Bill Text: NY S02775 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes a right of first refusal in the state for federal public land to be transferred to private parties; prohibits the recording of any deeds for lands that have been transferred out of federal ownership to private ownership without giving the state the right of first refusal.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S02775 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S02775-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2775 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 24, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SKOUFIS, GOUNARDES, KRUEGER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations AN ACT to amend the public lands law, in relation to establishing a right of first refusal in the state for federal public land to be transferred; and to amend the real property law, in relation to estab- lishing the manner in which documents regarding federal lands shall be recorded The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public lands law is amended by adding a new section 2 21-a to read as follows: 3 § 21-a. Conveyance of federal lands. 1. For purposes of this section, 4 the following terms apply: 5 a. "Conservation plan" means a habitat conservation plan developed 6 pursuant to section 10 of the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 7 U.S.C. Sec. 1539) and its implementing regulations, as the federal act 8 and regulations exist as of the first of January, two thousand twenty- 9 two. 10 b. "Conveyance" includes any method, including sale, donation or 11 exchange, by which all or a portion of the right, title, and interest of 12 the United States in and to federal lands located in the state is trans- 13 ferred to another entity. 14 c. "Federal public land" means any land owned and managed by the 15 United States, including the surface estate, the subsurface estate, or 16 any improvement on those estates, which is owned and managed by the fish 17 and wildlife service, the forest service and the national park service. 18 d. "Infrastructure" means any development or construction that is not 19 on or appurtenant to the federal public land at the time of transfer. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05795-01-3S. 2775 2 1 2. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, it is the policy 2 of the state to discourage conveyances that transfer ownership of feder- 3 al public lands in the state from the federal government. 4 b. (i) Except as provided in this section, conveyances of federal 5 public lands in the state are void ab initio unless the commissioner of 6 general services was provided with the right of first refusal to the 7 conveyance or the right to arrange for the transfer of the federal 8 public land to another entity. 9 (ii) The commissioner of general services may seek declaratory and 10 injunctive relief from a court of competent jurisdiction to contest 11 conveyances made to any entity unless the requirements of this section 12 are met. 13 (iii) The commissioner of general services shall formally consider its 14 right of first refusal or arrange for the transfer of federal public 15 lands to a third party at a public hearing. 16 (iv) (A) Prior to the conveyance of federal public lands in state, if 17 the commissioner of general services was provided with the right of 18 first refusal or the right to arrange for the transfer of the federal 19 public lands to another entity, the commissioner of general services 20 shall issue a certificate affirming compliance with this section. 21 (B) The commissioner of general services shall waive its right of 22 first refusal or the right to arrange for the transfer of the federal 23 public lands to another entity, and issue a certification of compliance 24 affirming compliance with this section for a conveyance that is deemed 25 by the commissioner of general services to be routine. A conveyance 26 deemed by the commissioner of general services to be routine includes, 27 but is not limited to, the exchange of lands of equal value between the 28 federal government and a private entity. The commissioner of general 29 services may adopt regulations to establish a process and criteria for 30 determining the types of conveyances it considers to be routine. 31 (v) The commissioner of general services, and the department of envi- 32 ronmental conversation shall enter into a memorandum of understanding 33 that establishes a state policy that both agencies shall undertake all 34 feasible efforts to protect against any future unauthorized conveyance 35 or any change in federal public land designation, including, but not 36 limited to, any change in use, classification, or legal status of any 37 lands designated as federal monuments pursuant to the federal Antiqui- 38 ties Act of 1906. 39 3. The state shall not be responsible for any costs associated with 40 conveyed federal public land that the commissioner of general services 41 did not accept, purchase, or arrange for the transfer of, pursuant to 42 this section. Costs include, but are not limited to, management costs 43 and infrastructure development costs. 44 4. The commissioner of general services may establish, through regu- 45 lations or another appropriate method, a process for engaging with 46 federal land managers and potential purchasers of federal public lands 47 early in the conveyance process. 48 5. The commissioner of general services shall ensure, for any conveyed 49 federal public land the commissioner accepts, purchases, or arranges for 50 the transfer of, that future management of the conveyed federal public 51 land is determined in a public process that gives consideration of past 52 recognized and legal uses of those lands. At a minimum, the public proc- 53 ess required by this subdivision shall include a noticed and open meet- 54 ing. 55 6. The commissioner of general services shall waive its right of first 56 refusal or the right to arrange for the transfer of the federal publicS. 2775 3 1 lands to another entity, and issue a certification of compliance affirm- 2 ing compliance with this section for any of the following: 3 a. The conveyance of federal public lands pursuant to a conservation 4 plan. 5 b. The renewal of a lease in existence as of the first of January, two 6 thousand twenty-two. 7 c. The conveyance of federal public lands to a federally recognized 8 Native American tribe or lands taken into or out of trust for a Native 9 American tribe or individual Native American. 10 7. The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of 11 this section or its application is held invalid, the invalidity shall 12 not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect 13 without the invalid provision or application. 14 8. This section shall not apply to the sale of real property acquired 15 by a federal agency through a foreclosure proceeding. 16 § 2. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 291-k to 17 read as follows: 18 § 291-k. Recording of documents regarding federal lands. 1. A person 19 shall not knowingly present for recording or filing with a county clerk 20 a deed, instrument, or other document related to a conveyance subject to 21 section twenty-one-a of the public lands law unless it is accompanied by 22 a certificate of compliance from the commissioner of general services. 23 Further, a deed, instrument, or other document related to a conveyance 24 that is subject to section twenty-one-a of the public lands law shall be 25 titled "Federal Public Land Deed of Conveyance" and shall not be 26 recorded without a certificate from the commissioner of general 27 services. The federal agency wishing to convey federal public lands 28 shall ensure that the deed, instrument, or other conveyance document is 29 titled in the manner required by this section. 30 2. A person who presents for recording or filing with a county clerk a 31 deed, instrument or other document in violation of this section is 32 liable for a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars. 33 3. Civil penalties collected pursuant to this section shall be depos- 34 ited into the general fund. 35 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 36 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 37 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 38 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 39 completed on or before such effective date.
