University of Utah Research Park Act
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The bill would confirm that the University of Utah's use of about 593 acres of land in Salt Lake City as a research park, along with related uses like student housing and a transit hub, qualifies as a valid public purpose under a 1926 federal land law.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would confirm that the University of Utah's use of approximately 593.54 acres of land in Salt Lake City as a university research park — originally approved by the Secretary of the Interior in a 1970 letter — satisfies the public-purpose requirement of the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. It would also confirm that other related university uses of the same land, including development of student housing and a transit hub, count as valid public purposes under that same law.
The bill does not transfer any additional land or change the boundaries of the original 1968 land patent; it simply clarifies the land's legal status for uses consistent with the research park's purpose.
Key provisions
- 1Would confirm the University of Utah's existing use of the land as a research park, as approved by the Interior Department in 1970, as a valid public purpose.
- 2Would confirm other university-related uses of the land, including student housing and a transit hub, as valid public purposes under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act.
- 3Describes the specific approximately 593.54-acre tract of land covered by the confirmation, originally conveyed by a 1968 land patent.
Who would be affected
The University of Utah, which holds and manages the land, along with students and staff who would use future housing or transit facilities built there. The Department of the Interior is also affected, since the bill confirms the validity of uses it originally approved.
Why it matters
Without this confirmation, expanded or modified uses of the land beyond the original 1970-approved research park plan could face legal uncertainty over whether they comply with the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, potentially complicating financing, development, or transfers tied to the property.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Recreation and Public Purposes Act (Act of June 14, 1926; 43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.) (Sec. 2)
Confirms that the University of Utah's research park and related uses of specified land satisfy this Act's public-purpose requirement.
Agencies directed to act
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2876 would have no effect on the federal budget.
H.R. 2876 would confirm the University of Utah's ongoing use of a 594-acre parcel of federal land conveyed by the Department of the Interior in 1968 for public purposes, and would allow the university to add student housing, a transit hub, and other research-park-related uses. CBO estimates zero effect on direct spending (mandatory spending), revenues, and the deficit over the 2025–2035 scoring window, because the permitted uses carry no cost to the federal government. CBO found no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates in the bill.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill confirms the use by the University of Utah of approximately 593 acres of specified nonfederal land in Salt Lake City, Utah, as a university research park and for related university purposes (including development of student housing and a transit hub) as a valid public purpose.
Legislative subjects
Educational facilities and institutions; Land transfers; Public Lands and Natural Resources; Utah
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-290