California Desert Conservation Enhancement Act

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8849 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8849

To facilitate land exchanges in California between the California State 
  Lands Commission and the Department of the Interior, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 3, 2020

   Mr. Cook introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To facilitate land exchanges in California between the California State 
  Lands Commission and the Department of the Interior, 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 ``California Desert Conservation 
Enhancement Act''.

SEC. 2. CALIFORNIA STATE SCHOOL LAND.

    Section 707 of the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 (16 
U.S.C. 410aaa-77) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Special deposit fund account.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Assembled land exchanges may be 
                used to carry out this section through the sale of 
                surplus Federal property and subsequent acquisitions of 
                State school land.
                    ``(B) Receipts.--Past and future receipts from the 
                sale of property described in subsection (a), less any 
                costs incurred related to the sale, shall be deposited 
                in a Special Deposit Fund Account established in the 
                Treasury.
                    ``(C) Use.--Funds accumulated in the Special 
                Deposit Fund Account may be used by the Secretary, 
                without an appropriation, to acquire State school lands 
                or interest in the land consistent with this 
                section.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Memorandum of Agreement.--
            ``(1) Transactions before january 1, 2018.--Any transaction 
        completed pursuant to this section before January 1, 2018--
                    ``(A) is deemed to be in compliance with the terms 
                of the October 26, 1995, Memorandum of Agreement 
                between the commission, the general services 
                administration, and the Secretary; and
                    ``(B) meets the requirements of subsection (a).
            ``(2) Transactions on or after january 1, 2018.--Any 
        transaction completed pursuant to this section on or after 
        January 1, 2018, that satisfies the terms of the October 26, 
        1995, Memorandum of Agreement shall be considered to be in 
        compliance with subsection (a).''.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITED USES OF ACQUIRED, DONATED, AND CONSERVATION LAND.

    Section 714(a) of the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 (16 
U.S.C. 410aaa-81c(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (3) and 
inserting the following:
            ``(3) Conservation land.--The term `conservation land' 
        means--
                    ``(A) any land within the Conservation Area that is 
                designated to satisfy the conditions of a Federal 
                habitat conservation plan, general conservation plan, 
                or State natural communities conservation plan;
                    ``(B) any national conservation land within the 
                Conservation Area established pursuant to section 
                2002(b)(2)(D) of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act 
                of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7202(b)(2)(D)); and
                    ``(C) any area of critical environmental concern 
                within the Conservation Area established pursuant to 
                section 202(c)(3) of the Federal Land Policy and 
                Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712(c)(3)).''.
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