Organization, Management and Financing of State Land Use Programs

This report was originally prepared as background discussion material for the Task Force on Natural Resource and Land Use Information and Technology sponsored by the Council of State Governments in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Office of and Land Use and Water Planning, U.S. Department of the Interior. The topic of this report is within the general Task Force responsibility to consider: (1) the problems and potential value of nationwide data and information systems compatibility; (2) the feasibility of coordinated systems development (either at the federal level or by a consortium of States); (3) the adequacy of existing federal information programs to meet new state resource and land use planning needs; and (4) the financial, technical, and institutional problems that hamper States in their use of natural resources and land use information. This paper makes reference to S. 268, the National Land Use Policy and Planning Assistance Act, as passed by the Senate on June 21, 1973. Although land use legislation was not enacted by the 93rd Congress, this bill represents more than three years of work by the Senate and its staff and the results of extensive hearings, testimony, and revisions.