S. 35 — Introduced in Senate

II 115th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 35 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 5, 2017Mr. Thune (for himself, Mr. Rounds, and Mr. Enzi) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To transfer administrative jurisdiction over certain Bureau of Land Management land from the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for inclusion in the Black Hills National Cemetery, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary Expansion Act. 2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Cemetery The term Cemetery means the Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota. (2) Federal land The term Federal land means the approximately 200 acres of Bureau of Land Management land adjacent to the Cemetery, generally depicted as Proposed National Cemetery Expansion on the map entitled Proposed Expansion of Black Hills National Cemetery-South Dakota and dated June 16, 2016. (3) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior. 3. Transfer and withdrawal of Bureau of Land Management land for Cemetery use (a) Transfer of administrative jurisdiction (1) In general Subject to valid existing rights, administrative jurisdiction over the Federal land is transferred from the Secretary to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for use as a national cemetery in accordance with chapter 24 of title 38, United States Code. (2) Legal descriptions (A) In general As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a notice containing a legal description of the Federal land. (B) Effect A legal description published under subparagraph (A) shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act, except that the Secretary may correct any clerical and typographical errors in the legal description. (C) Availability Copies of the legal description published under subparagraph (A) shall be available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of— (i) the Bureau of Land Management; and (ii) the National Cemetery Administration. (D) Costs The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall reimburse the Secretary for the costs incurred by the Secretary in carrying out this paragraph, including the costs of any surveys and other reasonable costs. (b) Withdrawal Subject to valid existing rights, for any period during which the Federal land is under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Federal land— (1) is withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, including the mining laws, the mineral leasing laws, and the geothermal leasing laws; and (2) shall be treated as property as defined under section 102(9) of title 40, United States Code. (c) Boundary modification The boundary of the Cemetery is modified to include the Federal land. (d) Modification of public land order Public Land Order 2112, dated June 6, 1960 (25 Fed. Reg. 5243), is modified to exclude the Federal land.