[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2538 Engrossed in House (EH)]


  2d Session

                               H. R. 2538

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

  To establish a Presidential commission to determine the validity of 
 certain land claims arising out of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo of 
1848 involving the descendants of persons who were Mexican citizens at 
                        the time of the Treaty.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 2538

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
  To establish a Presidential commission to determine the validity of 
 certain land claims arising out of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo of 
1848 involving the descendants of persons who were Mexican citizens at 
                        the time of the Treaty.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Guadalupe-Hidalgo 
Treaty Land Claims Act of 1998''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions and findings.
Sec. 3. Establishment and membership of Commission.
Sec. 4. Examination of land claims.
Sec. 5. Community Land Grant Study Center.
Sec. 6. Miscellaneous powers of Commission.
Sec. 7. Report.
Sec. 8. Termination.
Sec. 9. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS AND FINDINGS.

    (a) Definitions.--For purposes of this Act:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the 
        Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty Land Claims Commission established 
        under section 3.
            (2) Treaty of guadalupe-hidalgo.--The term ``Treaty of 
        Guadalupe-Hidalgo'' means the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, 
        Limits, and Settlement (Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo), between 
        the United States and the Republic of Mexico, signed February 
        2, 1848 (TS 207; 9 Bevans 791).
            (3) Eligible descendant.--The term ``eligible descendant'' 
        means a descendant of a person who--
                    (A) was a Mexican citizen before the Treaty of 
                Guadalupe-Hidalgo;
                    (B) was a member of a community land grant; and
                    (C) became a United States citizen within ten years 
                after the effective date of the Treaty of Guadalupe-
                Hidalgo, May 30, 1848, pursuant to the terms of the 
                Treaty.
            (4) Community land grant.--The term ``community land 
        grant'' means a village, town, settlement, or pueblo consisting 
        of land held in common (accompanied by lesser private 
        allotments) by three or more families under a grant from the 
        King of Spain (or his representative) before the effective date 
        of the Treaty of Cordova, August 24, 1821, or from the 
        authorities of the Republic of Mexico before May 30, 1848, in 
        what became the State of New Mexico, regardless of the original 
        character of the grant.
            (5) Reconstituted.--The term ``reconstituted'', with regard 
        to a valid community land grant, means restoration to full 
        status as a municipality with rights properly belonging to a 
        municipality under State law and the right of local self-
        government.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) New Mexico has a unique history regarding the 
        acquisition of ownership of land as a result of the substantial 
        number of Spanish and Mexican land grants that were an integral 
        part of the colonization and growth of New Mexico before the 
        United States acquired the area in the Treaty of Guadalupe-
        Hidalgo.
            (2) Various provisions of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo 
        have not yet been fully implemented in the spirit of Article 
        VI, section 2, of the Constitution of the United States.
            (3) Serious questions regarding the prior ownership of 
        lands in the State of New Mexico, particularly certain public 
        lands, still exist.
            (4) Congressionally established land claim commissions have 
        been used in the past to successfully examine disputed land 
        possession questions.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a commission to be known 
as the ``Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty Land Claims Commission''.
    (b) Number and Appointment of Members.--The Commission shall be 
composed of five members appointed by the President by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate. At least two of the members of the 
Commission shall be selected from among persons who are eligible 
descendants.
    (c) Terms.--Each member shall be appointed for the life of the 
Commission. A vacancy in the Commission shall be filled in the manner 
in which the original appointment was made.
    (d) Compensation.--Members shall each be entitled to receive the 
daily equivalent of level V of the Executive Schedule for each day 
(including travel time) during which they are engaged in the actual 
performance of duties vested in the Commission.

SEC. 4. EXAMINATION OF LAND CLAIMS.

