Federal land deals get pricier: government now pays based on historical peak values
S. 638 — A bill to amend the Act of June 22, 1948. · Filed by Tina Smith (D-MN) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Feb 19, 2025 · Reported out
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill amends the Thye-Blatnik Act of 1948 to change how the federal government appraises land it may acquire. Instead of using only the current fair appraised value, the Secretary of Agriculture may now consider historical fair appraised values when determining the highest fair appraised value to pay. This potentially increases the price the government pays when acquiring private land for conservation or other purposes.
Why we flagged it
The bill is a narrow technical amendment to federal land-appraisal methodology under the Thye-Blatnik Act, affecting how the Secretary of Agriculture values property for acquisition purposes.
What the text implies
- Landowners may strategically time sales to the government based on historical peak valuations, potentially inflating acquisition costs beyond current market conditions.
- The phrase 'as determined by the Secretary' grants significant discretionary authority without explicit criteria, standards, or appeal mechanisms for valuation disputes.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
private landowners selling to federal government; real estate appraisers (increased complexity in valuations)