Bills
| 3.23.22

Does a BLM Land Use Planning Regulation Need to be Repealed? (H. Joint Res. 44)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H. Joint Res. 44?

(Updated September 12, 2019)

This bill was enacted on March 27, 2017

This resolution would reject a regulation issued by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) known as “Planning 2.0” which changed the way that land use plans are developed under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). The rule took effect during the final days of the Obama administration on January 11, 2017.

The “Planning 2.0” rule was intended to open up the land use planning process to a variety of stakeholders, including states, local governments, groups with an interest in outdoor recreation or environmental protection, and the public at large. It also directs the BLM to do landscape scale planning, meaning that a land use plan could include areas across state lines or BLM districts. Critics say that these components of the rule undercut the voice of local and state interests in the land use planning process, because decisions in those cases would move decision making away from local BLM offices to the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Under the Congressional Review Act, Congress is able to overturn regulations finalized within the last 60 legislative days with simple majority votes on a joint resolution of disapproval in both chambers and the president’s signature. CRA resolutions also prevent the federal agency that created the regulation from issuing a similar rule without being directed to do so by Congress.

Argument in favor

The BLM’s “Planning 2.0” rule is a federal power grab that undermines the ability of state and local governments to manage resources and land use within their districts. It should be repealed to ensure that state and local governments can work with the public to develop land use plans that suit their needs, rather than those of D.C. bureaucrats.

Argument opposed

The BLM’s “Planning 2.0” rule has opened up the land use planning process to the public to a degree that hadn’t existed before, giving people who love public lands an opportunity to have their voice heard in a more meaningful way. The regulation will help the BLM large-scale issues like combating wildfire and conserving wildlife habitat.

Impact

The public; state and local governments; and the BLM.

Cost of H. Joint Res. 44

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) introduced this bill to overturn the BLM’s “Planning 2.0” rule, which she says “undermines local land management.” Cheney explained her opposition to the regulation and why it should be repealed in a press release:

“Planning 2.0 represents a federal power grab that ignores expert knowledge and undermines the ability of state and local governments to effectively manage resources and land use inside their own districts. Planning 2.0 dilutes the authority of governors, state regulators, local governments and the public to engage in collaborative land use management planning across huge swaths of the American West.”

This legislation has the support of 16 cosponsors in the House, all of whom are Republicans and come from states where the BLM controls significant amounts of land.


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: BLMOregon / Creative Commons)