[Senate Report 113-194]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 432
113th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 113-194
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TO REAFFIRM THAT CERTAIN LAND HAS BEEN TAKEN INTO TRUST FOR THE BENEFIT
OF THE MATCH-E-BE-NASH-SHE-WISH BAND OF POTTAWATOMI INDIANS, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES
_______
June 17, 2014.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Tester, from the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1603]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill (S. 1603) to reaffirm that certain land has been taken
into trust for the benefit of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band
of Pottawatomi Indians, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 1603 is to reaffirm that certain land has
been taken into trust for the benefit of the Match-E-Be-Nash-
She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, and for other purposes.
BACKGROUND
The Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians
(Gun Lake Tribe) is a federally recognized tribe residing in
rural Michigan. In 1998, the Department of the Interior
recognized the Tribe through the administrative federal
acknowledgement process. Two years later, the Tribe filed an
application with the Department of the Interior to place a
tract of land, known as the Bradley Property, into trust
pursuant to the Indian Reorganization Act.
The trust acquisition by the Secretary was quickly
challenged by an anti-gaming organization and a neighboring
landowner. These challenges resulted in numerous court
decisions, culminating in the United States Supreme Court's
decision in Patchak v. Salazar. The Patchak decision ultimately
provided the neighboring landowner legal standing to challenge
the Secretary's trust acquisition for the Tribe. That challenge
is currently pending before a federal district court, and
places in jeopardy the Tribe's only tract of land held in trust
and the economic development project that the Tribe is
currently operating on the land.
S. 1603 would ratify and confirm the Secretary's
acquisition of the tract of land in trust for the Tribe. The
bill would provide certainty to the legal status of the land,
on which the Tribe has begun gaming operations as a means of
economic development for its community.
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held a hearing on
the bill on May 7, 2014, where the Tribe and the Department of
the Interior testified in support of the bill.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1--Short Title
This Act may be cited as the ``Gun Lake Trust Land
Reaffirmation Act.''
Section 2--Reaffirmation of Indian Trust Land
The land taken into trust by the United States for the
benefit of the Tribe and described in the final Notice of
Determination of the Department of the Interior (70 Fed. Reg.
25596 (May 13, 2005)) is reaffirmed as trust land, and the
actions of the Secretary of the Interior in taking that land
into trust are ratified and confirmed.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an action
(including an action pending in a Federal court as of the date
of enactment of this Act) relating to the land shall not be
filed or maintained in a Federal court and shall be promptly
dismissed.
Nothing in this Act alters or diminishes the right of the
Tribe from seeking to have any additional land taken into
trust.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 1603 was introduced on October 29, 2013, by Senator
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Senator Carl Levin (D-MI). The bill
was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. On May 7,
2014, the committee held a hearing on the bill. On May 21,
2014, the committee met to consider the bill. No amendments
were offered, and the bill was adopted and ordered reported
favorably to the Senate by voice vote. On June 12, 2014, the
bill was reported and placed on the Senate Legislative
Calendar.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following cost estimate, as provided by the
Congressional Budget Office, dated June 17, 2014, was prepared
for S. 1603:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, June 17, 2014.
Hon. Jon Tester,
Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1603, the Gun Lake
Trust Land Reaffirmation Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Martin von
Gnechten.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf.
Enclosure.
S. 1603--Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act
S. 1603 would reaffirm the status of lands taken into trust
by the Department of the Interior (DOI) for the benefit of the
Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians in the
state of Michigan. The legislation also would prohibit any
lawsuits related to the trust land. In 2012, the Supreme Court
ruled that DOI lacked the authority to take nearly 150 acres
into trust.
Based on information provided by DOI, CBO estimates that
implementing the legislation would have no significant effect
on the federal budget. The legislation would not significantly
increase the cost of managing tribal trust lands. Enacting S.
1603 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore,
pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
S. 1603 contains an intergovernmental and private-sector
mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
because it would end rights of action for public and private
entities that are currently able to pursue legal actions
related to the land held in trust for the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-
Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians. The bill would prohibit any
action relating to the trust land from being brought or
maintained in a federal court. The cost of the mandate would be
any forgone compensation that would have been awarded through
legal actions.
The state of Michigan and several local governments have
entered into an agreement with the tribe related to the use of
the land, and CBO believes it is unlikely that, absent the
bill, any other public entity would bring an action that would
result in significant compensation. Therefore, CBO estimates
the cost of the intergovernmental mandate would not exceed the
annual threshold established in UMRA for such mandates ($76
million, in 2014, adjusted annually for inflation).
Private entities, however, have no such agreement, and the
bill would extinguish all rights to legal actions relating to
the trust lands. Awards in such claims are in many cases
limited to the value of the land. Because of the commercial
properties located on the trust land, the value of awards
related to those lands could be significant. However, because
both the number of claims that could be barred or terminated
and the value of forgone compensation stemming from those
claims are uncertain, CBO has no basis for estimating the cost
of the mandate. Therefore, CBO cannot determine whether the
cost of the private-sector mandate would exceed the annual
threshold established in UMRA for such mandates ($152 million,
in 2014, adjusted annually for inflation).
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Martin von
Gnechten (for federal costs), Melissa Merrell (for the state
and local impact), and Marin Burnett (for the private-sector
impact). The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Regulatory and Paperwork Impact Statement
Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that S. 1603 will
have a minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.
Executive Communications
The Committee has received no communications from the
Executive Branch regarding S. 1603.
Changes in Existing Law (Cordon Rule)
In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee finds that the
enactment of S. 1603 will not make any changes in existing law.