Nevada Legislature: Lawmakers to ask Congress for public land transfer

Nevada lawmakers plan to ask Congress to transfer control of more than 7 million acres of federally owned land to the state.

Assembly members voted to approve SJR1 on Monday on a party-line, 24-17 vote. It passed earlier in the Senate on an 11-10 vote.

Supporters said the measure would bring millions of dollars in revenue to state coffers, and that control of the state land should lie with state government.

Opponents said Congress was extremely unlikely to grant the request and that the state couldn’t handle management of the millions of acres currently owned by the federal government.

Lawmakers also unanimously approved SJR2 on Monday, which asks Congress to share profits from commercial activity on federally owned land in Nevada.