HR-952-119
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 491.
Sponsored by Doris Matsui (D-CA)
What it does
This bill would authorize the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to sell the federal government's reversionary interest in approximately 8.43 acres of land in Sacramento, California to the current parcel owners upon their request. The sale would be at fair market value as determined by a federally compliant appraisal, with all survey, appraisal, and administrative costs paid by the buyer. Sale proceeds would be deposited into the Federal Land Disposal Account and used under the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act.
Who benefits
Current owners of record of the parcels within the 8.43-acre area, who would gain clear, unencumbered title to their land by eliminating the federal reversionary interest. Real estate developers or future buyers of those parcels, who would benefit from cleaner title. The Federal Land Disposal Account, which would receive the sale proceeds for use in future federal land transactions. Local Sacramento-area governments and businesses that may benefit from land with clearer title entering commerce more freely.
Who is hurt
The general public, which currently holds a residual interest in the land through the federal reversionary claim — once sold, that interest is permanently extinguished. Taxpayers broadly, if the appraised fair market value of the reversionary interest is set lower than its actual worth. Environmental or conservation groups that may have preferred the reversionary interest remain with the federal government as a potential future land management tool. The Southern Pacific Transportation Company's right-of-way corridor is explicitly preserved, but any adjacent landowners or users who relied on the federal reversionary interest as a constraint on development could be affected.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that federal reversionary interests on privately held land in urban areas like Sacramento create title uncertainty that impedes normal real estate transactions, financing, and development. They contend that selling the interest at full fair market value — with all costs borne by the buyer — ensures taxpayers are made whole while removing a bureaucratic encumbrance that serves no active federal land management purpose. The proceeds flow directly to the Federal Land Disposal Account, funding future federal land acquisitions elsewhere.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that permanently extinguishing a federal reversionary interest in urban land forecloses future public options — such as conservation, affordable housing, or open space — that could benefit Sacramento residents broadly. They contend that fair market value appraisals of reversionary interests are inherently difficult to benchmark and may undervalue what the public is giving up, particularly as Sacramento's real estate market appreciates. Once conveyed, the federal interest cannot be recovered without repurchase at potentially far higher cost.