LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Who says bipartisanship is dead?
On Thursday, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo endorsed a bill by Democratic Congresswoman Susie Lee that would make selling federal land easier.
Lee's bill, which is also called the Accelerating Appraisals and Conservation Efforts Act, would allow private land appraisers licensed in one state to conduct appraisals anywhere in the U.S. That will speed up the process of selling federal land in Nevada and elsewhere. It will also:
- Allow the Department of the Interior to contract with private appraisers appropriately credentialed in any one state or territory to perform appraisal duties across all states and territories.
- Tackle federal appraisal bottlenecks by making more appraisers available to the DOI.
- Require the DOI to continue to prioritize working with local appraisers, unlocking the enhanced flexibility provided by the bill only when no qualified and cost-competitive local appraisers are available to perform needed services.
Lombardo recently asked President Joe Biden to release more federal land in Nevada for affordable housing.
Lee sent a tweet asking the governor to back her bill and after reviewing it, he did.
"Affordable housing is a bipartisan issue and I'm glad that Gov. Lombardo has endorsed by AACE Act - commonsense legislation to cut red tape and get housing, conservation, and infrastructure projects moving on public lands," Lee said in a statement. "The AACE Act will give the Department of the Interior the flexibility it needs to more quickly get land deals done at no additional cost to the American taxpayer."
"Nevada families deserve access to attainable housing - and that begins with eliminating governmental barriers to development," Gov. Lombardo said in a statement. "Congresswoman Lee's AACE Act will help eliminate federal red tape so we're able to move more efficiently on new housing and infrastructure projects here in Nevada. As we seek innovative housing solutions in our state and across the country, I'm pleased to endorse this bipartisan legislation."
The bill passed the House Natural Resources Committee unanimously and is endorsed by both business and environmental groups.
