[House Report 110-274]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    110-274

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TO AUTHORIZE THE COQUILLE INDIAN TRIBE OF THE STATE OF OREGON TO CONVEY 
             LAND AND INTERESTS IN LAND OWNED BY THE TRIBE

                                _______
                                

 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. 2863]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 2863) to authorize the Coquille Indian Tribe of the 
State of Oregon to convey land and interests in land owned by 
the Tribe, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 
with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do 
pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. LAND AND INTERESTS OF COQUILLE INDIAN TRIBE, OREGON.

  (a) In General.--Subject to subsections (b), (c), and (d) 
notwithstanding any other provision of law (including regulations), the 
Coquille Indian Tribe of the State of Oregon (including any agent or 
instrumentality of the Tribe) (referred to in this section as the 
``Tribe''), may transfer, lease, encumber, or otherwise convey, without 
further authorization or approval, all or any part of the Tribe's 
interest in any real property that is not held in trust by the United 
States for the benefit of the Tribe.
  (b) Nonapplicability to Certain Conveyances.--Subsection (a) shall 
not apply with respect to any transfer, encumbrance, lease, or other 
conveyance of any land or interest in land of the Tribe that occurred 
before January 1, 2007.
  (c) Effect of Section.--Nothing in this section is intended to 
authorize the Tribe to transfer, lease, encumber, or otherwise convey, 
any lands, or any interest in any lands, that are held in trust by the 
United States for the benefit of the Tribe.
  (d) Liability.--The United States shall not be held liable to any 
party (including the Tribe or any agent or instrumentality of the 
Tribe) for any term of, or any loss resulting from the term of any 
transfer, lease, encumbrance, or conveyance of land made pursuant to 
this Act unless the United States or an agent or instrumentality of the 
United States is a party to the transaction or the United States would 
be liable pursuant to any other provision of law. This subsection shall 
not apply to land transferred or conveyed by the Tribe to the United 
States to be held in trust for the benefit of the Tribe.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 2863 is to authorize the Coquille 
Indian Tribe of the State of Oregon to convey land and 
interests in land owned by the Tribe.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The Coquille Indian Tribe is located near the eastern shore 
of Coos Bay in southwest Oregon. The Tribe's land base consists 
of approximately 6,400 acres of trust land and 200 acres of fee 
land located in Coos, Curry, Lane, Douglas, and Jackson 
Counties.
    In 1992, the Tribe established the Coquille Economic 
Development Corporation (CEDCO) to engage in economic 
development ventures on behalf of the Tribe. One of CEDCO's 
projects is the development of the 55-acre KoKwel Wharf 
project. It will include a warehouse-style store, which will be 
surrounded by more than 150,000 square feet of retail shops, 
restaurants, and entertainment venues as well as a bay-front 
walkway that will connect to the City of North Bend's urban 
renewal project. The estimated cost of the project is 
approximately $50 million. The project is supported by the 
Coquille Tribe, the City of North Bend, and other local 
government and business leaders.
    Home Depot, the proposed anchor tenant, is planning a $17 
million investment and a 130,000 square foot facility as part 
of the project. But CEDCO and Home Depot's efforts are impeded 
by the Non-Intercourse Act. Home Depot will not agree to sign a 
commercial lease without Congressional approval. Rather than 
amend the Non-Intercourse Act, this bill authorizes the Tribe 
to convey land and interests in land thereby allowing the Tribe 
to lease property to Home Depot and other potential tenants. 
Because the land will continue to be held in fee, gaming may 
not be conducted on this land.

Non-Intercourse Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 177)

    Originally enacted in 1790, the Non-Intercourse Act 
reserves to the United States the exclusive right to acquire 
Indian lands. The Act was intended to protect Indian tribes by 
preventing the loss of their lands, except by treaty. It does 
so by preventing the transfer, sale, lease, or other conveyance 
of land owned by an Indian tribe to third parties without 
federal approval. This prohibition applies to both trust and 
fee lands, regardless of the source of money used to obtain the 
lands. Finally, the Department of the Interior does not have 
the authority to administratively waive the Non-Intercourse 
Act.

Legislative history

    H.R. 2863 was introduced by Representative DeFazio (D-OR) 
on June 26, 2007 and was referred to the House Committee on 
Natural Resources. A Senate companion bill, S.1286, was 
introduced by Senator Smith (R-OR) on May 3, 2007 and referred 
to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 2863 was introduced on June 26, 2007 by Representative 
DeFazio (D-OR). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources. On July 11, 2007, the full Natural Resources 
Committee held a hearing on H.R. 2863, at which the Department 
of the Interior testified in support of the measure with some 
recommended changes. On July 18, 2007, the full Committee met 
to consider the bill. Representative DeFazio (D-OR) offered an 
amendment to incorporate the changes suggested by the 
Department of the Interior. It clarifies that trust lands may 
not be transferred, leased, encumbered, or otherwise conveyed 
pursuant to this Act. The amendment also provides that the 
federal government will not be liable for transactions between 
the Tribe and third parties, unless otherwise liable under 
another provision of law. 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. Land and interests of Coquille Indian Tribe, Oregon

    Section 1 provides that the Tribe may transfer, lease, 
encumber, or otherwise convey land, or any interest in land, 
not held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the 
Tribe. This Act does not apply to any transfer, encumbrance, 
lease, or other conveyance of any land or interest in land of 
the Tribe that occurred before January 1, 2007. Lastly, this 
section provides that the United States will not be responsible 
for losses resulting from transactions made pursuant to this 
Act between the Tribe and third parties, unless otherwise 
liable under another provision of law. The limitation on 
liability also does not apply to any lands transferred by the 
Tribe to the United States to be held in trust for the benefit 
of the Tribe.

            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. 2863--A bill to authorize the Coquille Indian Tribe of the state 
        of Oregon to convey land and interests in land owned by the 
        tribe

     H.R. 2863 would authorize the Coquille Indian Tribe to 
lease or convey, without the approval of the Secretary of the 
Interior, any land or interest in land owned by the Tribe and 
not held in trust by the Untied States. Based on information 
from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, CBO estimates that 
implementing this bill would have no significant effect on the 
federal budget.
     The tribe purchased about 50 acres of land in North Bend, 
Oregon, to lease or sell the property for retail development. 
Currently, the Non-Intercourse Act prohibits the conveyance of 
an interest in land from an Indian tribe without approval by 
the Secretary. However, because of a dispute in the federal 
courts, it is not clear whether the land specified under the 
bill would be subject to this prohibition.
     H.R. 2863 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
     The staff contact for this estimate is Leigh Angres. The 
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. 2863 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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