NRS 321.596
Legislative findings.


The Legislature finds that:

1.

The State of Nevada has a strong moral claim upon the public land retained by the Federal Government within Nevada’s borders because:

(a)

On October 31, 1864, the Territory of Nevada was admitted to statehood on the condition that it forever disclaim all right and title to unappropriated public land within its boundaries;

(b)

From 1850 to 1894, newly admitted states received 2 sections of each township for the benefit of common schools, which in Nevada amounted to 3.9 million acres;

(c)

In 1880 Nevada agreed to exchange its 3.9-million-acre school grant for 2 million acres of its own selection from public land in Nevada held by the Federal Government;

(d)

At the time the exchange was deemed necessary because of an immediate need for public school revenues and because the majority of the original federal land grant for common schools remained unsurveyed and unsold;

(e)

Unlike certain other states, such as New Mexico, Nevada received no land grants from the Federal Government when Nevada was a territory;

(f)

Nevada received no land grants for insane asylums, schools of mines, schools for the blind and deaf and dumb, normal schools, miners’ hospitals or a governor’s residence as did states such as New Mexico; and

(g)

Nevada thus received the least amount of land, 2,572,478 acres, and the smallest percentage of its total area, 3.9 percent, of the land grant states in the Far West admitted after 1864, while states of comparable location and soil, namely Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, received approximately 11 percent of their total area in federal land grants.

2.

The State of Nevada has a legal claim to the public land retained by the Federal Government within Nevada’s borders because:

(a)

In the case of the State of Alabama, a renunciation of any claim to unappropriated lands similar to that contained in the ordinance adopted by the Nevada constitutional convention was held by the Supreme Court of the United States to be “void and inoperative” because it denied to Alabama “an equal footing with the original states” in Pollard v. Hagan, 44 U.S. (3 How.) 212 (1845);

(b)

The State of Texas, when admitted to the Union in 1845, retained ownership of all unappropriated land within its borders, setting a further precedent which inured to the benefit of all states admitted later “on an equal footing”; and

(c)

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787, adopted into the Constitution of the United States by the reference of Article VI to prior engagements of the Confederation, first proclaimed the “equal footing” doctrine, and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, by which the territory including Nevada was acquired from Mexico and which is “the supreme law of the land” by virtue of Article VI, affirms it expressly as to the new states to be organized therein.

3.

The exercise of broader control by the State of Nevada over the public lands within its borders would be of great public benefit because:

(a)

Federal holdings in the State of Nevada constitute 86.7 percent of the area of the State, and in Esmeralda, Lincoln, Mineral, Nye and White Pine counties the Federal Government controls from 97 to 99 percent of the land;

(b)

Federal jurisdiction over the public domain is shared among 17 federal agencies or departments which adds to problems of proper management of land and disrupts the normal relationship between a state, its residents and its property;

(c)

None of the federal lands in Nevada are taxable and Federal Government activities are extensive and create a tax burden for the private property owners of Nevada who must meet the needs of children of Federal Government employees, as well as provide other public services;

(d)

Under general land laws only 2.1 percent of federal lands in Nevada have moved from federal control to private ownership;

(e)

Federal administration of the retained public lands, which are vital to the livestock and mining industries of the State and essential to meet the recreational and other various uses of its citizens, has been of uneven quality and sometimes arbitrary and capricious; and

(f)

Federal administration of the retained public lands has not been consistent with the public interest of the people of Nevada because the Federal Government has used those lands for armament and nuclear testing thereby rendering many parts of the land unusable and unsuited for other uses and endangering the public health and welfare.

4.

The intent of the framers of the Constitution of the United States was to guarantee to each of the states sovereignty over all matters within its boundaries except for those powers specifically granted to the United States as agent of the states.

5.

The attempted imposition upon the State of Nevada by the Congress of the United States of a requirement in the enabling act that Nevada “disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within said territory,” as a condition precedent to acceptance of Nevada into the Union, was an act beyond the power of the Congress of the United States and is thus void.

6.

The purported right of ownership and control of the public lands within the State of Nevada by the United States is without foundation and violates the clear intent of the Constitution of the United States.

7.

The exercise of such dominion and control of the public lands within the State of Nevada by the United States works a severe, continuous and debilitating hardship upon the people of the State of Nevada.

Source: Section 321.596 — Legislative findings., https://www.­leg.­state.­nv.­us/NRS/NRS-321.­html#NRS321Sec596.

