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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session
federal land acquisition; acreage return
Purpose
Urges the U.S. Congress and the President of the United States to enact legislation that requires the federal government to give to a county or state one acre of land of equal or greater size and value for every acre of land it acquires, reserves or withdraws.
Background
According to the
Arizona State Land Department, land ownership in Arizona is categorized as: 1) 42.1
percent Federal; 2) 27.6 percent Indian Reservation; 3) 17.6 percent Private;
and
4) 12.7 percent State Trust (ASLD).
Enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1976, the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program provides compensation to local governments, typically counties, for federal entitlement lands that are exempt from state and local taxes. PILT entitlement lands include most federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, all in the U.S. Department of the Interior, and by the U.S. Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture; federal water projects; dredge disposal areas; and some military installations. PILT payments are made annually to counties that contain entitlement lands (CRS Report; 31 U.S.C. §§ 6901 – 6907).
In FY 2023, Arizona received $43,501,616 in PILT payments for 28,132,256 entitlement acres (FY 2023 PILT National Summary).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Urges the U.S. Congress to immediately pass and the President to sign legislation that requires the federal government to:
a) give one acre of land of equal or greater size and value to an applicable county or state for every acre of land acquired or federal public domain land expressly reserved or withdrawn by the federal government; or
b) in the absence of land of equal or greater size and value, give to an applicable county or state land of a size and value as proximate as possible to the acquired, reserved or withdrawn land and in lieu payments for the value of the difference.
2. Requires the Secretary of State to transmit copies of the memorial to the President of the United States, the President of the U.S. Senate, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and each member of the Congress from Arizona.
House Action
LARA 2/12/24 DP 5-4-0-0
3rd Read 2/28/24 31-28-0-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 11, 2024
JT/slp