Bill Text: NY A03472 | 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 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to governmental operations [A03472 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A03472-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3472

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 3, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Governmental 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.
    20    2. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, it is the policy
    21  of the state to discourage conveyances that transfer ownership of feder-
    22  al public lands in the state from the federal government.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05795-01-3

        A. 3472                             2

     1    b. (i) Except as provided in  this  section,  conveyances  of  federal
     2  public  lands in the state are void ab initio unless the commissioner of
     3  general services was provided with the right of  first  refusal  to  the
     4  conveyance  or  the  right  to  arrange  for the transfer of the federal
     5  public land to another entity.
     6    (ii)  The  commissioner  of  general services may seek declaratory and
     7  injunctive relief from a court  of  competent  jurisdiction  to  contest
     8  conveyances  made  to any entity unless the requirements of this section
     9  are met.
    10    (iii) The commissioner of general services shall formally consider its
    11  right of first refusal or arrange for the  transfer  of  federal  public
    12  lands to a third party at a public hearing.
    13    (iv)  (A) Prior to the conveyance of federal public lands in state, if
    14  the commissioner of general services was  provided  with  the  right  of
    15  first  refusal  or  the right to arrange for the transfer of the federal
    16  public lands to another entity, the  commissioner  of  general  services
    17  shall issue a certificate affirming compliance with this section.
    18    (B)  The  commissioner  of  general  services shall waive its right of
    19  first refusal or the right to arrange for the transfer  of  the  federal
    20  public  lands to another entity, and issue a certification of compliance
    21  affirming compliance with this section for a conveyance that  is  deemed
    22  by  the  commissioner  of  general  services to be routine. A conveyance
    23  deemed by the commissioner of general services to be  routine  includes,
    24  but  is not limited to, the exchange of lands of equal value between the
    25  federal government and a private entity.  The  commissioner  of  general
    26  services  may  adopt regulations to establish a process and criteria for
    27  determining the types of conveyances it considers to be routine.
    28    (v) The commissioner of general services, and the department of  envi-
    29  ronmental  conversation  shall  enter into a memorandum of understanding
    30  that establishes a state policy that both agencies shall  undertake  all
    31  feasible  efforts  to protect against any future unauthorized conveyance
    32  or any change in federal public land  designation,  including,  but  not
    33  limited  to,  any  change in use, classification, or legal status of any
    34  lands designated as federal monuments pursuant to the  federal  Antiqui-
    35  ties Act of 1906.
    36    3.  The  state  shall not be responsible for any costs associated with
    37  conveyed federal public land that the commissioner of  general  services
    38  did  not  accept,  purchase, or arrange for the transfer of, pursuant to
    39  this section. Costs include, but are not limited  to,  management  costs
    40  and infrastructure development costs.
    41    4.  The  commissioner of general services may establish, through regu-
    42  lations or another appropriate  method,  a  process  for  engaging  with
    43  federal  land  managers and potential purchasers of federal public lands
    44  early in the conveyance process.
    45    5. The commissioner of general services shall ensure, for any conveyed
    46  federal public land the commissioner accepts, purchases, or arranges for
    47  the transfer of, that future management of the conveyed  federal  public
    48  land  is determined in a public process that gives consideration of past
    49  recognized and legal uses of those lands. At a minimum, the public proc-
    50  ess required by this subdivision shall include a noticed and open  meet-
    51  ing.
    52    6. The commissioner of general services shall waive its right of first
    53  refusal  or  the right to arrange for the transfer of the federal public
    54  lands to another entity, and issue a certification of compliance affirm-
    55  ing compliance with this section for any of the following:

        A. 3472                             3

     1    a. The conveyance of federal public lands pursuant to  a  conservation
     2  plan.
     3    b. The renewal of a lease in existence as of the first of January, two
     4  thousand twenty-two.
     5    c.  The  conveyance  of federal public lands to a federally recognized
     6  Native American tribe or lands taken into or out of trust for  a  Native
     7  American tribe or individual Native American.
     8    7.  The  provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of
     9  this section or its application is held invalid,  the  invalidity  shall
    10  not  affect  other  provisions  or applications that can be given effect
    11  without the invalid provision or application.
    12    8. This section shall not apply to the sale of real property  acquired
    13  by a federal agency through a foreclosure proceeding.
    14    § 2. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 291-k to
    15  read as follows:
    16    §  291-k.  Recording of documents regarding federal lands. 1. A person
    17  shall not knowingly present for recording or filing with a county  clerk
    18  a deed, instrument, or other document related to a conveyance subject to
    19  section twenty-one-a of the public lands law unless it is accompanied by
    20  a  certificate  of compliance from the commissioner of general services.
    21  Further, a deed, instrument, or other document related to  a  conveyance
    22  that is subject to section twenty-one-a of the public lands law shall be
    23  titled  "Federal  Public  Land  Deed  of  Conveyance"  and  shall not be
    24  recorded  without  a  certificate  from  the  commissioner  of   general
    25  services.  The  federal  agency  wishing  to convey federal public lands
    26  shall ensure that the deed, instrument, or other conveyance document  is
    27  titled in the manner required by this section.
    28    2. A person who presents for recording or filing with a county clerk a
    29  deed,  instrument  or  other  document  in  violation of this section is
    30  liable for a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars.
    31    3. Civil penalties collected pursuant to this section shall be  depos-
    32  ited into the general fund.
    33    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    34  it  shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
    35  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    36  tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be  made  and
    37  completed on or before such effective date.
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