[House Report 110-271]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                                       
110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    110-271

======================================================================
 
                           COCOPAH LANDS ACT

                                _______
                                

 July 30, 2007.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 673]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 673) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
take lands in Yuma County, Arizona, into trust as part of the 
reservation of the Cocopah Indian Tribe, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 
with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

    The amendments are as follows:
      Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

   This Act may be cited as the ``Cocopah Lands Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

   Congress finds the following:
          (1) The reservation of the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona is 
        located in Yuma County, Arizona.
          (2) That reservation was created by an Executive order signed 
        by President Woodrow Wilson in 1917.
          (3) The Tribe's land holdings are located within 3 
        noncontiguous reservations comprising a total of approximately 
        6,226.3 acres of trust land.
          (4) The Tribe purchased the additional lands to provide 
        infrastructure to housing areas, water, and economic 
        development to tribal members.
          (5) The current trust land base of the reservation is 
        insufficient to provide such needs.
          (6) The Tribe acquired 7 parcels of land contiguous to its 
        present reservation lands in 1986, 1993, 1997, and 2005, and 
        these parcels are currently classified as ``Tribal fee lands'' 
        under Federal law.
          (7) The acquired parcels shall not be taken into trust for 
        gaming purposes.
          (8) The best means of solving the Tribe's land and economic 
        needs to its tribal members is to require the Secretary to take 
        lands in Yuma County, Arizona, that are acquired by the Tribe 
        into trust for the Tribe subject to the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

  For the purpose of this Act, the following definitions apply:
          (1) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Cocopah Tribe of 
        Arizona.
          (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior.

SEC. 4. LANDS TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST.

  (a) Lands To Be Taken Into Trust.--If the Tribe transfers title to 
the land described in subsection (b) to the Secretary, the Secretary 
shall take that land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe, if at the 
time of such transfer there are no recognized environmental conditions 
or contamination related concerns and no adverse legal claims to such 
land, including outstanding liens, mortgages, or taxes owed.
  (b) Land Described.--The land referred to in subsection (a) is 
described as follows:
          (1) Parcel 1 (sibley purchase 1986).--Lot 4 and the SW\1/4\ 
        of the NW\1/4\, of Sec. 1, T. 10 S., R. 25 W., of the Gila and 
        Salt River Base and Meridian, Yuma County, Arizona, except that 
        portion of the SW\1/4\ of the NW\1/4\, of said Sec. 1, T. 10 
        S., R. 25 W., lying southeasterly of the north right-of-way 
        line of the Bureau of Reclamation levee.
          (2) Parcel 2 (sibley purchase 1986).--Lot 1 and the SE\1/4\ 
        of the NE\1/4\, of Sec. 2, T. 10 S., R. 25 W., of the Gila and 
        Salt River Base and Meridian, Yuma County, Arizona.
          (3) Parcel 3 (mcdaniel purchase 1993).--That part of the E\1/
        2\ of the SE\1/4\, lying south of the East Main Bureau of 
        Reclamation Canal right of way in Sec. 30, T. 9 S., R. 23 W., 
        of the Gila and Salt River Base and Meridian, Yuma County, 
        Arizona.
          (4) Parcel 4 (holland purchase 1997).--That portion of the 
        NW\1/4\ of the NE\1/4\, of Sec. 31, T. 16 S., R 22 E., of the 
        San Bernardino Base and Meridian, Yuma County, Arizona, lying 
        north of the levee and Salinity Canal; except the north 220 
        feet.
          (5) Parcel 5 (holland purchase 1997).--An easement over the 
        easterly 15 feet of the north 220 feet of that portion of the 
        NW\1/4\ of the NE\1/4\, of Sec. 31, T. 16 S., R. 22 E., of the 
        San Bernardino Base and Meridian, Yuma County, Arizona, lying 
        north of the levee and Salinity Canal for irrigation purposes.
          (6) Parcel 6 (powers purchase 1997).--Lots 21, 24, and 25, 
        Sec. 29, and Lots 16 and 17 and the N\1/2\ of the SW\1/4\ of 
        the SE\1/4\, of Sec. 30, T. 16 S., R. 22 E., of the San 
        Bernardino Meridian, Yuma County, Arizona, according to the 
        dependent resurvey of the Bureau of Land Management, accepted 
        December 9, 1960.
          (7) Parcel 7 (speed way purchase 2005).--That portion of the 
        W\1/2\ of the SE\1/4\ of Sec. 30, T. 9 S., R. 23 W., of the 
        Gila and Salt River Base and Meridian, Yuma County, Arizona, 
        lying south and east of the East Main Canal; except the south 
        33 feet thereof; except one-third interest in and to all 
        mineral rights, as reserved in the deed recorded in Docket 
        1461, page 600, records of Yuma County, Arizona.
  (c) Lands To Be Made Part of the Reservation.--Land taken into trust 
pursuant to subsection (a) shall be considered to be part of the 
Tribe's initial reservation.
  (d) Service Area.--For the purposes of the delivery of Federal 
services to enrolled members of the Tribe, the Tribe's service area 
shall be Yuma County, Arizona.
  (e) Gaming Prohibited.--Land taken into trust for the benefit of the 
Tribe under this Act shall not be used for gaming under the Indian 
Gaming Regulatory Act.

