[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4653 Engrossed in House (EH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4653

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To settle Indian land claims within the State of Connecticut, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mohegan Nation of Connecticut Land 
Claims Settlement Act of 1994''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF POLICY.

    Congress finds and declares that--
            (1) the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut has been 
        recognized by the United States through the administrative 
        process pursuant to part 83 of title 25 of the Code of Federal 
        Regulations;
            (2) the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut is a 
        successor in interest to the aboriginal entity known as the 
        Mohegan Indian Tribe which has existed in what is now the State 
        of Connecticut from time immemorial and for which certain lands 
        were sequestered as tribal lands by the Colony and State of 
        Connecticut;
            (3) there is pending before the United States District 
        Court for the Southern District of Connecticut a lawsuit by the 
        Mohegan Indian Tribe which involves certain lands within the 
        State of Connecticut;
            (4) the pendency of the lawsuit may result in economic 
        hardships for residents of the State of Connecticut by clouding 
        the titles to lands in the State, including lands not now 
        involved in the lawsuit;
            (5) the State of Connecticut and the Mohegan Tribe have 
        executed agreements for the purposes of resolving all disputes 
        between them and settling the lawsuit, which agreements require 
        implementing legislation by the Congress of the United States;
            (6) in the agreements described above, the parties provide 
        for the assumption by the State of Connecticut of jurisdiction 
        over offenses by and against members of the Mohegan Tribe and 
        other Indians on Indian country and to the submission of all 
        gaming-related development to the jurisdiction of the State of 
        Connecticut State Traffic Commission;
            (7) the Town of Montville, Connecticut, will be affected by 
        the loss of tax base from, and jurisdiction over, lands taken 
        into trust on behalf of the Tribe and will serve as the host 
        community for the Tribe's gaming operations;
            (8) the Town of Montville and the Mohegan Tribe have 
        entered into an agreement to resolve issues extant between them 
        and to establish the basis for a cooperative government-to-
        government relationship; and
            (9) Congress shares with the parties to such agreements a 
        desire to settle all Mohegan Indian claims in the State of 
        Connecticut and to remove all clouds on titles resulting from 
        such lawsuits.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the term--
            (1) ``Mohegan Tribe'' means the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of 
        Connecticut, a tribe of American Indians recognized by the 
        United States pursuant to part 83 of title 25, Code of Federal 
        Regulations, and by the State of Connecticut pursuant to 
        Connecticut General Statutes sections 47-59a(b);
            (2) ``State of Connecticut'' means the State of 
        Connecticut, its agencies, political subdivisions, 
        constitutional officers, officials of its agencies and 
        subdivisions;
            (3) ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior;
            (4) ``lands or natural resources'' means any real property 
        or natural resources, or any interest in or right involving any 
        real property or natural resources including, but not limited 
        to, minerals and mineral rights, timber and timber rights, 
        water and water rights, and rights to hunt and fish;
            (5) ``lawsuit'' means the action in the United States 
        District Court for the District of Connecticut, entitled 
        ``Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut v. State of 
        Connecticut, et al.'', Case No. H77-434;
            (6) ``State Agreement'' means that document entitled 
        ``Agreement between the Mohegan Tribe and the State of 
        Connecticut'' executed on May 17, 1994, by the Governor acting 
        on behalf of the State of Connecticut and the Chief of the 
        Mohegan Tribe acting on behalf of the Mohegan Tribe and filed 
        with the Secretary of State of the State of Connecticut;
            (7) ``Town Agreement'' means that document executed on June 
        16, 1994, by the Mayor of the Town of Montville and the Chief 
        of the Mohegan Tribe;
            (8) ``transfer'' includes, but is not limited to, any sale, 
        grant, lease, allotment, partition, or conveyance, any 
        transaction the purpose of which was to effect a sale, grant, 
        lease, allotment, partition, or conveyance, or any event or 
        events that resulted in a change of possession or control of 
        lands or natural resources.

SEC. 4. FINDINGS BY THE SECRETARY.

    Section 5 of this Act shall not take effect until the following 
events have occurred and the Secretary so finds--
            (1) the State of Connecticut has entered into a binding 
        compact with the Mohegan Tribe providing for Class III tribal 
        gaming operations, in accordance with the Indian Gaming 
        Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), and the compact has 
        received all the Federal approvals required to be fully 
        effective; and
            (2) title to lands described in Exhibit B to the Agreement 
        has vested in the United States in trust for the Mohegan Tribe 
        to be used as the Mohegan Tribe's initial Indian reservation.

