40 U.S. Code § 8735 - Sale of land by Secretary of the Interior

(a) Authority To Sell.—

With the approval of the National Capital Planning Commission, the Secretary of the Interior, for the best interests of the Federal Government, may sell, by deed or instrument, real estate held by the Government in the District of Columbia and under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service which may be no longer needed for public purposes. The land may be sold for cash or on a deferred-payment plan the Secretary approves, at a price not less than the Government paid for it and not less than its present appraised value as determined by the Secretary.

(b) Sale to Highest Bidder.—

In selling any parcel of land under this section, the Secretary shall have public or private solicitation for bids or offers be made as the Secretary considers appropriate. The Secretary shall sell the parcel to the party agreeing to pay the highest price if the price is otherwise satisfactory. If the price offered or bid by the owner of land abutting the land to be sold equals the highest price offered or bid by any other party, the parcel may be sold to the owner of the abutting land.

(c) Paying Expenses and Depositing Proceeds.—

The Secretary—

(1) may pay the reasonable and necessary expenses of the sale of each parcel of land sold; and

(2) shall deposit the net proceeds of each sale in the Treasury to the credit of the Government and the District of Columbia in the proportion that each—

(A) paid the appropriations used to acquire the parcels; or

(B) was obligated to pay the appropriations, at the time of acquisition, by reimbursement.

(Pub. L. 107–217, Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1226.)

Historical and Revision Notes
Revised Section	Source (U.S. Code)	Source (Statutes at Large)
8735(a)	40:74a.	Aug. 5, 1939, ch. 449, §§ 4–6, 53 Stat. 1211.
8735(b)	40:74b.
8735(c)	40:74c.

In subsection (a), the words “in his discretion”, “and convey, in whole or in part”, and “proper” are omitted as unnecessary.

In subsection (b), reference to sections 72c to 72e is omitted as unnecessary because the Secretary of the Interior does not have authority to sell land under those sections.