Public Lands in Public Hands Act
The Public Lands in Public Hands Act would generally prevent the transfer of federal land to non-Federal entities if the land is publicly accessible or is adjacent to land that is publicly accessible or owned by a state, county, or municipal government with public access. In practice, this means large blocks of land that the public can reach by road, trail, waterway, or other public rights-of-way would remain under federal ownership, restricting sales or transfers to private parties or other non-Federal entities. The bill provides several narrow exceptions, including small parcels (under 300 acres, or under 5 acres if accessible only via a public waterway) and transfers explicitly authorized under certain federal acts or through legally authorized processes (e.g., land exchanges or specific statutes). The act also prohibits subdividing federal land to meet the acreage minimums in the exemptions, and includes a housekeeping provision clarifying that it should not be read to affect boundaries or property corners. If enacted, the rule would apply to transfers proposed after enactment and would interact with a number of longstanding land-disposition authorities and programs.
Key Points
- 1Prohibition on transfers: The Interior Secretary and the Agriculture Secretary cannot transfer title to federally owned land to a non-Federal entity if the land is a publicly accessible tract or is contiguous with a publicly accessible tract or with land owned by a state/local government that is publicly accessible.
- 2Narrow exemptions: Transfers are allowed if the land is small (less than 300 acres, or less than 5 acres if accessible via a public waterway) and the transfer is authorized under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA); or if explicitly authorized by listed federal laws or acts; or if completed through a federally authorized land exchange.
- 3Additional authorization paths: Transfers may also occur if explicitly authorized by federal law outside the listed exemptions, or through a land exchange authorized by federal law.
- 4Subdivision prohibition: The Secretary may not subdivide federal land merely to meet the acreage thresholds in the exemptions.
- 5Boundary language: A directive clarifies that nothing in the Act should be used to interpret or influence the legality of moving across a property corner between adjacent parcels.