Sen. Rosen introduces new bill so land sale proceeds stay in state

Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson said that Tuesday’s narrow passing of the Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act in the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources will be a boon for the region. When it is ultimately signed into law remains to be seen, however. Locals are hopeful it will pass by year’s end, but it’s possible the bill may have to be introduced next session.

The act will open up new land for development—federal land in Washoe County will be sold as part of the bill—which is critical because Sparks is running out of land, Lawson said.

“We’re four to five years from running out of land, and with our tax system and our property tax system, if you don’t grow you die,” he told This Is Reno. “There’s no in between, so we really need the lands bill because if the housing prices go up in Sparks, they go up in Reno. It affects everybody and it’s just supply and demand.”

Land sale proceeds removed from bill draft

Tuesday’s passage out of the Senate committee also removed a provision that could have affected proceeds from land sales, what Lawson said initially would amount to a $1 billion hit to the county. But Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), who has been working with local stakeholders to get the act passed, introduced a new bill called the Truckee Meadows Special Account Establishment Act. 

Rosen’s new legislation aims to direct proceeds from the sale of federal lands in Washoe County to conservation efforts, education and wildfire prevention. Under the bill, 5% of proceeds will go to Nevada’s general education programs, while 10% will be distributed to Washoe County, Reno and Sparks for conservation projects along the Truckee River. 

The remaining 85% will fund the newly created Truckee Meadows Special Account, a federal treasury resource managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture. The account will prioritize the acquisition of environmentally sensitive lands, development of parks and trails and wildfire prevention. It will also support forest restoration projects within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and the Lake Tahoe Basin, along with other environmental improvements.

“I’m grateful to send [Sen.] Rosen for sticking in there with us,” Lawson added. “It’s been a long hard road, and we still got a couple more hurdles to get over.”