[House Report 112-611]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 112-611
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BRIDGEPORT INDIAN COLONY LAND TRUST, HEALTH, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ACT OF 2012
_______
July 19, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2467]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 2467) to take certain Federal lands in Mono
County, California, into trust for the benefit of the
Bridgeport Indian Colony, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill
as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Bridgeport Indian Colony Land Trust,
Health, and Economic Development Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. LANDS TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST.
(a) In General.--Subject to valid existing rights and management
agreements related to easements and rights-of-way, all right, title,
and interest (including improvements and appurtenances) of the United
States in and to the Federal lands described in subsection (b) are
hereby declared to be held in trust by the United States for the
benefit of the Bridgeport Indian Colony, except that the oversight and
renewal of all easements and rights-of-way with the Bridgeport Public
Utility District in existence on the date of the enactment of this Act
shall remain the responsibility of the Bureau of Land Management.
(b) Federal Lands Described.--The Federal lands referred to in
subsection (a) are the approximately 39.36 acres described as follows:
(1) The South half of the South half of the Northwest quarter
of the Northwest quarter of the Northeast quarter and the North
half of the Southwest quarter of the Northwest quarter of the
Northeast quarter of Section 21, Township 8 North, Range 23
East, Mount Diablo Meridian, containing 7.5 acres, more or
less, as identified on the map titled ``Bridgeport Camp
Antelope Parcel'' and dated July 26, 2010.
(2) Lots 1 and 2 of the Bureau of Land Management survey plat
entitled ``Dependent resurvey of a portion of the subdivision
of Section 28, designed to restore the corners in their true
original locations according to the best available evidence,
and the further subdivision of Section 28 and the metes and
bounds survey of a portion of the right-of-way of California
State Highway No. 182, Township 5 North, Range 25 East, Mount
Diablo Meridian, California'' and dated February 21, 2003
containing 31.86 acres, more or less.
(c) Availability of Map.--The maps referred to in subsection (b)
shall be on file and available for public inspection at the office of
the California State Director, Bureau of Land Management.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 2467, as ordered reported, is to take
certain Federal lands in Mono County, California, into trust
for the benefit of the Bridgeport Indian Colony.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H.R. 2467 places 39.36 acres of federal land administered
by the Bureau of Land Management in trust for the benefit of
the Bridgeport Indian Colony, subject to valid existing rights.
Of this acreage, a 31.86-acre tract is contiguous to the
tribe's existing 40-acre reservation, and a 7.5-acre tract is
located off the tribe's reservation.
The Bridgeport Indian Colony is a small group of Paiute
Indians who came to reside on federal lands near Bridgeport,
Mono County, California, in the late 1800's. The lands on which
they were residing were patented to a homesteader, who
reportedly obtained the patent after falsely certifying that no
Indians occupied the lands.
In 1974, Congress enacted Public Law 93-451, which
authorized the transfer of a 40-acre parcel of Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) lands in trust for the benefit of the Tribe.
This Act was enacted over the objections of the Department of
the Interior, which argued that the trust land transfer would
constitute formal federal recognition of the Tribe. Subsequent
to the trust transfer, the Tribe acquired recognition from the
Department.
The Tribe's reservation is located about a quarter mile
from Highway 182, separated by undeveloped federal land
administered by the BLM. The Tribe reports that it has no
additional space on its existing reservation for economic
development and new housing. Previous attempts to acquire
mostly unused BLM land to add to the Tribe's reservation have
been frustrated by a variety of bureaucratic delays and certain
local political opposition that has been resolved.
H.R. 2467 places in trust for the Bridgeport Indian Colony
two tracts of federal land currently administered by the BLM.
