[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3522 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3522
To ratify a conveyance of a portion of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation
to Rio Arriba County, State of New Mexico, pursuant to the settlement
of litigation between the Jicarilla Apache Nation and Rio Arriba
County, State of New Mexico, to authorize issuance of a patent for said
lands, and to change the exterior boundary of the Jicarilla Apache
Reservation accordingly, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 10, 2007
Mr. Udall of New Mexico introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ratify a conveyance of a portion of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation
to Rio Arriba County, State of New Mexico, pursuant to the settlement
of litigation between the Jicarilla Apache Nation and Rio Arriba
County, State of New Mexico, to authorize issuance of a patent for said
lands, and to change the exterior boundary of the Jicarilla Apache
Reservation accordingly, 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. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this act, the following definitions apply:
(1) Jicarilla apache nation.--The term ``Jicarilla Apache
Nation'' means the Jicarilla Apache Nation, a tribe of American
Indians recognized by the United States and organized under
section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 476;
popularly known as the Indian Reorganization Act).
(2) 1988 reservation addition.--The term ``1988 Reservation
Addition'' means those lands, known locally as the Theis Ranch,
that are described in the Federal Register published on
September 26, 1988 at 53 F.R. 37355-56 and were added to the
Jicarilla Apache Reservation in New Mexico in 1988.
(3) Settlement agreement.--The term ``Settlement
Agreement'' means the agreement executed by the President of
the Jicarilla Apache Nation on May 6, 2003 and executed by the
Chairman of the Rio Arriba Board of County Commissioners on May
15, 2003 and approved by the Department of the Interior on June
18, 2003 to settle the Lawsuit.
(4) Lawsuit.--The term ``Lawsuit'' means the case
identified as Jicarilla Apache Tribe v. Board of County
Commissioners, County of Rio Arriba, No. RA 87-2225(C), State
of New Mexico District Court, First Judicial District, filed in
October 1987.
(5) Rio arriba county.--The term ``Rio Arriba County''
means the political subdivision of the state of New Mexico
described in Section 4-21-1 and Section 4-21-2, New Mexico
Statutes Annotated 1978 (Original Pamphlet).
(6) Settlement lands.--The term ``Settlement Lands'' means
Tract A and Tract B as described in the plat of the ``Dependent
Resurvey and Survey of Tract within Theis Ranch'' within the
Tierra Amarilla Grant, New Mexico prepared by Leo P. Kelley,
Cadastral Surveyor, United States Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Land Management, dated January 7, 2004, and recorded
in the office of the Rio Arriba County Clerk on March 8, 2004,
in Cabinet C-1, Page 199, Document No. 242411, consisting of
70.75 acres more or less. Title to the Settlement Lands is held
by the United States in trust for the Jicarilla Apache Nation.
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(8) Disputed county road.--The term ``Disputed County
Road'' means the county road passing through the 1988
Reservation Addition along the course identified in the
judgment entered by the New Mexico District Court in the
Lawsuit on December 10, 2001 and the decision entered on
December 11, 2001, which judgment and decision have been
appealed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Lawsuit is now pending before the Court of Appeals
of the State of New Mexico and involves a claim that a county
road passing through the 1988 Reservation Addition had been
established by prescription prior to acquisition of the land by
the Jicarilla Apache Nation in 1985.
(2) The parties to that lawsuit, the Jicarilla Apache
Nation and the County of Rio Arriba, have executed a Settlement
Agreement, approved by the Secretary of the Interior, to
resolve all claims relating to the disputed county road, which
agreement requires ratifying legislation by the Congress of the
United States.
(3) The parties to the Settlement Agreement desire to
settle the claims relating to the disputed county road on the
terms agreed to by the parties, and it is in the best interests
of the parties to resolve the claims through the Settlement
Agreement and this implementing legislation.
SEC. 3. CONDITION ON EFFECT OF SECTION.
(a) In General.--Section 4 of this Act shall not take effect until
the Secretary finds the following events have occurred:
(1) The Board of Commissioners of Rio Arriba County has
enacted a resolution permanently abandoning the disputed county
road and has submitted a copy of that resolution to the
Secretary.
(2) The Jicarilla Apache Nation has executed a quitclaim
deed to Rio Arriba County for the Settlement Lands subject to
the exceptions identified in the Settlement Agreement and has
submitted a copy of the quitclaim deed to the Secretary.
(b) Publication of Findings.--If the Secretary finds that the
conditions set forth in subsection (a) have occurred, the Secretary
shall publish such findings in the Federal Register.
SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF CONVEYANCE; ISSUANCE OF PATENT.
(a) Conditional Ratification and Approval.--This Act ratifies and
approves the Jicarilla Apache Nation's quitclaim deed for the
Settlement Lands to Rio Arriba County, but such ratification and
approval shall be effective only upon satisfaction of all conditions in
section 3, and only as of the date that the Secretary's findings are
published in the Federal Register pursuant to section 3.
(b) Patent.--Following publication of the notice described in
section 3, the Secretary shall issue to Rio Arriba County a patent for
the Settlement Lands, subject to the exceptions and restrictive
covenants described subsection (c).
(c) Conditions of Patent.--The patent to be issued by the Secretary
under subsection (b) shall be subject to all valid existing rights of
third parties, including but not limited to easements of record, and
shall include the following perpetual restrictive covenant running with
the Settlement Lands for the benefit of the lands comprising the
Jicarilla Apache Reservation adjacent to the Settlement Lands: ``Tract
A shall be used only for governmental purposes and shall not be used
for a prison, jail or other facility for incarcerating persons accused
or convicted of a crime. For purposes of this restrictive
covenant,''governmental purposes`` shall include the provision of
governmental services to the public by Rio Arriba County and the
development and operation of private businesses to the extent permitted
by applicable State law.''.
SEC. 5. BOUNDARY CHANGE.
Upon issuance of the patent authorized by section 4, the lands
conveyed to Rio Arriba County in the patent shall cease to be a part of
the Jicarilla Apache Reservation and the exterior boundary of the
Jicarilla Apache Reservation shall be deemed relocated accordingly.
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