House passes Fernley Economic Self-Determination Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Brian Baluta, 202-225-6155

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Mark Amodei’s “Fernley Economic Self-Determination Act” today passed the full House as part of a larger package of public lands legislation. It is the first bill from a group of seven Nevada lands bills recently passed out of the Natural Resources Committee to be brought to the House floor for a vote.

The Fernley Economic Self-Determination Act would give the City of Fernley the opportunity to purchase up to 9,114 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) lands within the city boundaries at fair market value for the purpose of multi-use development.

“This is great news for Fernley, which, like much of Northern Nevada, is a complicated checkerboard of public lands controlled by different federal land managers that can make planning and economic development difficult," said Amodei. "This bill would enable the local community to determine its own economic future in a way not previously available."

Amodei said he will continue to work with the Senate to achieve final passage of the Fernley legislation and with House leadership to bring the other Nevada lands bills to the House floor.

H.R. 1170, the Fernley Economic Self-Determination Act was passed as part of H.R. 2954, the Public Access and Lands Improvement Act. Senator Dean Heller this week introduced the Senate companion to the Fernley bill, S. 1983.

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