Apex Area Technical Corrections Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HORSFORD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 618. I thank Ms. Hoyle, the floor manager for the committee as well as the chairman, for the courtesy.

In 1989, Congress enacted the Apex Project, Nevada Land Transfer and Authorization Act, directing the sale of 21,000 acres of Federal land to Clark County for the establishment of the Apex Industrial Area.

This law permits only the Bureau of Land Management and Clark County to issue utility and transportation rights-of-way.

Originally, Clark County had this authorization in order to make the permitting process shorter. In recent years, however, the city of North Las Vegas and the Apex Industrial Owners Association primarily manage the site, not Clark County.

The result is that this law has had the opposite effect and leads to a longer permitting process for businesses that need to construct sewer, gas, and power, as well as broadband infrastructure.

Amending the Apex Project, Nevada Land Transfer and Authorization Act to include the city of North Las Vegas and the Apex Area Industrial Owners Association as permittees would allow the original congressional intent of expediting the permitting process to be fulfilled.

H.R. 618 is an extremely simple fix to a complex problem that plagues Apex and causes major slowdowns at the Southern Nevada Bureau of Land Management and stifles economic growth in the county.

I thank Chairman Westerman, Ranking Member Jared Huffman as well as Representative Hoyle and the rest of the Natural Resources Committee for allowing this measure to pass through committee and to come to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that all Members support this legislation on economic development, expediting the permitting process, and ensuring that the lands in our community are decided by the residents who use them.

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