ``City'' means the City of Ridgecrest, 
        California.
            (2) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means the 
        approximately 500 acres of Federal land generally depicted as 
        ``Proposed BLM to City of Ridgecrest Land Transfer'' on the 
        Federal land map.
            (3) Federal land map.--The term ``Federal land map'' means 
        the map titled ``Proposed Bureau of Land Management to City of 
        Ridgecrest Land Exchange'' and dated October 5, 2023.
            (4) Non-federal land.--The term ``non-Federal land'' means 
        the approximately 640 acres of land in California, generally 
        depicted as ``Proposed City of Ridgecrest to BLM Land 
        Transfer'' on the non-Federal land map.
            (5) Non-federal land map.--The term ``non-Federal land 
        map'' means the map titled ``Proposed City of Ridgecrest to 
        Bureau of Land Management Land Exchange'' and dated August 31, 
        2023.
            (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 3. LAND EXCHANGE.

    (a) In General.--If the City offers to convey to the Secretary all 
right, title, and interest of the City in and to the non-Federal land, 
the Secretary shall accept the offer and, as soon as practicable, but 
not later than 1 year after receiving the offer from the City, convey 
to the City all right, title, and interest of the United States to the 
Federal land.
    (b) Title Approval.--
            (1) In general.--Title to the land to be exchanged under 
        this section shall be in a format acceptable to the Secretary 
        and the City.
            (2) Non-federal land.--Title to the non-Federal land 
        conveyed to the Secretary under this section shall conform to 
        the title approval standards of the Attorney General of the 
        United States applicable to land acquisitions by the Federal 
        Government.
    (c) Maps, Estimates, and Descriptions.--
            (1) Minor errors.--The Secretary and the City may, by 
        mutual agreement--
                    (A) make minor boundary adjustments to the Federal 
                land and non-Federal land involved in the exchange; and
                    (B) correct any minor errors in any map, acreage 
                estimate, or description of the land to be exchanged.
            (2) Conflict.--If there is a conflict between a map, an 
        acreage estimate, or a description of land under this section, 
        the map shall control unless the Secretary and City mutually 
        agree otherwise.
            (3) Availability of maps.--The Federal land map and non-
        Federal land map shall be kept on file and available for public 
        inspection in the appropriate office of the Bureau of Land 
        Management.
    (d) Survey.--The exact acreage and legal description of the land 
exchanged under this section shall be determined by a survey 
satisfactory to the Secretary.
    (e) Costs of Conveyance.--As a condition for the land exchange 
under this section, the City shall pay the reasonable costs incurred by 
the Secretary for--
            (1) the survey required by subsection (d); and
            (2) any environmental analysis or administrative expenses 
        related to the exchange.
    (f) Effect; Terms and Conditions.--The land exchange under this 
section--
            (1) is not subject to section 206 of the Federal Land 
        Policy Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716);
            (2) shall not affect the administration or ownership of any 
        highways;
            (3) shall not affect and shall further reserve for the 
        continued and perpetual benefit of utilities all those existing 
        rights on or to the land exchanged under this section, 
        including any easements, and rights-of-way for electrical 
        transmission and distribution poles, lines, and other 
        appurtenances, regardless of whether such rights were created 
        by patent, prescription, contract, or applicable law; and
            (4) is subject to the condition that, with respect to 
        Federal land conveyed to the City, the City shall, to the 
        extent practicable, maintain access--
                    (A) to all officially designated motorized routes 
                depicted on the Federal land map; and
                    (B) for non-motorized recreation activities.
    (g) Restriction on Gaming.--The Federal land conveyed to the City 
under this section shall not be eligible, or used, for any class II or 
class III gaming (as such terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian 
Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703)).
    (h) Management of Land.--Land acquired by the Secretary under this 
section shall become part of the Owens Peak Wilderness Area and be 
managed in accordance with the laws, rules, and regulations applicable 
to that wilderness area.
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