La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act

II Calendar No. 279 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1657 [Report No. 118–135] 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 MAY 17, 2023 Ms. SINEMA (for herself and Mr. KELLY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources DECEMBER 12, 2023 Reported by Mr. MANCHIN, with amendments [Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘La Paz County Solar 4 Energy and Job Creation Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Dec 13, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1657.RS S1657 2 •S 1657 RS SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means La 3 Paz County, Arizona. 4 (2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 5 means the approximately 4,800 3,400 acres of land 6 managed by the Bureau of Land Management and 7 designated as ‘‘Federal Land To Be Conveyed’’ on 8 the map. 9 (3) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map 10 prepared by the Bureau of Land Management enti- 11 tled ‘‘La Paz County Land Conveyance Map’’ and 12 dated September 1, 2020. 13 (3) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map enti- 14 tled ‘‘BLM Arizona—La Paz County Land Convey- 15 ance Map, Bureau of Land Management—Colorado 16 River District, Yuma Field Office’’ and dated June 17 29, 2023. 18 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 19 the Secretary of the Interior. 20 SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE TO LA PAZ COUNTY, ARIZONA. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the planning re- 22 quirement of sections 202 and 203 of the Federal Land 23 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712, 24 1713) and in accordance with this section and other appli- 25 cable law, as soon as practicable after receiving a request 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Dec 13, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1657.RS S1657 3 •S 1657 RS from the County to convey the Federal land, the Secretary 1 shall convey the Federal land to the County. 2 (b) RESTRICTIONS ON CONVEYANCE.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The conveyance under sub- 4 section (a) shall be subject to— 5 (A) valid existing rights; and 6 (B) such terms and conditions as the Sec- 7 retary determines to be necessary. 8 (2) EXCLUSION.—The Secretary shall exclude 9 from the conveyance under subsection (a) any Fed- 10 eral land that contains significant cultural, environ- 11 mental, wildlife, or recreational resources. 12 (c) PAYMENT OF FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The con- 13 veyance under subsection (a) shall be for the fair market 14 value of the Federal land to be conveyed, as determined— 15 (1) in accordance with the Federal Land Policy 16 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 17 seq.); and 18 (2) based on an appraisal that is conducted in 19 accordance with— 20 (A) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for 21 Federal Land Acquisitions; and 22 (B) the Uniform Standards of Professional 23 Appraisal Practice. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Dec 13, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1657.RS S1657 4 •S 1657 RS (d) PROTECTION OF TRIBAL CULTURAL ARTI- 1 FACTS.—As a condition of the conveyance under sub- 2 section (a), the County shall, and as a condition of any 3 subsequent conveyance, any subsequent owner shall— 4 (1) make good faith efforts to avoid disturbing 5 Tribal artifacts; 6 (2) minimize impacts on Tribal artifacts if the 7 artifacts are disturbed; 8 (3) coordinate with the Colorado River Indian 9 Tribes Tribal Historic Preservation Office to identify 10 artifacts of cultural and historic significance; and 11 (4) allow Tribal representatives to rebury un- 12 earthed artifacts at or near where the artifacts were 13 discovered. 14 (e) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The map shall be on file and 16 available for public inspection in the appropriate of- 17 fices of the Bureau of Land Management. 18 (2) CORRECTIONS.—The Secretary and the 19 County may, by mutual agreement— 20 (A) make minor boundary adjustments to 21 the Federal land to be conveyed under sub- 22 section (a); and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Dec 13, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1657.RS S1657 5 •S 1657 RS (B) correct any minor errors in the map, 1 an acreage estimate, or the description of the 2 Federal land. 3 (f) WITHDRAWAL.—The Federal land is withdrawn 4 from the operation of the mining and mineral leasing laws 5 of the United States. 6 (g) COSTS.—As a condition of the conveyance of the 7 Federal land under subsection (a), the County shall pay— 8 (1) an amount equal to the appraised value de- 9 termined in accordance with subsection (c)(2); and 10 (2) all costs related to the conveyance, including 11 all surveys, appraisals, and other administrative 12 costs associated with the conveyance of the Federal 13 land to the County under subsection (a). 14 (h) PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF LAND.—The pro- 15 ceeds from the sale of land under this section shall be— 16 (1) deposited in the Federal Land Disposal Ac- 17 count established by section 206(a) of the Federal 18 Land Transaction Facilitation Act (43 U.S.C. 19 2305(a)); and 20 (2) used in accordance with that Act (43 U.S.C. 21 2301 et seq.). 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Dec 13, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1657.RS S1657 Calendar No. 279 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1657 [Report No. 118–135] A BILL To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain land to La Paz County, Arizona, and for other purposes. DECEMBER 12, 2023 Reported with amendments VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Dec 13, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S1657.RS S1657