SEC. 5. APPROVAL OF PRIOR TRANSFERS AND EXTINGUISHMENT OF CLAIMS AND 
              ABORIGINAL TITLE INVOLVING THE MOHEGAN TRIBE.

    (a) If the Secretary finds that the conditions set forth in section 
4 of this Act have been satisfied, he shall publish such findings and 
the State Agreement in the Federal Register, and upon such publication:
            (1) The transfers, waivers, releases, relinquishments, and 
        other commitments made by the Mohegan Tribe in paragraph (1) of 
        its Agreement with the State of Connecticut shall be of full 
        force and effect on the terms and conditions therein stated.
            (2) The transfers, waivers, releases, relinquishments, and 
        other commitments validated by paragraph (1) of the Agreement 
        and of this section and the transfers and extinguishments 
        approved and validated by subsection (b)(1) and (2) shall be 
        deemed to have been made in accordance with the United States 
        Constitution and all laws of the United States that are 
        specifically applicable to transfers of lands or natural 
        resources from, by, or on behalf of any Indian, Indian nation, 
        or tribe of Indians (including but not limited to the Trade and 
        Intercourse Act of 1790, Act of July 22, 1790, ch. 33, sec. 4, 
        1 Stat. 137, and any amendments thereto and all subsequent 
        versions thereof), and Congress does hereby approve any such 
        transfers effective as of the date of said transfers.
    (b)(1) All claims to lands within the State of Connecticut based 
upon aboriginal title by the Mohegan Tribe are hereby extinguished, as 
are any and all other claims the Mohegan Tribe might have to any public 
or private lands or natural resources in Connecticut, such as claims or 
rights based on recognized title, including but not limited to--
            (A) any claim the Mohegan Tribe might have to the tribal 
        sequestered lands bounded out to the Tribe in 1684, consisting 
        of some 20,480 acres lying between the Thames River, New London 
        bounds, Norwich bounds, and Colchester bounds;
            (B) any claim the Mohegan Tribe might have based on a 
        survey under the authority of the Connecticut General Assembly 
        in 1736 of lands reserved and sequestered by the General 
        Assembly for the sole use and improvement of the Mohegan Indian 
        Tribe; and
            (C) any claim the Mohegan Tribe might have based on any 
        action by the State in 1860, 1861, or otherwise to allot, 
        reallot, and/or confirm any lands of the Mohegan Tribe to 
        individual Indians or other persons. Any transfer of lands or 
        natural resources located anywhere within the State of 
        Connecticut including, but not limited to, transfers pursuant 
        to the statute or treaty of or with any State or the United 
        States, by, from, or on behalf of the Mohegan Tribe, or any 
        predecessor or successor in interest, shall be deemed to be in 
        full force and effect, as provided in subsection (a)(2): 
        Provided, however, That nothing herein shall be construed as 
        extinguishing any aboriginal right, title, interest, or claim 
        to lands or natural resources solely to the extent of the 
        rights or interests defined as ``excepted interests'' in 
        paragraph 1a of the Agreement between the Mohegan Tribe and the 
        State of Connecticut.
    (2) By virtue of the approval of a transfer of lands or natural 
resources effected by this section, or an extinguishment of aboriginal 
title effected thereby, all claims against the United States, any State 
or subdivision thereof, or any other person or entity, by the Mohegan 
Tribe, arising subsequent to the transfer and based upon any interest 
in or right involving the claims described in paragraph (1) above in 
lands or natural resources, including, but not limited to, claims for 
trespass damages or claims for use and occupancy, shall be regarded as 
extinguished as of the date of the transfer, provided that this 
limitation shall not apply to any interest in lands or natural 
resources subsequently and lawfully acquired by the Mohegan Tribe or 
its members.
    (c) No provision of this section shall be construed to offset or 
eliminate the personal claim of any individual Indian which is pursued 
under any law of general applicability that protects Indians as well as 
non-Indians.

SEC. 6. CONVEYANCE OF LANDS TO THE UNITED STATES IN TRUST FOR THE 
              MOHEGAN TRIBE.

    (a) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed, 
subject to the satisfaction of environmental requirements otherwise 
applicable to actions under part 151 of title 25, Code of Federal 
Regulations, to accept the conveyance of title to lands described in 
Exhibits A and B of the State Agreement to be taken in the name of the 
United States of America in trust for the use and benefit of the 
Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut. The lands shall be the Mohegan 
Tribe's Initial Indian reservation.
    (b) With regard to any tracts of land subject to Exhibit B of the 
State Agreement but not specifically identified therein, the Secretary 
shall consult with the Town of Montville with respect to the impact on 
the Town resulting from the removal of the land from the tax rolls and 
jurisdictional problems and potential conflicts of land use which may 
arise. With respect to all lands not subject to Exhibits A and B of the 
State Agreement, nothing in this Act shall diminish or otherwise affect 
the Town's rights under applicable law to participate in the 
decisionmaking process on trust acquisition requests involving these 
lands.