One is a 32-acre tract located along Highway 182, adjacent to
the Tribe's existing reservation, which the Tribe says it will
use for housing and related community development. While the
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) generally prohibits gaming
on lands acquired in trust after October 17, 1988 (the date of
enactment of IGRA), the 32-acre parcel of land placed in trust
under H.R. 2467 would be eligible for gaming under an exception
made for lands contiguous to a reservation in existence on
October 17, 1988 (see 25 U.S.C. 2719(a)(1)). The Tribe
testified that it has no immediate plans to pursue gaming
because the remote location of the Tribe and the sparse
population of Mono County (estimated to be 13,000) do not make
a casino viable; however, the Tribe will not rule out gaming in
the future.
With respect to its current development plans, during the
Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 2467, the Tribe submitted into the
record a copy of a binding Memorandum of Understanding it
entered into with Mono County to mitigate the off-reservation
impacts of the trust acquisition authorized in the bill.
Over the last year, the Bridgeport Public Utility District
(PUD) brought to the Committee's attention its desire for an
existing sewer line easement across the 32-acre parcel to
remain with the BLM for use by the PUD customers. In the
Committee markup, H.R. 2467 was amended to reflect an agreement
by all stakeholders to ensure the BLM would remain responsible
for managing existing easements on the parcels of public land
conveyed to the tribe.
The other BLM land placed in trust for the tribe is a 7.5-
acre tract located 30 miles away from the tribe's reservation.
The Tribe originally leased this property from the BLM for a
health clinic, which closed. The Tribe has expressed its intent
to re-open the clinic. A casino on this parcel could be
authorized under another exception in IGRA: if the Secretary of
the Interior determined it to be in the best interest of the
tribe and not detrimental to the surrounding community, and the
Governor of California concurred in this determination (25
U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(A)).
H.R. 2467 is nearly identical to H.R. 5468, a bill
sponsored by Congressman Howard ``Buck'' McKeon (R-CA) in the
111th Congress. The full Committee on Natural Resources held a
hearing on that bill on July 28, 2010; however, the bill was
not further considered.
Because the primary purpose of placing specified public
lands in trust for the Bridgeport Indian Community under this
bill is unrelated to gaming, it is anticipated that an
amendment will be made to prohibit class II and class III
gaming (as defined under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of
1988) on these lands when the bill is considered in the full
House of Representatives.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 2467 was introduced on July 8, 2011, by Congressman
Howard ``Buck'' McKeon (R-CA). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs. On January
25, 2012, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On April
25, 2012, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider
the bill. The Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs
was discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman Don Young (R-
AK) offered en bloc amendment designated #1 to the bill; the
amendment was approved by unanimous consent. The bill, as
amended, was then adopted and ordered favorably reported to the
House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 2467--Bridgeport Indian Colony Land Trust, Health, and Economic
Development Act of 2012
H.R. 2467 would authorize the transfer of 39 acres of
federal land into trust for the benefit of the Bridgeport
Paiute Indian Colony of California. The land consists of a 32-
acre parcel adjacent to the existing 40-acre reservation and a
7.5-acre parcel currently under lease by the Toiyabe Indian
Health Project (TIHP), a consortium of seven federally
recognized tribes, including the Bridgeport Paiute Indian
Colony of California.
Based on information provided by the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), CBO estimates that any administrative costs
to carry out the bill's provisions would be minimal. (Any such
costs would be subject to the availability of appropriated
funds.) Enacting H.R. 2467 would have an insignificant effect
on direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply.
Under current law, BLM collects $1,500 annually under a
Recreation and Public Purposes Act lease with the TIHP. Under
the bill, those receipts would no longer be collected.
H.R. 2467 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
Enacting the bill would benefit the tribe.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von
Gnechten. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. Based on
information provided by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
CBO estimates that any administrative costs to carry out the
bill's provisions would be minimal. (Any such costs would be
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.) Enacting
H.R. 2467 would have an insignificant effect on direct
spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Under
current law, BLM collects $1,500 annually under a Recreation
and Public Purposes Act lease with the TIHP. Under the bill,
those receipts would no longer be collected.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill, as ordered reported, is to take certain
Federal lands in Mono County, California, into trust for the
benefit of the Bridgeport Indian Colony.
EARMARK STATEMENT
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.