Senate Water and Land committee advances HB511 with amendments easing survey requirement for some public‑land transfers

The Senate Committee on Water and Land voted March 20 to pass House Bill 511, House Draft 1, with amendments that change when formal land surveys must be completed for transfers or set‑asides of public lands, the committee chair said.

Under the amendments read into the record by the chair, the bill creates tiered survey requirements: “high‑risk” lands (described as conservation lands adjacent to private property with existing infrastructure) would require a survey before transfer; “low‑risk” lands, described as existing state agricultural lands with clear historical records, may have surveys deferred if sufficient mapping or GIS records exist. The amendments also require that if a survey is deferred, the recipient agency must complete a survey within five years unless the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) grants an exemption based on existing documentation; authorize use of geographic information systems (GIS) and parcel maps as an administrative alternative to a formal survey subject to review by the Land Survey Division of the…