Bill Text: MS HB884 | 2015 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Cat Island; authorize the Sec. of State to negotiate with the U.S. government for consolidation of lands located on through exchange.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 4-1)
Status: (Failed) 2015-03-03 - Died In Committee [HB884 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2015-HB884-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2015 Regular Session
To: Marine Resources
By: Representatives Eure, Bennett, Baria, Willis, Crawford
House Bill 884
(As Passed the House)
AN ACT TO ENACT THE "CAT ISLAND LAND CONSOLIDATION AND EXCHANGE ACT"; TO AUTHORIZE THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ITS AGENCIES, INCLUDING THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, FOR AN IN-KIND EXCHANGE OF LANDS ON CAT ISLAND FOR PURPOSES OF CONSOLIDATING INTO CONTIGUOUS TRACTS THE HOLDINGS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ON CAT ISLAND; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known, and may be cited as the "Cat Island Land Consolidation and Exchange Act."
SECTION 2. As used in this act, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed in this section, unless context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Governor" means the Governor of the State of Mississippi.
(b) "Federal lands" means public lands identified for disposal under approved land use plans (as in effect on the date of enactment of this act) under Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 USCS Section 1712).
(c) "Secretary of State" means the Secretary of State of Mississippi.
(d) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department of the Interior.
(e) "State lands" means the State of Mississippi's lands, and interest therein, within the boundaries of Cat Island, a barrier island located off the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the Gulf of Mexico, in the jurisdiction of Harrison County, Mississippi, and which boundaries of the western half and southern tip are part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, which is administered by the National Park Service.
SECTION 3. The purpose of this act is to authorize the Secretary of State to consolidate into contiguous tracts the holdings of the State of Mississippi and the United States of America on Cat Island situated in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi Sound, in Harrison County, Mississippi.
SECTION 4. (1) The Secretary of State is authorized to negotiate with the United States of America and its agencies, including the National Park Service, for an in-kind exchange of land(s) on Cat Island, and to execute, with the approval of the Governor, all agreements, deeds and other documents necessary to effect the transaction. All deeds and documents executed for the exchange of lands between the State of Mississippi and the United States of America shall contain conservation covenants consistent with covenants in the deeds by which the State of Mississippi and the United States of America acquire title.
(2) Not later than ninety (90) days after the date of enactment of this act, the state lands to be acquired through the exchange authorized in subsection (1) of this section shall be valued by one of the following methods:
(a) Selection of appraiser. The Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Department of the Interior shall mutually agree on the selection of a qualified appraiser to conduct an appraisal of the state lands;
(b) No agreement on appraiser. If no appraiser is mutually agreed to under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Department of the Interior shall each designate a qualified appraiser, and the two (2) designated appraisers shall select a third qualified appraiser to perform the appraisal with the advice and assistance of the designated appraisers; or
(c) Failure of process. If the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Department of the Interior cannot agree on the evaluation of the appraised state lands by the date that is one hundred eighty (180) days after the date of enactment of this act the Governor may petition the United States Court of Federal Claims for a determination of the value of the state lands and interest therein. Subject to the right of appeal, a determination by the court shall be binding for purposes of this act on all parties.
(3) Within one hundred eighty (180) days after the value of the state lands is determined in accordance with the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of this section, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Governor, shall exchange federal lands of equal value or other federal assets of equal value, or a combination of both, for the state lands.
(4) (a) Upon final exchange of title between the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, the lands exchanged and conveyed to the State of Mississippi in accordance with this act shall become part of the state's holdings of real property on state lands. Once exchanged and conveyed, such lands shall be managed in accordance with the laws, rules and regulations applicable to units of real property under the management and jurisdiction of the Secretary of State.
(b) Upon final exchange of title between the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, the lands exchanged and conveyed to the United States in accordance with this act shall become part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Once exchanged and conveyed, such lands shall be managed in accordance with the "National Park Service Organic Act" and other laws, rules and regulations applicable to units of the National Park System.
(5) The mineral rights reserved to the State of Mississippi and to the United States of America in the lands conveyed and exchanged under the provisions of this section, shall be transferred to the party to which the lands containing such minerals are exchanged and conveyed.
(6) The Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Department of the Interior may correct any discrepancies in the legal descriptions of lands to be exchanged and conveyed under the authority of this act.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
