AN ACTTo direct the Secretary of the Interior to sell certain public land in Lincoln County through a competitive 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 “Lincoln County Land Act of 2000”.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. (a) Findings.—Congress finds that— (1) Lincoln County, Nevada, encompasses an area of 10,132 square miles of the State of Nevada; (2) approximately 98 percent of the County is owned by the Federal Government; (3) the City of Mesquite, Nevada, needs land for an organized approach for expansion to the north; (4) citizens of the County would benefit through enhanced county services and schools from the increased private property tax base due to commercial and residential development; (5) the County would see improvement to the budget for the county and school services through the immediate distribution of sale receipts from the Secretary selling land through a competitive bidding process; (6) a cooperative approach among the Bureau of Land Management, the County, the City, and other local government entities will ensure continuing communication between those entities; (7) the Federal Government will be fairly compensated for the sale of public land; and (8) the proposed Caliente Management Framework Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement for the Management of Desert Tortoise Habitat Plan identify specific public land as being suitable for disposal. (b) Purposes.—The purposes of this Act are— (1) to provide for the orderly disposal of certain public land in the County; and (2) to provide for the acquisition of environmentally sensitive land in the State of Nevada.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. In this Act: (1) City.—The term “City” means the City of Mesquite, Nevada. (2) County.—The term “County” means Lincoln County, Nevada. (3) Secretary.—The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior. (4) Special account.—The term “special account” means the account in the Treasury of the United States established under section 5.

SEC. 4. DISPOSAL OF LAND. (a) Disposal.— (1) In general.—As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, notwithstanding the land use planning and land sale requirements contained in sections 202 and 203 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1711, 1712), the Secretary, in cooperation with the County and the City, in accordance with this Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), and other applicable law, and subject to valid existing rights, shall dispose of the land described in subsection (b) in a competitive bidding process, at a minimum, for fair market value. (2) Timing.—The Secretary shall dispose of— (A) the land described in subsection (b)(1)(A) not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act; and (B) the land described in subsection (b)(1)(B) not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. (b) Land Description.— (1) In general.—The land referred to in subsection (a) is the land depicted on the map entitled “Public Lands Identified for Disposal in Lincoln County, Nevada” and dated July 24, 2000, consisting of— (A) the land identified on the map for disposal within 1 year, comprising approximately 4,817 acres; and (B) the land identified on the map for disposal within 5 years, comprising approximately 8,683 acres. (2) Map.—The map described in paragraph (1) shall be available for public inspection in the Ely Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management. (c) Segregation.—Subject to valid existing rights, the land described in subsection (b) is segregated from all forms of entry and appropriation (except for competitive sale) under the public land laws, including the mining laws, and from operation of the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws. (d) Compliance With Local Planning and Zoning.—The Secretary shall ensure that qualified bidders intend to comply with— (1) County and City zoning ordinances; and (2) any master plan for the area developed and approved by the County and City.

SEC. 5. DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS. (a) Land Sales.—Of the gross proceeds of sales of land under this Act in a fiscal year— (1) 5 percent shall be paid directly to the State of Nevada for use in the general education program of the State; (2) 10 percent shall be returned to the County for use as determined through normal county budgeting procedures, with emphasis given to support of schools, of which no amount may be used in support of litigation against the Federal Government; and (3) the remainder shall be deposited in a special account in the Treasury of the United States (referred to in this section as the “special account”) for use as provided in subsection (b). (b) Availability of Special Account.— (1) In general.—Amounts in the special account (including amounts earned as interest under paragraph (3)) shall be available to the Secretary of the Interior, without further Act of appropriation, and shall remain available until expended, for— (A) inventory, evaluation, protection, and management of unique archaeological resources (as defined in section 3 of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470bb)) in the County; (B) development of a multispecies habitat conservation plan in the County; (C)(i) reimbursement of costs incurred by the Nevada State Office and the Ely Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management in preparing sales under this Act, or other authorized land sales within the County, 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 any public notice; and (ii) processing public land use authorizations and rights-of-way stemming from development of the conveyed land; and (D) the cost of acquisition of environmentally sensitive land or interests in such land in the State of Nevada, with priority given to land outside Clark County. (2) Acquisition from willing sellers.—An acquisition under paragraph (1)(D) shall be made only from a willing seller and after consultation with the State of Nevada and units of local government under the jurisdiction of which the environmentally sensitive land is located. (c) Investment of Special Account.—All funds deposited as principal in the special account shall earn interest in the amount determined by the Secretary of the Treasury on the basis of the current average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of comparable maturities.

SEC. 6. ACQUISITIONS. (a) Definition of Environmentally Sensitive Land.—In this section, the term “environmentally sensitive land” means land or an interest in land, the acquisition of which by the United States would, in the judgment of the Secretary— (1) promote the preservation of natural, scientific, aesthetic, historical, cultural, watershed, wildlife, and other values contributing to public enjoyment and biological diversity; (2) enhance recreational opportunities and public access; (3) provide the opportunity to achieve better management of public land through consolidation of Federal ownership; or (4) otherwise serve the public interest. (b) Acquisitions.— (1) In general.—After the consultation process has been completed in accordance with subsection (c), the Secretary may acquire with the proceeds of the special account environmentally sensitive land and interests in environmentally sensitive land. Land may not be acquired under this section without the consent of the landowner. (2) Use of other funds.—Funds made available from the special account may be used with any other funds made available under any other provision of law. (c) Consultation.—Before initiating efforts to acquire land under this subsection, the Secretary shall consult with the State of Nevada and with local government within whose jurisdiction the land is located, including appropriate planning and regulatory agencies, and with other interested persons, concerning the necessity of making the acquisition, the potential impacts on State and local government, and other appropriate aspects of the acquisition. (d) Administration.—On acceptance of title by the United States, land and interests in land acquired under this section that is within the boundaries of a unit of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, National Trails System, National Wilderness Preservation System, any other system established by Act of Congress, or any national conservation or national recreation area established by Act of Congress— (1) shall become part of the unit or area without further action by the Secretary; and (2) shall be managed in accordance with all laws and regulations and land use plans applicable to the unit or area.