The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday passed a bipartisan bill cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) that would relax requirements for the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) in appraising and valuing real property for transactions that it has jurisdiction over.
“I am proud to see this legislation pass the House so that we can help support preservation efforts and spur economic growth in Ohio and across the country,” Rep. Joyce said.
The Accelerating Appraisals and Conservation Efforts (AACE) Act, H.R. 5443, which is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV), would permit the DOI to use private appraisers who are certified general real property appraisers licensed in the state where the transaction occurs, according to the congressional record bill summary.
Additionally, the DOI also could use a private appraiser who is licensed outside the state in which the transaction occurs only if private appraisers licensed in that state are unavailable, not assignment qualified, or not cost competitive, the summary says.
“As land-related activities continue to skyrocket nationwide, so does the need for accurate and timely appraisals,” said Rep. Joyce. “The bipartisan AACE Act will help to alleviate the appraisal backlog by expanding the Department of the Interior’s ability to work with credentialed private appraisers.”
The DOI oversees hundreds of millions of acres of public lands nationwide, but before it can complete any land transactions, it must first guarantee that the transactions are done at fair market value, according to information provided by Rep. Joyce’s staff.
As demand has grown, the DOI has had to increasingly rely on private appraisers who oftentimes can only work in the specific states where they are credentialed, resulting in delays that impact the progress of numerous projects around the country.
If enacted, H.R. 5443 would help tackle the federal appraisal bottlenecks by making more appraisers available to DOI, the information says.
“We can’t let red tape get in the way of key land transactions that will support conservation, build critical infrastructure, and help cut housing costs,” said Rep. Lee. “The AACE Act cuts through red tape by giving the Department of the Interior a much-needed tool to more quickly get land deals done at no additional cost to the American taxpayer.”