SEC. 7. ASSUMPTION BY STATE OF JURISDICTION OVER CRIMES.

    The consent of the United States is hereby given to the State of 
Connecticut to assume by affirmative legislation jurisdiction over 
offenses committed by or against Indians on the Mohegan Indian 
reservation or Indian country owned by the Mohegan tribe or its 
members. Such jurisdiction shall be to the same extent that the State 
has over such offenses committed elsewhere within the State, and the 
criminal laws of the State shall have the same force within such 
reservation and Indian country as they have elsewhere in the State. 
Such exercise of criminal jurisdiction by the State shall not affect 
the Tribe's concurrent jurisdiction over such matters.

SEC. 8. GENERAL DISCHARGE AND RELEASE OF STATE OF CONNECTICUT.

    Except as expressly provided herein and in the State Agreement and 
the Town Agreement, this Act shall constitute a general discharge and 
release of all obligations of the State of Connecticut and all of its 
political subdivisions, agencies, departments, and all of the officers 
or employees thereof arising from any treaty or agreement with, or on 
behalf of the Tribe of the United Sates as trustee therefor.

SEC. 9. REVOCATION OF STATE AGREEMENT.

    In the event that, within 15 years of the date of the publication 
of the notice required by section 5(a), the Agreement between the 
Mohegan Tribe and the State of Connecticut is invalidated, or if the 
gaming compact provided in section 4(1) of this Act, or any 
implementing agreements between the parties thereto, is invalidated by 
a court of competent jurisdiction, the transfers, waivers, releases, 
relinquishments and other commitments made by the Mohegan Tribe in 
paragraph 1a of the State Agreement shall no longer be of any force or 
effect, section 5 of this Act shall be inapplicable to the lands, 
interests in lands or natural resources of the Mohegan Tribe and its 
members as if never enacted, and the approvals of prior transfers and 
the extinguishment of claims and aboriginal title of the Mohegan Tribe 
otherwise effected by section 5 shall be void ab initio. In any such 
event, the Mohegan Tribe shall have the right to reinstate its land 
claim within a reasonable time, which period shall be defined as the 
later of 6 months after the Mohegan Tribe receives written notice of 
such determination, or if appealed, 6 months after entry of judgment by 
the court of last resort, and, if the suit is reinstated within that 
time, no defense, such as laches, statute of limitations, law of the 
case, res judicata, or prior disposition shall be asserted based on the 
withdrawal of the lawsuit and commencement of the resumed litigation, 
nor shall the substance of discussions leading to the State Agreement 
be admissible in any subsequent litigation: Provided, however, That if 
any such suit is reinstated, any defense which would have been 
available to the State of Connecticut at the time the lawsuit was 
withdrawn may be asserted, and is not waived by anything in the State 
Agreement or by subsequent events occurring between the withdrawal of 
the lawsuit and commencement of the resumed litigation. In the event 
that any suit challenging the validity of the State Agreement, the 
gaming compact provided in section 4 of this Act, or any implementing 
agreements between the parties thereto, is pending in any court of 
competent jurisdiction on the date that the Mohegan Tribe's rights 
under this section would otherwise expire, such rights will be extended 
for a period not to exceed 6 months from the date the Mohegan Tribe 
receives notice of a final determination in such suit or, if an appeal 
is filed, 6 months after entry of judgment by the court of last resort.

SEC. 10. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any action to contest 
the constitutionality of this Act or the validity of any agreement 
entered into under the authority of this Act or approved by this Act 
shall be barred unless the complaint is filed within 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act. Exclusive jurisdiction over any such 
action is hereby vested in the United States District Court for the 
District of Connecticut.

SEC. 11. RATIFICATION OF TOWN AGREEMENT.

    (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Town agreement 
entered into by the Mohegan Indian tribe and the Town of Montville is 
hereby ratified and given full force and effect.
    (b) The Secretary is authorized and directed to approve future 
modifications to the Town Agreement mutually agreed to by the parties 
and consistent with applicable law.

            Passed the House of Representatives August 8, 1994.

            Attest:






                                                                 Clerk.
                                     







103d CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 4653

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 To settle Indian land claims within the State of Connecticut, and for 
                            other purposes.