La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey approximately 3,400 acres of Bureau of Land Management land in La Paz County, Arizona to the county government at fair market value. The bill title and context indicate the land is intended for solar energy development and local job creation. The land is withdrawn from mining and mineral leasing operations.
Who Benefits and How
La Paz County gains the ability to acquire federal land for development without navigating lengthy BLM planning processes under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. Solar energy developers benefit from reduced barriers to accessing land suitable for renewable energy projects. Local construction and energy workers may benefit from resulting jobs. The Colorado River Indian Tribes receive explicit protections requiring current and future landowners to coordinate on tribal artifact preservation.
Who Bears the Burden and How
La Paz County must pay the full appraised fair market value plus all administrative costs including surveys and appraisals. Mining and mineral extraction companies permanently lose access to the 3,400-acre parcel. The Bureau of Land Management loses management authority over the land and must process the conveyance.
Key Provisions
- Directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey about 3,400 acres of BLM land to La Paz County at fair market value.
- Limits ordinary FLPMA planning requirements for the conveyance while preserving valid existing rights and Secretary-imposed conditions.
- Protects Colorado River Indian Tribes cultural resources by requiring coordination and binding artifact-discovery terms on current and future owners.
- Prohibits mining and mineral leasing on the conveyed federal land by withdrawing it from those laws.
- Provides for sale proceeds to be deposited in the Federal Land Disposal Account.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Conveys approximately 3,400 acres of Bureau of Land Management federal land in Arizona to La Paz County at fair market value to facilitate solar energy development and job creation, while withdrawing the land from mining and mineral leasing laws.
Key Policy Areas
Energy, Public Lands, Tribal Affairs
Primary Purpose
Conveys approximately 3,400 acres of Bureau of Land Management federal land in Arizona to La Paz County at fair market value to facilitate solar energy development and job creation, while withdrawing the land from mining and mineral leasing laws.
Policy Domains
Whole Bill - La Paz County Land Conveyance
Identified Gains
- La Paz County, Arizona
- Solar energy developers
- Local construction workers
- Colorado River Indian Tribes
Identified Costs
- Bureau of Land Management
- Mining and mineral leasing companies
- Secretary of the Interior
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Signed into LawBy Senator Lee from Committee on Energy and Natural Resources …
Became Public Law No: 119-68.
Signed by President.
Presented to President.
Message on Senate action sent to the House.
Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote. (consideration: CR S8766-8768)
Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Voice …
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources discharged by Unanimous …
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported …
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_county"
- → La Paz County, Arizona
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
La Paz County, Arizona
The approximately 3,400 acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and designated as Federal Land to be Conveyed on the map
The map prepared by the Bureau of Land Management entitled BLM Arizona-La Paz County Land Conveyance Map and dated June 29, 2023
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology