La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act
Latest action · Feb 11, 2026 By Senator Lee from Committee on Energy and Natural Resources filed written report. Report No. 119-109.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 6, 2025
- Passed HouseJul 21, 2025
- Passed SenateDec 16, 2025
- To the PresidentDec 18, 2025
- Became lawDec 29, 2025Public Law 119-68
Summary
La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act
This act directs the Department of the Interior, after receiving a request from La Paz County, Arizona, to convey approximately 3,400 acres of identified land managed by the Bureau of Land Management to the county for fair market value.
Interior must exclude from the conveyance any federal land that contains significant cultural, environmental, wildlife, or recreational resources.
As a condition of the conveyance, La Paz County and any subsequent owner must
- make good faith efforts to avoid disturbing tribal artifacts;
- minimize impacts on tribal artifacts if they are disturbed;
- coordinate with the Colorado River Indian Tribes Tribal Historic Preservation Office to identify artifacts of cultural and historic significance; and
- allow tribal representatives to rebury unearthed artifacts at, or near, where they were discovered.
The federal land is withdrawn from the operation of U.S. mining and mineral leasing laws, and thus the land is not available for new mining claims, new mineral or geothermal leases, nor sales of mineral materials.
The county must pay all costs related to the conveyance.
Cosponsors 2
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 6, 2025 to Feb 7, 2025; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-AZ | Andy Biggs | Original | Feb 6, 2025 |
| R-AZ | David Schweikert | Feb 7, 2025 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred Feb 6, 2025Markup Apr 9, 2025Reported Jul 2, 2025 |
| Senate | Energy and Natural Resources Committee | Referred Jul 22, 2025Markup Sep 11, 2025Discharged Dec 16, 2025Reported Feb 11, 2026 |
Actions 20
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 11, 2026By Senator Lee from Committee on Energy and Natural Resources filed written report. Report No. 119-109.
- Dec 29, 2025Became Public Law No: 119-68.
- Dec 29, 2025Signed by President.
- Dec 18, 2025Presented to President.
- Dec 17, 2025Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Dec 16, 2025Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources discharged by Unanimous Consent.
- Dec 16, 2025Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote. (consideration: CR S8766-8768)
- Sep 11, 2025Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
- Jul 22, 2025Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
- Jul 21, 2025Mr. Gosar moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- Jul 21, 2025Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3498)
- Jul 21, 2025DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1043.
- Jul 21, 2025Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H3498-3499)
- Jul 21, 2025Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Jul 2, 2025Reported by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-183.
- Jul 2, 2025Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 148.
- Apr 9, 2025Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Apr 9, 2025Ordered to be Reported by Unanimous Consent.
- Feb 6, 2025Introduced in House
- Feb 6, 2025Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
In the Congressional Record 3
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S8766–S8770 | Alex Padilla D-CA, Angus S. King Jr. I-ME, Dan Sullivan R-AK, John Hoeven R-ND, Mike Lee R-UT | Dec 16, 2025 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S8228–S8231 | Dan Sullivan R-AK, Martin Heinrich D-NM | Nov 19, 2025 |
| House | Debate and remarks H3498–H3500Text printed H3498 | Paul A. Gosar R-AZ, Val T. Hoyle D-OR | Jul 21, 2025 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee reports
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Oct 8, 2025H.R. 1043, La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation ActAs ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on September 11, 2025
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 171, no. 25, February 6, 2025, page H556.
Related bills 5
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 528 | La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act | Cross-Congress related bill | Oct 19, 2021 |
| S 909 | La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act | Related bill | Feb 11, 2026 |
| HR 1499 | La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act of 2021 | Cross-Congress related bill | Apr 21, 2021 |
| S 1657 | La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act | Cross-Congress related bill | Dec 12, 2023 |
| HR 8517 | La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act | Cross-Congress related bill | Nov 19, 2024 |
Titles 7
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Federal land in Arizona to La Paz County, Arizona, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act
- Short Title(s) as Reported to House
- La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act
- Short Title(s) as Passed House
- La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act
- Short Titles from ENR (Enrolled) bill text
- La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act
- Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text
- La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act
- Official Title from EH (Engrossed in House) bill text
- To direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Federal land in Arizona to La Paz County, Arizona, and for other purposes.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources.
Text 5
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- —Enrolled Bill
- Jul 22, 2025Referred in Senate
- Jul 21, 2025Engrossed in House
- Jul 2, 2025Reported in House
- Feb 6, 2025Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
