Issue Position: Land Reform

Issue Position

The federal government owns or controls 86 percent of the land in Nevada -- by far the most of any state. The Nevada Statehood Act of 1864 entrusted the bulk of Nevada's land to federal authorities with the understanding that these lands would soon after be auctioned as a means to pay off Civil War bonds. However, these sales never took place.

It is important to take account of the effects of federal land control within the Silver State. First, federal control means that developers cannot build homes, shops and/or factories across a majority of the state. If federal land were opened up for private use, on the other hand, the long-suppressed demand for development of these lands would be instantaneously released -- leading to the type of economic growth that has eluded Nevada in recent years.

This would have an immediate impact on job growth among the most recession-impacted industry in Nevada: Construction. Nevadans have witnessed the loss of more than 90,000 construction jobs since 2006i and, given the concomitant decline in demand facing the state's hospitality industry, this trend isn't likely to change without a major shift in the types of development undertaken. Opening federal lands to development would spur that change.

Second, federal control means that state and local governments are deprived of potential property and mining tax revenues that instead accrue to Washington, DC. If federal lands were transferred to the state and auctioned for private ownership, the State of Nevada would see both immediate and long-term financial benefits.

The federal Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, for instance, allocates 5 percent of the proceeds of all land sales to the Nevada General Education Fund. An additional 10 percent of the proceeds are allocated to the Southern Nevada Water Authority.ii Hence, federal land sales can generate an immediate capital infusion into cash-strapped state and local governments without imposing an additional tax burden on job creators.
In the long term, federal lands that are auctioned to private owners will contribute increasing levels of property tax revenue to local governments as those lands are developed. Additionally, mining claims fees -- the bulk of which currently accrue to the federal government -- would become a significant revenue stream if the lands containing these mines were transferred from federal to state control.

I believe that the transfer and sale of federal lands to state control and private ownership is the linchpin that will allow for economic growth and recovery in the Silver State. If I am elected, I plan to draft a legislative resolution and to work with Nevada's congressional delegation to pave the way for a transfer of ownership so that Nevada can fulfill her full potential.

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