HB 2377
Initials EB/BSR Page 1 House Engrossed
ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Fifty-sixth Legislature
Second Regular Session
House: LARA DPA 5-4-0-0
HB 2377: federal lands; state management costs
Sponsor: Representative Diaz, LD 19
House Engrossed
Overview
Requires the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) and the Joint Legislative Budget
Committee (JLBC) to conduct and complete a cost and revenue study of the annual cost to
manage all federal land in Arizona and all current revenue generated by federal lands that
are not under the control of specified entities.
History
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 governs how federal lands are
administered under the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. 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
nonpublic 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).
Provisions
1. Requires the OAG and JLBC to conduct and complete a cost and revenue study of the
annual cost to manage all federal land in Arizona and all current revenue generated by
federal lands that are not under the control of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD),
U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) or the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR). (Sec. 1)
2. States the OAG and JLBC must assume that control and management of all federal land,
except land controlled by DOD, BIA or BOR, are given to Arizona at no cost. (Sec. 1)
3. Requires, on request by the OAG or JLBC, the following agencies to cooperate with and
provide all necessary information to the OAG and JLBC:
a) The Arizona Game and Fish Department;
b) The Arizona State Parks Board;
c) The Arizona Department of Administration; HB 2377
Initials EB/BSR Page 2 House Engrossed
d) The Arizona Department of Law;
e) The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality;
f) The Arizona Department of Water Resources;
g) The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management;
h) The Arizona State Land Department; and
i) any other agency or political subdivision the OAG and JLBC deem to have relevant
information. (Sec. 1)
4. Instructs the OAG and JLBC, within one year after the effective date of this legislation,
to submit the cost and revenue study to the Governor, the President of the Senate and
the Speaker of the House of Representatives and provide a copy to the Secretary of State.
(Sec. 1)
5. Repeals these requirements on January 1, 2026. (Sec. 1)