Bill Text: AZ HB2700 | 2014 | Fifty-first Legislature 2nd Regular | Engrossed
Bill Title: Federal acquisition; state lands; monitoring
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-04-15 - Senate third reading FAILED voting: (14-15-1-0) [HB2700 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2014-HB2700-Engrossed.html
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House Engrossed |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-first Legislature Second Regular Session 2014
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HOUSE BILL 2700 |
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AN ACT
Amending Title 37, chapter 2, article 17, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 37-620.03; relating to public lands.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 37, chapter 2, article 17, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 37-620.03, to read:
37-620.03. State lands acquired by federal government; monitoring by state land department; report; recovery of state lands; documentation of federal authority
A. The state land department shall:
1. Identify the state lands that have been acquired or reclassified by the federal government after statehood, including state lands that are located within national monuments designated pursuant to the antiquities act of 1906 (34 Stat. 225; 16 United States Code section 431) or wilderness areas and the impact that the acquisition or reclassification of state lands by the federal government has on the trust beneficiaries.
2. Coordinate with the governor's office to select a third party to assess the short-term and long-term financial impacts that the current and any future acquisition of state lands by the federal government has on the state and the trust beneficiaries, including any loss of revenue. The third party shall notify the attorney general of its findings.
3. Monitor federal activity for proposals to sell or transfer federal land to a private group or individual or to designate national monuments in this state.
4. Submit any comments or feedback necessary to the federal government regarding the acquisition of state lands by the federal government.
5. Provide information regarding the impact of the acquisition of state lands by the federal government in this state to the state, county, city or town, including any tax implications.
6. Notify the attorney general when state lands or private lands are acquired by the federal government. The attorney general shall determine whether there has been a violation of federal law and if legal action is reasonably necessary to recover the land and to protect the trust beneficiaries and the private property rights of the people of this state.
7. Inform the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the chairpersons of the senate natural resources and rural affairs committee and the house of representatives energy, environment and natural resources committee, or their successor committees, if state land is acquired by the federal government and of issues relating to the designation of national monuments in this state, including the impact on state trust lands and the trust beneficiaries.
8. Submit a report of its findings and recommendations relating to the acquisition of state lands by the federal government to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives on or before December 31 of each year and provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state.
B. The legislature and the attorney general shall take all steps, if deemed necessary, to recover and acquire all state lands within this state that have been acquired by the federal government, especially state lands that have been acquired in a manner that is inconsistent with the limited enumerated powers and functions of the federal government as prescribed in the Constitution of the United States. State lands may be recovered or acquired from the federal government in any appropriate manner, including in lieu land exchanges based on land value and not acreage.
C. Beginning in 2014 and every even-numbered year thereafter, the attorney general shall contact the president of the United States, the speaker of the United States house of representatives, the president of the United States senate and the chief justice of the United States supreme court and demand detailed written justifications that document the specific constitutional authority that allows the federal government to hold, take or acquire land in this sovereign state. The attorney general shall report to the legislature any response or lack of response.
Sec. 2. Findings
The legislature finds, determines and declares that:
1. A large percentage of lands in this state are currently held by the federal government. This is an attack on the sovereignty of this state and has a negative impact on the taxing ability of the counties, cities and towns located in this state. The negative impact on the counties, cities and towns located in this state becomes even greater as the federal government reduces its payment in lieu of taxes to local governments. The amount of federal land in this state must be reduced, and the federal government should not be able to increase the amount of land it controls in this state.
2. The Third and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution of the United States establish essential constitutional rights and protections of property. Contrary to the Enabling Act of 1912, the federal withholding of over fifty per cent of the sovereign lands in this state is further exacerbated by the taking of hundreds of thousands of additional acres under the Antiquities Act of 1906 (34 Stat. 225; 16 United States Code section 431) in stark contradiction to the defined limitations of the Antiquities Act that state "of land, the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area." In direct violation of article 1, section 8, clause 17 of the Constitution of the United States, state lands have been taken for nonenumerated federal purposes, without legislative approval and without the constitutionally required just compensation paid to the state land trust for the education of Arizona children as required by the Enabling Act. The unique, coveted nature of these lands indicates that these lands are far more valuable than typical lands, and so the state must receive higher than normal just compensation for these lands, whether in a purchase price or by means of an exchange for significantly more federally controlled lands located within this state.
Sec. 3. Transmittal of this act
The Secretary of State of the State of Arizona shall transmit a copy of this act to the President of the United States and each Member of Congress from this state.
