La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act
Signed into law Dec 29, 2025 · Public Lands and Natural Resources
What this law does
- Directs the Interior Department to sell about 3,400 acres of federal land to La Paz County, Arizona, at fair market value, on request.
- Excludes land with significant cultural, environmental, wildlife or recreational resources.
- Requires the county and later owners to protect tribal artifacts and work with the Colorado River Indian Tribes, including allowing reburial of artifacts.
- Closes the land to new mining claims and mineral or geothermal leases, and requires the county to pay transfer costs.
Plain-language list by Voting On, based only on the official summary by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service and the bill's titles. Read the official summary.
How it became law
- IntroducedFeb 6, 2025 · House
- 165 daysPassed HouseJul 21, 2025
- 148 daysPassed SenateDec 16, 2025
- 2 daysPresented to the PresidentDec 18, 2025
- 11 daysSigned into lawDec 29, 2025
Official 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The federal land is withdrawn from the operation of U.S. mining and mineral leasing laws, and thus the land is not available for new mining claims, new mineral or geothermal leases, nor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.
Summary by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (Public Law, Dec 29, 2025).
Who wrote it
Sponsor: Rep. Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-9]
2 cosponsors: 2 Republicans. 1 signed on the day it was introduced, 1 joined later.
Show all cosponsors
| Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|
| Rep. Biggs, Andy [R-AZ-5] | Feb 6, 2025 | Original cosponsor |
| Rep. Schweikert, David [R-AZ-1] | Feb 7, 2025 |
Recorded votes
No recorded roll-call votes. It passed by voice vote or unanimous consent, where individual votes are not recorded.
What was added
Amendments adopted (0)
No floor amendments were adopted. Any changes were made in committee or in a later version of the bill.
Sections in the final law that were not in the first version (Introduced in House) (0)
None. Every section heading in the final law was already in the first version (Introduced in House).
What was removed
Sections in the first version (Introduced in House) that did not make it into the law (0)
None. Every section heading from the first version (Introduced in House) remains in the law.
Compared by section heading between the Introduced in House text (Feb 6, 2025) and the Enrolled Bill text, both from GovInfo. Wording changes inside a section that kept its heading are not shown here; see the amendments and the text versions.
Proposed but not adopted
No amendments were voted down or withdrawn.
Full action history
Show all 29 official actions
| Feb 11, 2026 | By Senator Lee from Committee on Energy and Natural Resources filed written report. Report No. 119-109. |
| Feb 11, 2026 | By Senator Lee from Committee on Energy and Natural Resources filed written report. Report No. 119-109. |
| Dec 29, 2025 | Signed by President. |
| Dec 29, 2025 | Signed by President. |
| Dec 29, 2025 | Became Public Law No: 119-68. |
| Dec 29, 2025 | Became Public Law No: 119-68. |
| Dec 18, 2025 | Presented to President. |
| Dec 18, 2025 | Presented to President. |
| Dec 17, 2025 | Message on Senate action sent to the House. |
| Dec 16, 2025 | Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources discharged by Unanimous Consent. |
| Dec 16, 2025 | Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources discharged by Unanimous Consent. |
| Dec 16, 2025 | Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote. |
| Dec 16, 2025 | Passed Senate without amendment by Voice Vote. (consideration: CR S8766-8768) |
| Sep 11, 2025 | Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably. |
| Jul 22, 2025 | Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. |
| Jul 21, 2025 | Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. |
| Jul 21, 2025 | Passed/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, 2025 | On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H3498-3499) |
| Jul 21, 2025 | DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 1043. |
| Jul 21, 2025 | Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H3498) |
| Jul 21, 2025 | Mr. Gosar moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill. |
| Jul 2, 2025 | Reported by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-183. |
| Jul 2, 2025 | Reported by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-183. |
| Jul 2, 2025 | Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 148. |
| Apr 9, 2025 | Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held |
| Apr 9, 2025 | Ordered to be Reported by Unanimous Consent. |
| Feb 6, 2025 | Introduced in House |
| Feb 6, 2025 | Introduced in House |
| Feb 6, 2025 | Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. |
Sources: Congress.gov (bill record, sponsors, actions, amendments, CRS summary) and GovInfo (official text). Days are calendar days.