Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act Reauthorization of 2013
Key claim: This Senate bill would permanently reauthorize a program to sell or exchange public lands already identified for disposal, make the account that holds the proceeds permanent, and expand which conservation areas can be involved.
Abstract
(S368 · 113th Congress) Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act Reauthorization of 2013 - Amends the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA) to reauthorize and make permanent the program for the completion of appraisals and satisfaction of other legal requirements for the sale or exchange of public land identified for disposal under approved land use plans under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. Revises the FLTFA definition of “federally designated area” to include all the lands within specified boundaries. (Current law is limited to lands which, as of July 25, 2000, were within such specified boundaries.) Makes permanent the Federal Land Disposal Account. Makes the FLTFA inapplicable to land eligible for sale under specified public land laws. Latest action (2013-06-27): Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 115.
Why this matters
FLTFA is the main pipeline through which parcels the BLM has already flagged for disposal actually reach private or state buyers, with sale proceeds recycled into inholding acquisitions in conservation areas. A permanent reauthorization would give builders and local governments a more predictable path to acquire federal parcels for housing or development near Western communities, while broadening which conservation units can receive reinvested proceeds. The 2013 bill’s failure to advance is part of a recurring pattern of short-term or lapsed FLTFA authority that leaves the disposal-and-reinvestment cycle in limbo.