119-s909

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 909 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 909

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain land to La 
 Paz County, Arizona, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 March 10, 2025

Mr. Gallego (for himself and Mr. Kelly) introduced the following bill; 
 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
 Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain land to La 
 Paz County, Arizona, 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 ``La Paz County Solar Energy and Job 
Creation Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) County.--The term ``County'' means La Paz County, 
 Arizona.

    (2) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means the 
 approximately 3,400 acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land 
 Management and designated as ``Federal Land To Be Conveyed'' on 
 the map.

    (3) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled ``BLM 
 Arizona--La Paz County Land Conveyance Map, Bureau of Land 
 Management--Colorado River District, Yuma Field Office'' and 
 dated June 29, 2023.

    (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
 of the Interior.

SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE TO LA PAZ COUNTY, ARIZONA.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding the planning requirement of 
sections 202 and 203 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712, 1713) and in accordance with this section and 
other applicable law, as soon as practicable after receiving a request 
from the County to convey the Federal land, the Secretary shall convey 
the Federal land to the County.

    (b) Restrictions on Conveyance.--

    (1) In general.--The conveyance under subsection

    (a) shall 
 be subject to--
        (A) valid existing rights; and
        (B) such terms and conditions as the Secretary 
 determines to be necessary.

    (2) Exclusion.--The Secretary shall exclude from the 
 conveyance under subsection

    (a) any Federal land that contains 
 significant cultural, environmental, wildlife, or recreational 
 resources.
            (c) Payment of Fair Market Value.--The conveyance under subsection

    (a) shall be for the fair market value of the Federal land to be 
conveyed, as determined--

    (1) in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and 
 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and

    (2) based on an appraisal that is conducted in accordance 
 with--
        (A) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal 
 Land Acquisitions; and
        (B) the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal 
 Practice.
            (d) Protection of Tribal Cultural Artifacts.--As a condition of the 
conveyance under subsection

    (a) , the County shall, and as a condition 
of any subsequent conveyance, any subsequent owner shall--

    (1) make good faith efforts to avoid disturbing Tribal 
 artifacts;

    (2) minimize impacts on Tribal artifacts if the artifacts 
 are disturbed;

    (3) coordinate with the Colorado River Indian Tribes Tribal 
 Historic Preservation Office to identify artifacts of cultural 
 and historic significance; and

    (4) allow Tribal representatives to rebury unearthed 
 artifacts at or near where the artifacts were discovered.

    (e) Availability of Map.--

    (1) In general.--The map shall be on file and available for 
 public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Bureau of 
 Land Management.

    (2) Corrections.--The Secretary and the County may, by 
 mutual agreement--
        (A) make minor boundary adjustments to the Federal 
 land to be conveyed under subsection

    (a) ; and
        (B) correct any minor errors in the map, an acreage 
 estimate, or the description of the Federal land.

    (f) Withdrawal.--The Federal land is withdrawn from the operation 
of the mining and mineral leasing laws of the United States.

    (g) Costs.--As a condition of the conveyance of the Federal land 
under subsection

    (a) , the County shall pay--

    (1) an amount equal to the appraised value determined in 
 accordance with subsection
            (c) (2) ; and

    (2) all costs related to the conveyance, including all 
 surveys, appraisals, and other administrative costs associated 
 with the conveyance of the Federal land to the County under 
 subsection

    (a) .

    (h) Proceeds From the Sale of Land.--The proceeds from the sale of 
land under this section shall be--

    (1) deposited in the Federal Land Disposal Account 
 established by 

section 206

    (a) of the Federal Land Transaction 
 Facilitation Act (43 U.S.C. 2305

    (a) ); and

    (2) used in accordance with that Act (43 U.S.C. 2301 et 
 seq.).
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