About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

B-220699 1 (1986-05-14)

handle is hein.gao/gaobadmic0001 and id is 1 raw text is: THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL OECISION OP THE UNITED STATE| (JIT0 ~WASHINGTON. 0. C. 20548 FILE: B-220699 DATE: May 14, 1986 MATTER OF: Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior - Disposition of Forfeited Bonus Bids Received At Competitive Mineral Lease DIGEST: Sales When the high bidder for a mineral lease offered by the Bureau of Land Management does not execute a lease, the one-fifth bonus submitted with the bid is forfeited. Section 35 of the Mineral Lands Leasing Act of 1920, as amended (30 U.S.C. S 191), provides that all money received from sales, bonuses, royalties, and rentals are to be distributed under that sec- tion. Therefore, the forfeited bonuses are to be distributed in the same manner as other lease proceeds to which section 35 is applicable. The Bureau of Land Management of the Department of the Interior (BLM) requests a decision on the disposition of forfeited bonus bid receipts it holds as deposits against the completion of certain competitive mineral leases. We conclude that these forfeited receipts should be distributed in the same manner as other lease proceeds. In conducting the competition for these leases, BLM receives one-fifth of the bonus bid from the winning bidder as a deposit pending completion of the lease. The lease is executed only if the bidder pays the remaining four-fifths of the bonus bid and the first year rental within 30 days of notice of bid acceptance. If the bidder does not complete payment within this time period, the bonus bid deposit is forfeited to BLM. We are asked if these amounts should be transferred to Interior's Minerals Management Service for distribution under section 35 of the Mineral Lands Leasing Act in the same way as other lease proceeds subject to section 35, or instead should be deposited as miscellaneous receipts in the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury. The Interior Solicitor's Office has advised BLM that the moneys should be considered money received from sales or money received from * * * bonuses under the Mineral Lands Leasing Act, both of which are subject to section 35 distribution. We are told that the Solicitor's Office cites Watt v. Alaska, 451 U.S. 259 (1981) in support of this view. - I i 1_ tv.., ()

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most