Nevada Legislature: Senate passes bill urging Congress to turn over federal land

Nevada senators have passed a measure that urges Congress to turn over millions of acres of federally managed land within the state’s borders.

The Nevada Senate voted 11-10 on party lines Tuesday to approve Senate Joint Resolution 1. Democrats opposed it.

The measure asks Congress to pass a bill transferring at least 7.2 million acres of federally managed land to the state of Nevada.

The resolution points out that federal agencies manage more than 80 percent of Nevada’s land, and it argues that the federal ownership prevents economic development activities that might happen if the land is owned by private citizens or state government.

Democratic Sen. Aaron Ford said Nevada can’t afford to manage the land, and raised concerns that state ownership would jeopardize public access to the lands.