HCM 2002
Initials PAB/AH Page 1 House Engrossed
ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Fifty-sixth Legislature
First Regular Session
House: LARA DP 5-4-0-0
HCM2002: federal lands; housing shortage
Sponsor: Representative Griffin, LD 19
House Engrossed
Overview
Requests that Congress enact legislation to allow the Secretary of the Interior to sell public lands
to state and local governments and that the Secretary of the Interior implement a process for
applicants to nominate public lands for purchase.
History
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 governs how federal lands are
administered under the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (Public Law 94-579). This act allows
public land to be sold if the Secretary of Interior determines that the tract of land meets any of the
following criteria:
1) The tract is difficult and prohibitively expensive to manage and unsuitable for management
by another department or agency;
2) The tract is no longer required for the federal purpose for which it was originally acquired;
or
3) Selling the tract will serve important public objectives that cannot be achieved on non-
public lands and that outweigh other public objectives and values which would otherwise
be served by maintaining this tract in federal ownership (43 U.S.C. § 1713).
Public lands are generally sold through competitive bid at a public auction. However, the
Secretary of Interior may adopt a modified competitive bidding process where some preferences
of adjoining landowners are recognized or directly sell the land to a party when circumstances
warrant. In any case, public lands cannot be sold for less than their fair market value (U.S.C. §
43-1713).
Helping Open Underutilized Space to Ensure Shelter Act
The Helping Open Underutilized Space to Ensure Shelter (HOUSES) Act was introduced as
Senate Bill 4062. It amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to allow certain
public land to be sold to states and local governments for housing developments. The bill includes
a process by which a state or local government can request the sale of public lands within its
boundaries for eligible projects in which:
1) At least 85 percent of the land will be used for residential development;
2) Each acre of land will provide for at least four residences;
3) No single residence will be located on over half an acre; and
4) No more than 15 percent of the land will be used for commercial purposes.
The public land requested cannot include any federally protected land such as national parks,
national recreation areas, national preserves and national historic sites. A submitted proposal
must include a map of the lands nominated and a description the eligible project. If approved for
sale by the Secretary of the Interior, the sale price is set based on a formula that considers the HCM 2002
Initials PAB/AH Page 2 House Engrossed
tract's fair market value, payments in lieu of taxes that would otherwise be made for the tract, and
the estimated amount of tax revenue that would have been due for the tract's sale. The Secretary
of Interior cannot convey this land without approval from the governor and enactment of any
regulatory provisions needed for the eligible project by the state or local government.
The bill received a hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public
Lands, Forests, and Mining but did not progress further during the 2022 Legislative session.
Provisions
1. States that the Arizona House of Representatives urges:
a) Congress to enact the Helping Open Underutilized Space to Ensure Shelter Act, or similar
legislation, to allow the Secretary of the Interior to sell federal parcels of land to state and
local governments; and
b) Secretary of the Interior to implement a process for applicants to nominate federal lands
for purchase immediately upon the passage of such legislation.
2. Directs the Arizona Secretary of State to transmit the memorial to the Secretary of the Interior,
the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of
Representatives and each member of Congress from the State of Arizona.
☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal Note