Bill Text: NY S07869 | 2017-2018 | 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 (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-05 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S07869 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S07869-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7869 IN SENATE March 5, 2018 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HELMING -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern- ment 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 January 1, 2016. 9 b. "Conveyance" includes any method, including sale, donation or 10 exchange, by which all or a portion of the right, title, and interest of 11 the United States in and to federal lands located in the state is trans- 12 ferred to another entity. 13 c. "Federal public land" means any land owned and managed by the 14 United States, including the surface estate, the subsurface estate, or 15 any improvement on those estates, which is owned and managed by the fish 16 and wildlife service, the forest service and the national park service. 17 d. "Infrastructure" means any development or construction that is not 18 on or appurtenant to the federal public land at the time of transfer. 19 2. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, it is the policy 20 of the state to discourage conveyances that transfer ownership of feder- 21 al public lands in the state from the federal government. 22 b. (i) Except as provided in this section, conveyances of federal 23 public lands in the state are void ab initio unless the commissioner of 24 general services was provided with the right of first refusal to the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD13632-01-7S. 7869 2 1 conveyance or the right to arrange for the transfer of the federal 2 public land to another entity. 3 (ii) The commissioner of general services may seek declaratory and 4 injunctive relief from a court of competent jurisdiction to contest 5 conveyances made to any entity unless the requirements of this section 6 are met. 7 (iii) The commissioner of general services shall formally consider its 8 right of first refusal or arrange for the transfer of federal public 9 lands to a third party at a public hearing. 10 (iv) (A) Prior to the conveyance of federal public lands in state, if 11 the commissioner of general services was provided with the right of 12 first refusal or the right to arrange for the transfer of the federal 13 public lands to another entity, the commissioner of general services 14 shall issue a certificate affirming compliance with this section. 15 (B) The commissioner of general services shall waive its right of 16 first refusal or the right to arrange for the transfer of the federal 17 public lands to another entity, and issue a certification of compliance 18 affirming compliance with this section for a conveyance that is deemed 19 by the commissioner of general services to be routine. A conveyance 20 deemed by the commissioner of general services to be routine includes, 21 but is not limited to, the exchange of lands of equal value between the 22 federal government and a private entity. The commissioner of general 23 services may adopt regulations to establish a process and criteria for 24 determining the types of conveyances it considers to be routine. 25 (v) The commissioner of general services, and the department of envi- 26 ronmental conversation shall enter into a memorandum of understanding 27 that establishes a state policy that both agencies shall undertake all 28 feasible efforts to protect against any future unauthorized conveyance 29 or any change in federal public land designation, including, but not 30 limited to, any change in use, classification, or legal status of any 31 lands designated as federal monuments pursuant to the federal Antiqui- 32 ties Act of 1906. 33 3. The state shall not be responsible for any costs associated with 34 conveyed federal public land that the commissioner of general services 35 did not accept, purchase, or arrange for the transfer of, pursuant to 36 this section. Costs include, but are not limited to, management costs 37 and infrastructure development costs. 38 4. The commissioner of general services may establish, through regu- 39 lations or another appropriate method, a process for engaging with 40 federal land managers and potential purchasers of federal public lands 41 early in the conveyance process. 42 5. The commissioner of general services shall ensure, for any conveyed 43 federal public land the commissioner accepts, purchases, or arranges for 44 the transfer of, that future management of the conveyed federal public 45 land is determined in a public process that gives consideration of past 46 recognized and legal uses of those lands. At a minimum, the public proc- 47 ess required by this subdivision shall include a noticed and open meet- 48 ing. 49 6. The commissioner of general services shall waive its right of first 50 refusal or the right to arrange for the transfer of the federal public 51 lands to another entity, and issue a certification of compliance affirm- 52 ing compliance with this section for any of the following: 53 a. The conveyance of federal public lands pursuant to a conservation 54 plan. 55 b. The renewal of a lease in existence as of January 1, 2017.S. 7869 3 1 c. The conveyance of federal public lands to a federally recognized 2 Native American tribe or lands taken into or out of trust for a Native 3 American tribe or individual Native American. 4 7. The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of 5 this section or its application is held invalid, the invalidity shall 6 not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect 7 without the invalid provision or application. 8 8. This section shall not apply to the sale of real property acquired 9 by a federal agency through a foreclosure proceeding. 10 § 2. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 291-k to 11 read as follows: 12 § 291-k. Recording of documents regarding federal lands. 1. A person 13 shall not knowingly present for recording or filing with a county clerk 14 a deed, instrument, or other document related to a conveyance subject to 15 section twenty-one-a of the public lands law unless it is accompanied by 16 a certificate of compliance from the commissioner of general services. 17 Further, a deed, instrument, or other document related to a conveyance 18 that is subject to section twenty-one-a of the public lands law shall be 19 titled "Federal Public Land Deed of Conveyance" and shall not be 20 recorded without a certificate from the commissioner of general 21 services. The federal agency wishing to convey federal public lands 22 shall ensure that the deed, instrument, or other conveyance document is 23 titled in the manner required by this section. 24 2. A person who presents for recording or filing with a county clerk a 25 deed, instrument or other document in violation of this section is 26 liable for a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars. 27 3. Civil penalties collected pursuant to this section shall be depos- 28 ited into the general fund. 29 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 30 it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediate- 31 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation 32 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date is 33 authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such 34 effective date.
