Sacramento landowners can now buy out federal claims to their property
H.R. 952 — Reversionary Interest Conveyance Act · Filed by Doris Matsui (D-CA) · Introduced Feb 4, 2025 · Sent to president
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What it does
This bill allows the current owners of approximately 8.43 acres of land in Sacramento, California to purchase the federal government's reversionary interest in their property. The reversionary interest is a legal claim that would allow the government to reclaim the land if certain conditions were violated. Owners can request to buy out this federal claim by paying fair market value (determined by professional appraisal) plus all administrative costs; the proceeds go into a federal land disposal account.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is a one-time transfer of federal reversionary interests in specific Sacramento parcels to private owners in exchange for fair-market-value payment. It is a straightforward property conveyance, not a broader policy change.
What the text implies
- Eliminates federal ability to reclaim land if original conditions of the 1862 land grant (Homestead Act or similar) were violated, permanently surrendering a public enforcement tool.
- Southern Pacific Transportation Company's 50-foot right-of-way is explicitly protected, suggesting railroad interests may have influenced the bill's scope or timing.
- Once reversionary interests are conveyed, the federal government cannot recover the land even if future environmental, public-safety, or strategic concerns emerge.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Private landowners in Sacramento gain clear title and certainty over their property by eliminating federal reversionary claims, which is a legitimate property-rights benefit. However, the federal government permanently surrenders future reclamation rights and receives only a one-time fair-market-value payment, reducing public control over land that may have strategic or environmental value; the long-term public interest in retaining reversionary authority is traded for immediate revenue.
Who stands to gain
- current private owners of the 8.43 acres in Sacramento
Named in the bill
Bureau of Land Management, Secretary of the Interior, Southern Pacific Transportation Company, Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act, Federal Land Disposal Account
Where it stands
- Feb 4, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 4, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources and Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
- May 13, 2025 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H1982)”
- May 13, 2025 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill”
- Feb 12, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held”
- Mar 4, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably”
- Sep 22, 2026 — Passed both chambers · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S4882-4883)”
- Oct 14, 2026 — Sent to president · Congress.gov: “Presented to President”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $20,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 1 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Doris Matsui, the sponsor, reported $1,026,688 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Fidelity National Title Insurance Company — $20,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,208 characters) on May 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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