Sen. Lee’s updated public land sale text sent to Senate Parliamentarian, vote expected Saturday

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Friday, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources released text for the updated version of their section of the “big beautiful” budget reconciliation bill, which includes changes made to the public land sale provision. The Senate is expected to vote on the Big Beautiful bill Saturday.

Related video: Sen. Lee announces changes to controversial public lands sale budget bill provision

The original version of the public land sale provision was determined to violate the Byrd rule, which requires that reconciliation bills deal only in financial or budgetary matters. It was removed from the bill on Monday.

The updated text matches the changes reported previously, but it also expands on several aspects.

All U.S. Forest Service land has been excluded from eligibility, and the Bureau of Land Management lands required to be sold was decreased, from 0.5-0.75% of BLM managed land originally to 0.25-0.5% in the updated version.

The updated version requires that only land near population centers be sold, and all land sold must be used for housing. There were questions previously about how exactly a population center would be defined, and the revised text includes details on just that.

The provision defines population center as “a census-designated place or incorporated municipality with a population of not less than 1,000 persons.” Land eligible to be sold must be located within five miles of “the border of an incorporated municipality” or “the center of the population center of a census-designated place.”

Additionally, the revision added requirements that the Secretary of the Interior consult with the appropriate governor, local governments, and Indian Tribes after land is nominated for disposal. The governor of the state where the land is located must give input on the “suitability of the area for residential development.”

Governors and local governments will also be given right of first refusal to purchase the tract of land, and a portion of proceeds from each sale will be given to local governments.

Anyone nominating land for disposal must describe how they plan to use the land and how it would address local housing needs, “including housing supply and affordability,” or infrastructure or amenities to “support local needs associated with housing.”

The revised provision also limits the number of tracts of land an entity can buy to two tracts, “unless the person owns land surrounding the tracts of covered Federal land to be sold under this section.”

The changes still need to be reviewed by the senate parliamentarian, who will determine whether they adhere to the Byrd Rule. The Communication Director for Sen. Lee’s office confirmed that this version was set to the senate parliamentarian, and they are waiting on confirmation from the parliamentarian.

The Senate is expected to vote on the budget bill on Saturday, and the senate parliamentarian will have to make a decision before the Senate can vote on it.

“We’ve incorporated key feedback from countless Americans, whose input made this legislation sharper, stronger, and laser-focused on helping American families,” Lee said of the updated provision. “This is how we lower costs, expand opportunity, and make America not just energy independent—but energy dominant.”

The public lands sale provision has been deeply controversial, and there has been opposition from Lee’s own party. Thursday, Five Republican members of Congress reportedly wrote a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson stating that they could not support the Big Beautiful bill if it included Lee’s public land sale provision.

Environmental groups have also opposed the provision, such as the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.  “The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, our members, and our partners will continue to work to defeat this and any future efforts to sell-off our shared public lands for private profit and exploitation,” Scott Braden, Executive Director of The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) previously said in a statement.