    (a) Submission of Land Claims Petitions.--Any three (or more) 
eligible descendants who are also descendants of the same community 
land grant may file with the Commission a petition on behalf of 
themselves and all other descendants of that community land grant 
seeking a determination of the validity of the land claim that is the 
basis for the petition.
    (b) Deadline for Submission.--To be considered by the Commission, a 
petition under subsection (a) must be received by the Commission not 
later than five years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Elements of Petition.--A petition under subsection (a) shall be 
made under oath and shall contain the following:
            (1) The names and addresses of the eligible descendants who 
        are petitioners.
            (2) The fact that the land involved in the petition was a 
        community land grant at the time of the effective date of the 
        Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty.
            (3) The extent of the community land grant, to the best of 
        the knowledge of the petitioners, accompanied with a survey or, 
        if a survey is not feasible to them, a sketch map thereof.
            (4) The fact that the petitioners reside, or intend to 
        settle upon, the community land grant.
            (5) All facts known to petitioners concerning the community 
        land grant, together with copies of all papers in regard 
        thereto available to petitioners.
    (d) Petition Hearing.--At one or more designated locations in the 
State of New Mexico, the Commission shall hold a hearing upon each 
petition timely submitted under subsection (a), at which hearing all 
persons having an interest in the land involved in the petition shall 
have the right, upon notice, to appear as a party.
    (e) Subpoena Power.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission may issue subpoenas 
        requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the 
        production of any evidence relating to any petition submitted 
        under subsection (a). The attendance of witnesses and the 
        production of evidence may be required from any place within 
        the United States at any designated place of hearing within the 
        State of New Mexico.
            (2) Failure to obey a subpoena.--If a person refuses to 
        obey a subpoena issued under paragraph (1), the Commission may 
        apply to a United States district court for an order requiring 
        that person to appear before the Commission to give testimony, 
        produce evidence, or both, relating to the matter under 
        investigation. The application may be made within the judicial 
        district where the hearing is conducted or where that person is 
        found, resides, or transacts business. Any failure to obey the 
        order of the court may be punished by the court as civil 
        contempt.
            (3) Service of subpoenas.--The subpoenas of the Commission 
        shall be served in the manner provided for subpoenas issued by 
        a United States district court under the Federal Rules of Civil 
        Procedure for the United States district courts.
            (4) Service of process.--All process of any court to which 
        application is to be made under paragraph (2) may be served in 
        the judicial district in which the person required to be served 
        resides or may be found.
    (f) Decision.--On the basis of the facts contained in a petition 
submitted under subsection (a), and the hearing held with regard to the 
petition, the Commission shall determine the validity of the community 
land grant described in the petition. The decision shall include a 
recommendation of the Commission regarding whether the community land 
grant should be reconstituted and its lands restored.
    (g) Protection of Non-Federal Property.--The decision of the 
Commission regarding the validity of a petition submitted under 
subsection (a) shall not affect the ownership, title, or rights of 
owners of any non-Federal lands covered by the petition. Any 
recommendation of the Commission under subsection (f) regarding whether 
a community land grant should be reconstituted and its lands restored 
may not address non-Federal lands. In the case of a valid petition 
covering lands held in non-Federal ownership, the Commission shall 
modify the recommendation under subsection (f) to recommend the 
substitution of comparable Federal lands in the State of New Mexico for 
the lands held in non-Federal ownership.

SEC. 5. COMMUNITY LAND GRANT STUDY CENTER.

    To assist the Commission in the performance of its activities under 
section 4, the Commission shall establish a Community Land Grant Study 
Center at the Onate Center in Alcalde, New Mexico. The Commission shall 
be charged with the responsibility of directing the research, study, 
and investigations necessary for the Commission to perform its duties 
under this Act.

SEC. 6. MISCELLANEOUS POWERS OF COMMISSION.

    (a) Hearings and Sessions.--The Commission may, for the purpose of 
carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act at times and places, 
take testimony, and receive evidence as the Commission considers 
appropriate. The Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to 
witnesses appearing before it.
    (b) Powers of Members and Agents.--Any member or agent of the 
Commission may, if authorized by the Commission, take any action which 
the Commission is authorized to take by this section.
    (c) Gifts, Bequests, and Devises.--The Commission may accept, use, 
and dispose of gifts, bequests, or devises of services or property, 
both real and personal, for the purpose of aiding or facilitating the 
work of the Commission.
    (d) Mails.--The Commission may use the United States mails in the 
same manner and under the same conditions as other departments and 
agencies of the United States.
    (e) Administrative Support Services.--Upon the request of the 
Commission, the Administrator of General Services shall provide to the 
Commission, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative support 
services necessary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities 
under this Act.
    (f) Immunity.--The Commission is an agency of the United States for 
the purpose of part V of title 18, United States Code (relating to 
immunity of witnesses).

SEC. 7. REPORT.

    As soon as practicable after reaching its last decision under 
section 4, the Commission shall submit to the President and the 
Congress a report containing each decision, including the 
recommendation of the Commission regarding whether certain community 
land grants should be reconstituted, so that the Congress may act upon 
the recommendations.

SEC. 8. TERMINATION.

    The Commission shall terminate on 180 days after submitting its 
final report under section 7.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 1999 through 2007 for the purpose of carrying out the 
activities of the Commission and to establish and operate the Community 
Land Grant Study Center under section 5.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 10, 1998.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.