PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on Water and Power. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 113-284.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Feb 24, 2014
Reclamation Title Transfer Act of 2014 - Authorizes the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation to establish a program that: (1) identifies and analyzes the potential for public benefits from the transfer of eligible facilities out of federal ownership, and (2) facilitates the transfer of such facilities to qualifying entities to promote more efficient management of water and water-related facilities.
Defines: (1) "eligible facilities" as reclamation projects or facilities (including dams and appurtenant works, infrastructure, recreational facilities, buildings, distribution and drainage works, and associated land or interests in land or water) for which the United States holds title and that meet the criteria for potential transfer established by this Act; and (2) "qualifying entity" as a state, local government, Indian tribe, municipal or quasi-municipal corporation, or other entity (such as a water district) that has the capacity to continue to manage the conveyed property for the same purposes that the property has been managed under the reclamation laws.
Authorizes the Commissioner to convey an eligible facility to a qualifying entity without further authorization from Congress. Grants a qualifying entity that is operating an eligible facility at the time conveyance is being considered the right of first refusal.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Authorizes the Commissioner to reserve an easement over a conveyed property if necessary for the management of any interests retained by the federal government. Directs the Commissioner to retain any mineral interests associated with a conveyed property.
Requires the Commissioner to: (1) establish criteria for determining whether facilities are eligible for conveyance under this Act, including that the qualifying entity agrees to use the eligible facility for substantially the same purposes the facility is being used for at the time the transfer is being evaluated and that such a conveyance is in the financial interest of the United States; and (2) make information on how the determinations are made publicly available.
Terminates the Secretary's authority to carry out such conveyances 15 years after this Act's enactment.
People & committees
Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI] · D–HI
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Subcommittee on Water and Power. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 113-284.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.2034 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.2034 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.2034 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.2034 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.