[Senate Report 109-342]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





                                                       Calendar No. 622
109th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     109-342

======================================================================



 
PROVIDING FOR CERTAIN LANDS TO BE HELD IN TRUST FOR THE UTU UTU GWAITU 
                              PAIUTE TRIBE

                                _______
                                

               September 20, 2006.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 854]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (H.R. 854) to provide for certain lands to be held in 
trust for the Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    H.R. 854 would declare 240 acres of Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) lands to be held in trust by the United States 
for the benefit of the Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe, Benton 
Paiute Reservation, Bishop, California.

                               BACKGROUND

    The Utu Utu Gwiatu Paiute Tribe (the ``Utu Utu Tribe''), 
like many other Indian tribal governments in California, was 
never provided with an adequate land base. The California 
Indian Land Transfer Act, enacted on December 27, 2000 as part 
of Public Law 106-568, provided additional lands for eight 
California tribes, however, the Utu Utu Tribe was not included 
in that legislation. This legislation would transfer 240 acres 
of BLM lands into trust for the Utu Utu Tribe, which acreage is 
adjacent to the existing 160-acre reservation of the Utu Utu 
Tribe.
    The acreage to be taken into trust has been classified by 
the BLM as ``suitable for disposal.'' The Utu Utu Tribal 
Council Resolution states that lands taken into trust will be 
used to build additional tribal housing units, a health 
station, wellness center, fire station, police station and an 
industrial park for manufacturing businesses. The legislation 
also contains an expressed prohibition on using the property 
for gaming purposes.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 854 was introduced on February 16, 2005, by 
Congressman McKeon and was referred to the House Resources 
Committee. On July 13, 2006, the Resources Committee reported 
the bill with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. 
Subsequently, on July 24, 2006, the House of Representatives 
agreed to a motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as 
amended, by voice vote. Upon receipt in the Senate, H.R. 854 
was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. On September 
14, 2006, H.R. 854 was unanimously passed out of Committee and 
ordered reported without amendment.

            COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTE

    On September 14, 2006, the Committee, in an open business 
session, considered H.R. 854. By voice vote, the Committee 
ordered the bill reported favorably to the full Senate with the 
recommendation that the bill do pass.

                SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS OF H.R. 854

Section 1. Lands to be held in trust

    Section 1(a) declares that existing valid rights of way 
shall not be affected by taking this land into trust for the 
Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe.
    Section 1(b) describes the range and township of the 240 
acres to be held in trust for the Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe.
    Section 1(c) prohibits Class II gaming and Class III gaming 
under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) 
from being conducted on the 240 acres of land.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The Congressional Budget Office cost estimate for H.R. 854 
is set forth below:

H.R. 854--An act to provide for certain lands to be held in trust for 
        the Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe

    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 854 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. H.R. 854 contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. This legislation would impose no 
significant costs on state, local, or tribal governments and 
would benefit the Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe.
    H.R. 854 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to give 
approximately 240 acres of federal land in California to the 
Benton Paiute Reservation to be held in trust by the United 
States on behalf of the Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe. According 
to the Department of the Interior, the land to be conveyed 
currently generates no receipts from mineral leasing or other 
activities and is not expected to do so during the next 10 
years. Hence, CBO estimates that conveying the land would not 
significantly affect offsetting receipts (a credit against 
direct spending).
    On July 12, 2006, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
854 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on 
June 21, 2006. The two versions of the legislation are 
identical, as are the cost CBO estimates.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Daniel Hoople 
and Gregory Waring. This estimate was approved by Peter H. 
Fontaine, 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 that each report accompanying a bill evaluate 
the regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in 
carrying out the bill. The Committee has concluded that the 
regulatory and paperwork impacts of H.R. 854 will be de 
minimis.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The Committee has received no offical executive 
communications on H.R. 854.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    H.R. 854 will not make any changes to existing law.

                                  
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