This bill became law on 2026-02-11 as Public Law No. 119-68.
The summary below describes the bill at the version we last reviewed; the enacted text may differ.
YourVoice.Now Summary
Civil LibertiesEnvironmentTransparency & AccountabilityLa Paz County, Arizona can now buy 3,400 acres of public land — at full price, with no new mining.
Civil Liberties
The county, and any later owner, must try not to dig up Tribal artifacts. They must bring in the Colorado River Indian Tribes, who may bury finds again near that spot.
Environment
Acres must be left out if they hold important wildlife, cultural sites, or spots where people camp, hunt, or hike. The Interior Department picks which acres those are.
The land is closed to United States mining and mineral leasing laws. No one can stake a new mining claim or take a new mineral lease there, even after the county owns it.
Before selling public land, the Bureau of Land Management normally works through a land-use planning process. This law waives that step for these 3,400 acres, so the sale goes ahead once the county asks.
Transparency & Accountability
A Bureau of Land Management map dated June 29, 2023 marks the exact acres being sold. The agency must keep it on file for anyone to look at in its offices.
More about this bill
If you do not live in western Arizona, this law changes nothing in your daily life. It became law in December 2025. About 3,400 acres of public land in La Paz County, Arizona, must now be sold to the county. The Bureau of Land Management runs that land today. The county has to ask for the sale first. It then pays the full market price, plus every cost, such as surveys and appraisals. Land holding important cultural, wildlife, or recreational resources must be left out of the sale. New mining claims and mineral leases are barred on the acres that transfer. The county and every later owner must try not to disturb Tribal artifacts. They have to work with the Colorado River Indian Tribes on artifacts they find. Tribal representatives may rebury artifacts near where they were found. The law is named for solar energy and job creation, but its text requires neither.
Congressional Summary
La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act This act directs the Department of the Interior, after receiving a request from La Paz County, Arizona, to convey approximately 3,400 acres of identified land managed by the Bureau of Land Management to the county for fair market value. Interior must exclude from the conveyance any federal land that contains significant cultural, environmental, wildlife, or recreational resources. As a condition of the conveyance, La Paz County and any subsequent owner must make good faith efforts to avoid disturbing tribal artifacts; minimize impacts on tribal artifacts if they are disturbed; coordinate with the Colorado River Indian Tribes Tribal Historic Preservation Office to identify artifacts of cultural and historic significance; and allow tribal representatives to rebury unearthed artifacts at, or near, where they were discovered. The federal land is withdrawn from the operation of U.S. mining and mineral leasing laws, and thus the land is not available for new mining claims, new mineral or geothermal leases, nor sales of mineral materials. The county must pay all costs related to the conveyance.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Public Law
- Action Date
- 2025-12-29
- Date Added
- 2026-06-19
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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