Governor Lombardo Endorses Congresswoman Lee’s Bipartisan Bill to Expedite Housing, Infrastructure, and Conservation Projects on Public Lands

LAS VEGAS – Today, Congresswoman Susie Lee’s (NV-03) bipartisan Accelerating Appraisals and Conservation Efforts (AACE) Act was endorsed by Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo. The AACE Act will ensure that Department of the Interior (DOI) public land transactions are completed effectively and efficiently by increasing access to qualified and cost-competitive appraisers without spending a single additional dollar of taxpayers' money. DOI oversees hundreds of millions of acres of public lands nationwide, but before it can complete any land transactions, it must first guarantee that these transactions are done at fair market value.  

The AACE Act will:

• Allow DOI to contract with private appraisers appropriately credentialed in any one state or territory to perform appraisal duties across all states and territories. Full-time federal appraisers have been able to work quickly and easily across state lines for decades. 
• Tackle federal appraisal bottlenecks by making more appraisers available to DOI. 
• Require DOI to continue to prioritize working with local appraisers, unlocking the enhanced flexibility provided by the bill only when no qualified and cost-competitive local appraisers are available to perform needed services. 

“Affordable housing is a bipartisan issue and I’m glad that Governor Lombardo has endorsed my AACE Act — commonsense legislation to cut red tape and get housing, conservation, and infrastructure projects moving on public lands,” said Congresswoman Susie Lee. “The AACE Act will give the Department of the Interior the flexibility it needs to more quickly get land deals done at no additional cost to the American taxpayer. I’m proud that my bipartisan legislation has earned the endorsement of both Republicans and Democrats — here in Nevada and in Washington — who want to work together to make government as efficient as possible for American taxpayers.” 

“Nevada families deserve access to attainable housing – and that begins with eliminating governmental barriers to development,” said Governor Joe Lombardo. “Congresswoman Lee’s AACE Act will help eliminate federal red tape so we’re able to move more efficiently on new housing and infrastructure projects here in Nevada. As we seek innovative housing solutions in our state and across the country, I’m pleased to endorse this bipartisan legislation.”

The AACE Act recently passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee unanimously and was endorsed by the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of moderate lawmakers in Congress comprised equally of 32 Republicans and 32 Democrats. The bipartisan legislation is also endorsed by Nevada Conservation League, Nevada Housing Coalition, Conservation Lands Foundation, Trout Unlimited, Nevada Land Trust, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Battlefield Trust, Appraisal Institute, and the Department of the Interior.

You can find more information about the AACE Act here.

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