[Senate Report 107-299]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 636
107th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     107-299

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PROTECTING CERTAIN LANDS HELD IN FEE BY THE PECHANGA BAND OF LUISENO 
  MISSION INDIANS FROM CONDEMNATION UNTIL A FINAL DECISION IS MADE BY 
  THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR REGARDING A PENDING FEE TO TRUST 
  APPLICATION FOR THAT LAND

                                _______
                                

                October 4, 2002.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Inouye, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2989]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 2989) to protect certain lands, held in fee by the 
Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians from condemnation 
until a final decision is made by the Secretary of the Interior 
regarding a pending fee to trust application for that land, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 2989 is to protect certain lands held in 
fee by the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians from 
condemnation until a final decision is made by the Secretary of 
the Interior regarding a fee to trust application for those 
lands.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians has a pending 
fee-to-trust application for certain land. On March 21, 2002, 
the Secretary of the Interior issued a Notice of Decision to 
accept such land into trust for the Band. A local private 
utility seeks to have the land condemned so that a transmission 
line can be constructed on lands on which sites sacred to the 
Band are located. Section 208 prohibits the transfer or other 
conveyance of the land for condemnation until the Secretary of 
the Interior renders a final decision on the pending fee-to-
trust application and final decisions have been rendered on all 
appeals relating on that decision. The bill does not place the 
land into trust for the Band.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 2989 was introduced by Senator Boxer on September 23, 
2002, and was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. On 
October 1, 2002, the Committee favorably reported S. 2989 to 
the full Senate.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Land of Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians

    Subsection (a) prohibits the transfer of the land until the 
Secretary of the Interior renders a final decision on the 
pending fee to trust application and final decisions are 
rendered on all appeals relating to that fee to trust 
application or until the fee to trust application is withdrawn.
    Subsection (b) describes the land that is the subject of 
this bill.
    Subsection (c) provides that this section does not 
designate, nor shall it be used to construe, the land as an 
Indian reservation, Indian country, Indian land, or reservation 
land for any purpose under any Federal law.

            COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTE

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, in an open business 
session on October 1, 2002, ordered S. 2989 to be reported 
favorably to the Senate.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The cost estimate for S. 2989 as provided by the 
Congressional Budget Office is set forth below:
                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                   Washington, DC, October 3, 2002.
Hon. Daniel K. Inouye,
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. 2989, a bill to 
protect certain lands held in fee by the Pechanga Band of 
Luiseno Mission Indians from condemnation until a final 
decision is made by the Secretary of the Interior regarding a 
pending fee to trust application for that land, and for other 
purposes.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Lanette J. 
Walker (for federal costs), Marjorie Miller (for the state and 
local impact), and Cecil McPherson (for the private-sector 
impact).
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

S. 2989--A bill to protect certain lands held in fee by the Pechanga 
        Band of Luiseno Mission Indians from Condemnation until a final 
        decision is made by the Secretary of the Interior regarding a 
        pending fee to trust application for that land, and for other 
        purposes

    S. 2989 would prohibit the transfer or condemnation of 
certain lands held in fee by the Pechanga Band of Luiseno 
Mission Indians until the Secretary of the Interior renders a 
final decision on the pending application to designate such fee 
lands as held in trust and until final decisions have been made 
regarding all appeals to that application.
    In March 2002 the Secretary decided to take the land into 
trust for the Band, but the Sempra Energy company has appealed 
that decision. San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E), a subsidiary 
of Sempra Energy, has proposed a new corridor for an electric 
transmission line that would cross this property and has 
indicated its intention to condemn the property. (Electric 
utilities in California have the power of eminent domain.)
    Under current law, these fee lands may be taken for public 
use upon just compensation paid to the owners of the land. Such 
compensation would be paid directly to the Pechanga Band of 
Luiseno Mission Indian Tribe. Enacting S. 2989 could delay or 
prevent a taking of the land by SDG&E, but that transaction 
would not affect the federal budget. In addition, we estimate 
that enactment of S. 2989 would not affect direct spending or 
receipts of the federal government.
    S. 2989 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined 
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no 
costs on state, local, or tribal governments. Enacting this 
legislation would benefit the Peachanga Band because it would 
protect tribal land from condemnation until its application to 
have that land taken into trust is resolved.
    S. 2989 contains a private-sector mandate as defined by 
UMRA. The costs of the mandate, if any, would be the expected 
incremental costs to SDG&E of choosing among several 
alternative properties as routes for the new transmission line. 
CBO expects that the directcost of the mandate would be below 
the annual threshold for the private sector established by UMRA ($115 
million in 2002, adjusted annually for inflation).
    On July 29, 2002, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
3476, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources 
on July 10, 2002. The two bills and our cost estimates are 
identical.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Lanette J. 
Walker (for federal costs), Marjorie Miller (for the state and 
local impact), and Cecil McPherson (for the private-sector 
impact). This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The position of the Administration on S. 2989 has not been 
received.

                    REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT

    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 carry 
out the bill. The Committee finds that S. 2989 will not require 
the promulgation of regulations so the regulatory and paperwork 
impact should be minimal, if any.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by a 
bill are required to be set forth in the accompanying Committee 
report. S. 2989 effects no changes in existing law.

                                  
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