321.001
Division to acquire, hold and administer state lands
321.003
Assignment of land to state agency
321.004
Assignment for administration of structures, buildings and other property of Nevada State Prison.
321.005
Notice to governing body of county or city of transfer of state land
321.0005
Legislative declaration: Policy regarding use of state lands.
321.0006
Definitions.
321.007
Appraisal of land offered for sale or lease
321.0007
“Division” defined.
321.0008
“Trust lands” defined.
321.009
Limited-liability company to submit disclosure concerning ownership of certain land acquired from State Land Registrar
321.010
State Land Office created
321.030
Office of State Land Registrar.
321.040
Records of State Land Office: Duties of State Land Registrar.
321.050
Statement of land acquired, leased or otherwise disposed of in county to be furnished to county assessors.
321.00051
Legislative declaration: Acquisition of lands retained by Federal Government.
321.055
Notice of tax delinquency by county assessor: Contents.
321.060
Seal of State Land Office: Use
321.065
Fees of State Land Registrar.
321.067
Revolving Account for Land Management.
321.070
Appropriation of money for State Land Office.
321.090
Selection of lands by State Land Registrar.
321.110
Acceptance of land grants by Governor or State Land Registrar
321.125
Sale of state land to public agency or local government.
321.135
Transfer of state park to local government.
321.140
Reimbursement for unlocated land warrant from State Permanent School Fund.
321.300
Contractors and patentees deemed to have right to exclusive possession or fee simple title, including all gas, coal, oil and oil shales, subject to royalty payments.
321.310
Land acquired by patent from Federal Government to be conveyed by patent.
321.320
Form and contents of patents.
321.330
Record of issued patents.
321.331
Persons receiving patent or deed from State required to be confirmed in fee simple title to lands and minerals
321.332
Consent of State to action for declaratory judgment to determine rights of State to minerals
321.333
Option of plaintiff to purchase interest of State in minerals.
321.335
Procedure.
321.339
State Land Registrar may withhold land from sale.
321.355
Rights-of-way reserved to State for public access to other land open for public use.
321.385
Sale by State Land Registrar.
321.402
Definitions.
321.404
“Historic building” defined.
321.406
“Private partner” defined.
321.408
“Public-private partnership” defined.
321.412
Authority of State Land Registrar to purchase historic buildings and enter into public-private partnerships related to historic buildings
321.414
Authority of State Land Registrar relating to public-private partnerships
321.416
Applicability of provisions governing public property and purchasing and public works and planning to public-private partnerships
321.418
Restore Nevada’s Treasures Revolving Account.
321.540
Short title.
321.550
“Department” defined.
321.560
Acquisition of lands by State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources authorized.
321.570
Powers of State Department of Conservation and Natural Resources concerning development of Lincoln County lands
321.580
Lincoln County Pilot Land Development and Disposal Fund: Creation
321.590
Lincoln County Pilot Land Development and Disposal Fund: Receipts to be credited
321.592
Division authorized to establish and carry out programs to preserve, restore and enhance sagebrush ecosystems.
321.594
Powers and duties of Administrator and Division regarding programs to improve sagebrush ecosystems
321.595
Boundary between bed of Lake Tahoe and adjacent lands.
321.596
Legislative findings.
321.597
Division to hold and manage public lands
321.598
Disposal of public lands: Legislative authorization required
321.601
Creation
321.605
Declaration of legislative intent.
321.610
Applications for lease or purchase by State and political subdivisions submitted to State Land Registrar: Duties of State Land Registrar.
321.640
Legislative findings and declaration.
321.655
Definitions.
321.700
Creation.
321.710
Administration
321.720
Duties of Administrator concerning local governments.
321.735
Powers and duties concerning federal lands
321.736
Hearings and recommendations of local planning agencies.
321.737
Transfer or referral of certain applications to State Engineer.
321.738
Hearing and recommendation of State Agency.
321.739
Grant or denial of consent by Governor.
321.740
Creation
321.750
Duties.
321.755
Executive Council.
321.761
Technical assistance
321.763
Duties of State Agency
321.770
Duties of Administrator and Land Use Planning Advisory Council.
321.5951
Account for License Plates for Support of Preservation and Restoration of Natural Environment of Lake Tahoe Basin.
321.5952
Declaration of legislative intent.
321.5953
Division authorized to establish and carry out programs to preserve, restore and enhance Lake Tahoe Basin.
321.5954
Powers and duties of Division and State Land Registrar regarding programs to preserve, restore and enhance Lake Tahoe Basin.
321.5956
Division authorized to enter into certain agreements
321.5957
Regulations.
321.5963
Definitions.
321.5967
Board of Review: Creation
321.5973
Public lands and minerals are property of State
321.5977
Objectives in administering public lands.
321.5983
Unauthorized disposal of public lands void
321.5987
Procedure for appealing decision of State Land Registrar to Board of Review
321.7353
Notice of federal acquisition of private land to be provided to affected cities and counties
321.7355
Plan or statement of policy concerning lands under federal management.
Last Updated

Jun. 24, 2021

§ 321.596’s source at nv​.us