[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 116 (Tuesday, September 26, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H8141-H8143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    LINCOLN COUNTY LAND ACT OF 2000

  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2752) to give Lincoln County, Nevada, the right to purchase 
at fair market value certain public land located within that county, 
and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2752

       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 
     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 enactment of this Act; and
       (B) the land described in subsection (b)(1)(B) not later 
     than 5 years after the date of 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

[[Page H8142]]

     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.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Romero-
Barcelo) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I first would like to thank my colleague, the gentleman 
from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons), for his efforts in introducing this bill. He 
has worked diligently in preparing this legislation, and I urge the 
Members' consideration and support of H.R. 2752.
  This bill would grant Lincoln County, Nevada, the exclusive right to 
purchase pieces of public land at fair market value for a 10-year 
period. The bill would also withdraw such lands from all forms of entry 
and appropriations under public land laws, including the mining law, 
and from operation of the mineral leasing and geothermal laws during 
the 10-year period.
  Located in southeastern Nevada, Lincoln County encompasses 6.8 
million acres, making it the third largest county in the State. Despite 
its large size, Lincoln County remains lightly populated and nearly 90 
percent of the land is under Federal ownership. This pattern of private 
ownership mixed with public lands poses many problems for Federal land 
managers. H.R. 2752 would help resolve this problem by allowing some of 
these lands to be made available to the private sector. The increase of 
private lands would also increase the revenue on county tax rolls, 
thereby providing much needed resources for Lincoln County 
schoolchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, I reiterate my support for H.R. 2752 and ask for my 
colleagues' endorsement to grant Lincoln County the right to purchase 
pieces of public land at a fair market price. I urge all my colleagues 
to support H.R. 2752, as amended.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2752, introduced by the 
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons), directs the Secretary of the 
Interior to provide for the sale of nearly 5,000 acres of public land 
in Lincoln County, Nevada. The bill, as amended, directs that the 
proceeds from any such sales be distributed on the basis of 5 percent 
to the State of Nevada, 10 percent to Lincoln County, with the 
remainder of the funds deposited in a newly created special account and 
available without further appropriation to reimburse the Bureau of Land 
Mines for land sale costs, development of a multispecies habitat 
conservation plan, and the purchase of conservation lands in Lincoln 
County.
  The bill, as introduced, had a number of serious problems; and at the 
hearing of the Committee on Resources on H.R. 2752, the administration 
testified in opposition to the legislation. Subsequent to that hearing, 
discussions were held in an attempt to address the problems with the 
bill, and an agreement was worked out on all issues except the 
distribution of the land sale receipts.
  Under current law, 95 percent of these sale receipts would go to the 
Federal Government for deposit into the Land and Water Conservation 
Fund, with the remaining 5 percent distributed to the State. The lands 
identified for sale by this bill are already being sold for the purpose 
of expanding the local tax base and generating local revenues. Thus, we 
must question whether a specific revenue-sharing provision for Lincoln 
County is justified. It is a benefit that is not being provided to 
other counties. This is not the southern Nevada situation, where Clark 
County was providing utilities that significantly enhanced the value of 
public lands being sold.
  Mr. Speaker, the proposed distribution of land sale receipts by H.R. 
2752 runs counter to what the Congress did just 3 months ago in passing 
as part of the Baca Ranch legislation, a national public land sale 
program.

                              {time}  1815

  We believe H.R. 2752 should be consistent with existing law. And 
although we hope that this matter would be addressed before final 
action is taken on the measure, we will not object to passage today of 
H.R. 2752.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) the author of this 
legislation.
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me the 
time to speak on this important piece of legislation for the Second 
District of Nevada.
  Mr. Speaker, although America is enduring what I believe to be one of 
the most unprecedented economic boom times of all, not every American 
is benefitting from these most economic prosperity times. And that is 
certainly the concern in Nevada, because some of the constituents in 
Lincoln County believe that this economic boom has passed them by.
  Mr. Speaker, since Nevada's historic inclusion as a State to this 
Nation, the Federal Government has laid claim to a very large 
percentage of the land within the State boundaries and Nevada counties 
are in a catch-22 because they are land locked in Federal property, 
unable to progress and grow and generate taxes. And to top it all off, 
the Federal Government has not ever completely funded their payment in 
lieu of taxes as a property owner in our State.
  This is a time when Congress must fight for working families, our 
counties and our communities that are barely surviving. To help to 
rectify this difficult situation, I have introduced this bill before us 
today.
  Lincoln County, Mr. Speaker, encompasses about 10,132 square miles of 
the State of Nevada, which is larger, by the way, than the State of 
Maryland, 98 percent of which is owned by the Federal Government.
  With only 2 percent of the property for a tax base, the revenues that 
that county is able to generate for their highways and roads, schools, 
and infrastructure is about $1.1 million; and that is not enough to 
even provide the basic services needed and mandated by laws to the 
citizens of that county.
  Lincoln County School District is in a critical situation, as its 
elementary and high schools are literally uninhabitable because of the 
lack of private property tax funds necessary to maintain them. And I 
know because I have had the opportunity to visit them and see for 
myself what is going on there.
  If Lincoln County is unable to provide an adequate education to its 
young people, its future is in serious jeopardy. So by allowing the BLM 
the opportunity to sell land that it wants to divest itself of, a set 
amount of Federally owned land, it will increase Lincoln County's 
annual property tax base

[[Page H8143]]

by more than 10 times once it is fully put to use.
  In fact, when the land is simply purchased by private individuals, it 
will immediately double the tax base of Lincoln County.
  H.R. 2752 stipulates that a small portion of the money derived by the 
sale will stay in Nevada to benefit Nevada's students, its 
infrastructure, and the environment. Five percent of this money will go 
directly to the State education fund. That is a common practice that we 
have done in the past. Ten percent, however, of the money will go to 
Lincoln County to rebuild these condemned schools.
  The remaining bulk of the money will be used by the BLM in our State 
to protect archaeological resources, develop a multi-species habitat 
conservation plan and cover the costs associated with these land sales, 
among other things.
  Under this legislation, the children of Lincoln County will be able 
to attend school in a safe structure with an environment aimed toward a 
good education.
  Lincoln County and its school district will gain badly needed 
property tax revenues, the City of Mesquite will gain much needed room 
for expansion that is consistent with its master plan for growth, and 
the Federal Government will be fairly compensated for the sale of 
public lands.
  H.R. 2752 will give this rural county the vital economic infusion 
they are going to need to survive and grow and allows the affected 
parties to control their own growth and make their own land use 
decisions.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hutchinson). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2752, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to direct 
the Secretary of Interior to sell certain public land in Lincoln County 
through a competitive process.''
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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