  Amend the title so as to read:

    A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to take 
lands in Yuma County, Arizona, into trust as part of the 
reservation of the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona, and for other 
purposes.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 673, as ordered reported, is to direct 
the Secretary of the Interior to take lands in Yuma County, 
Arizona, into trust as part of the reservation of the Cocopah 
Tribe of Arizona, and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The Cocopah (Kwapa) Indians, also known as the river 
people, are descendants of the greater Yuman language-speaking 
people. They have lived along the Colorado River since before 
recorded history. According to historical documents, the 
Tribe's domain once included portions of Arizona, Southern 
California and Sonora, Mexico. After the Treaty of Guadalupe 
Hildalgo was signed in 1848 the Tribe's lands were divided 
between the United States and Mexico.
    On September 27, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed 
Executive Order No. 2711. This order established the Cocopah 
Indian Reservation, now located 13 miles south of Yuma, AZ, in 
Yuma County along the Colorado River. On August 17, 1961, 
Public Law 87-150 was approved granting eighty-one acres of 
public domain to the Tribe. In 1985, the Cocopah Land 
Acquisition Act was enacted granting the Tribe an additional 
4,200 acres. Today, the reservation contains over 6,500 acres, 
most of which is leased as agricultural land to non-Indian 
farmers.
    Beginning in 1986, the Tribe began purchasing various 
tracts of land. The ``Sibley Purchase,'' bought in 1986, 
consists of two parcels totaling 142 acres. The ``McDaniel 
Purchase,'' bought in 1993, includes 69.52 acres and was 
purchased for future development purposes. The ``Holland 
Purchase,'' bought in 1996, consists of two parcels totaling 
7.9 acres and was purchased to provide entry into the Cocopah 
Golf and RV Resort. The ``Powers Purchase,'' bought in 1997, 
includes 140 acres. The ``Speedway Purchase,'' bought in 2005, 
includes 63 acres purchased for economic development.
    Currently, the lands are not held in trust, and therefore 
the Tribe does not have jurisdiction over them. As a result, 
tribal development is limited. In order for the Tribe to govern 
the lands, they must be placed into trust for the Tribe by the 
Secretary of the Interior. After this occurs, jurisdictional 
responsibilities will be clarified, land holdings will be 
consolidated and the Tribe will enjoy further economic and 
social opportunities.
Land into Trust (25 C.F.R. Part 151)
    Tribes may have land placed into trust in accordance with 
regulations promulgated by the Department of the Interior. Over 
the past several years, the Committee has received complaints 
from Indian tribes about the cost and amount of time that the 
land into trust process takes. Tribes have insisted that there 
is an informal moratorium by the Department on processing land 
into trust applications.

Indian Gaming Regulatory Act

    Generally, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), 25 
U.S.C. Sec. 2701 et seq., prohibits gaming on land acquired 
after October 17, 1988 but an exception is made for lands 
within or contiguous to existing reservation lands. This 
legislation, however, prohibits gaming on these lands.

Legislative History

    During the 107th Congress, similar legislation (H.R. 5000) 
was introduced by Representative Ed Pastor (D-AZ) on June 21, 
2002 and was referred to the House Committee on Resources. Last 
Congress, H.R. 4951 was introduced by Representative Grijalva 
(D-AZ) on March 14, 2006 and was referred to the House 
Committee on Resources.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 673 was introduced on January 24, 2007 by 
Representative Grijalva (D-AZ). The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources on January 24, 2007. A hearing 
was held by the full Natural Resources Committee on June 13, 
2007, at which the Department of the Interior testified in 
support of the measure with some suggested changes. On July 18, 
2007, the full Committee on Natural Resources met to mark up 
the bill. Representative Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an en bloc 
amendment to include the Department's suggested changes. The 
amendment made technical changes, such as correcting 
typographical errors and correcting the Tribe's name, as well 
as directing the Secretary to place land into trust if there 
are no recognized environmental conditions or contamination 
related concerns. It was adopted by unanimous consent. The 
bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the 
House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 provides that this Act may be cited as the 
`Cocopah Lands Act'.

Section 2. Findings

    Section 2 sets forth findings supporting the background and 
reason for this bill, including that the Tribe purchased the 
additional lands to provide infrastructure for housing areas, 
water, and economic development to tribal members.

Section 3. Definitions

    Section 3 defines the terms ``Tribe'' and ``Secretary'' for 
purposes of this Act.

Section 4. Lands to be taken into trust

    Section 4(a) provides that if the Tribe transfers title to 
the land to the Secretary, the Secretary must take that land 
into trust for the benefit of the Tribe, if at the time of such 
transfer there are no recognized environmental conditions or 
contamination related concerns and no adverse legal claims to 
such land. It also sets forth the legal descriptions of the 
land to be placed into trust pursuant to this Act. Once the 
land is taken into trust, it shall be part of the Tribe's 
initial reservation. For purposes of the delivery of federal 
services to enrolled members of the Tribe, the Tribe's service 
area shall be Yuma County, Arizona. Finally, gaming under the 
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 2701 et seq.) may 
not be conducted on the land taken into trust for the benefit 
of the Tribe under this Act.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does 
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

H.R. 673--Cocopah Lands Act

    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 673 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. H.R. 673 contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. It would impose no significant 
costs on state, local, or tribal governments and would benefit 
the Cocopah Indian Tribe.
    H.R. 673 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
take lands in Yuma County, Arizona, to hold in trust as part of 
the reservation of the Cocopah Indian Tribe. The land consists 
of seven parcels contiguous to the existing reservation lands 
that have been acquired by the tribe over the past two decades. 
Enacting this legislation would not affect direct spending or 
revenues.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Daniel Hoople 
and David Reynolds. This estimate was approved by Peter H. 
Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    H.R. 673 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9(d), 9(e) or 9(f) of rule XXI.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                  
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