[House Report 112-611]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     112-611

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 BRIDGEPORT INDIAN COLONY LAND TRUST, HEALTH, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 
                              ACT OF 2012

                                _______
                                

 July 19, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2467]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 2467) to take certain Federal lands in Mono 
County, California, into trust for the benefit of the 
Bridgeport Indian Colony, 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. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Bridgeport Indian Colony Land Trust, 
Health, and Economic Development Act of 2012''.

SEC. 2. LANDS TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST.

  (a) In General.--Subject to valid existing rights and management 
agreements related to easements and rights-of-way, all right, title, 
and interest (including improvements and appurtenances) of the United 
States in and to the Federal lands described in subsection (b) are 
hereby declared to be held in trust by the United States for the 
benefit of the Bridgeport Indian Colony, except that the oversight and 
renewal of all easements and rights-of-way with the Bridgeport Public 
Utility District in existence on the date of the enactment of this Act 
shall remain the responsibility of the Bureau of Land Management.
  (b) Federal Lands Described.--The Federal lands referred to in 
subsection (a) are the approximately 39.36 acres described as follows:
          (1) The South half of the South half of the Northwest quarter 
        of the Northwest quarter of the Northeast quarter and the North 
        half of the Southwest quarter of the Northwest quarter of the 
        Northeast quarter of Section 21, Township 8 North, Range 23 
        East, Mount Diablo Meridian, containing 7.5 acres, more or 
        less, as identified on the map titled ``Bridgeport Camp 
        Antelope Parcel'' and dated July 26, 2010.
          (2) Lots 1 and 2 of the Bureau of Land Management survey plat 
        entitled ``Dependent resurvey of a portion of the subdivision 
        of Section 28, designed to restore the corners in their true 
        original locations according to the best available evidence, 
        and the further subdivision of Section 28 and the metes and 
        bounds survey of a portion of the right-of-way of California 
        State Highway No. 182, Township 5 North, Range 25 East, Mount 
        Diablo Meridian, California'' and dated February 21, 2003 
        containing 31.86 acres, more or less.
  (c) Availability of Map.--The maps referred to in subsection (b) 
shall be on file and available for public inspection at the office of 
the California State Director, Bureau of Land Management.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 2467, as ordered reported, is to take 
certain Federal lands in Mono County, California, into trust 
for the benefit of the Bridgeport Indian Colony.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 2467 places 39.36 acres of federal land administered 
by the Bureau of Land Management in trust for the benefit of 
the Bridgeport Indian Colony, subject to valid existing rights. 
Of this acreage, a 31.86-acre tract is contiguous to the 
tribe's existing 40-acre reservation, and a 7.5-acre tract is 
located off the tribe's reservation.
    The Bridgeport Indian Colony is a small group of Paiute 
Indians who came to reside on federal lands near Bridgeport, 
Mono County, California, in the late 1800's. The lands on which 
they were residing were patented to a homesteader, who 
reportedly obtained the patent after falsely certifying that no 
Indians occupied the lands.
    In 1974, Congress enacted Public Law 93-451, which 
authorized the transfer of a 40-acre parcel of Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) lands in trust for the benefit of the Tribe. 
This Act was enacted over the objections of the Department of 
the Interior, which argued that the trust land transfer would 
constitute formal federal recognition of the Tribe. Subsequent 
to the trust transfer, the Tribe acquired recognition from the 
Department.
    The Tribe's reservation is located about a quarter mile 
from Highway 182, separated by undeveloped federal land 
administered by the BLM. The Tribe reports that it has no 
additional space on its existing reservation for economic 
development and new housing. Previous attempts to acquire 
mostly unused BLM land to add to the Tribe's reservation have 
been frustrated by a variety of bureaucratic delays and certain 
local political opposition that has been resolved.
    H.R. 2467 places in trust for the Bridgeport Indian Colony 
two tracts of federal land currently administered by the BLM. 
One is a 32-acre tract located along Highway 182, adjacent to 
the Tribe's existing reservation, which the Tribe says it will 
use for housing and related community development. While the 
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) generally prohibits gaming 
on lands acquired in trust after October 17, 1988 (the date of 
enactment of IGRA), the 32-acre parcel of land placed in trust 
under H.R. 2467 would be eligible for gaming under an exception 
made for lands contiguous to a reservation in existence on 
October 17, 1988 (see 25 U.S.C. 2719(a)(1)). The Tribe 
testified that it has no immediate plans to pursue gaming 
because the remote location of the Tribe and the sparse 
population of Mono County (estimated to be 13,000) do not make 
a casino viable; however, the Tribe will not rule out gaming in 
the future.
    With respect to its current development plans, during the 
Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 2467, the Tribe submitted into the 
record a copy of a binding Memorandum of Understanding it 
entered into with Mono County to mitigate the off-reservation 
impacts of the trust acquisition authorized in the bill.
    Over the last year, the Bridgeport Public Utility District 
(PUD) brought to the Committee's attention its desire for an 
existing sewer line easement across the 32-acre parcel to 
remain with the BLM for use by the PUD customers. In the 
Committee markup, H.R. 2467 was amended to reflect an agreement 
by all stakeholders to ensure the BLM would remain responsible 
for managing existing easements on the parcels of public land 
conveyed to the tribe.
    The other BLM land placed in trust for the tribe is a 7.5-
acre tract located 30 miles away from the tribe's reservation. 
The Tribe originally leased this property from the BLM for a 
health clinic, which closed. The Tribe has expressed its intent 
to re-open the clinic. A casino on this parcel could be 
authorized under another exception in IGRA: if the Secretary of 
the Interior determined it to be in the best interest of the 
tribe and not detrimental to the surrounding community, and the 
Governor of California concurred in this determination (25 
U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(A)).
    H.R. 2467 is nearly identical to H.R. 5468, a bill 
sponsored by Congressman Howard ``Buck'' McKeon (R-CA) in the 
111th Congress. The full Committee on Natural Resources held a 
hearing on that bill on July 28, 2010; however, the bill was 
not further considered.
    Because the primary purpose of placing specified public 
lands in trust for the Bridgeport Indian Community under this 
bill is unrelated to gaming, it is anticipated that an 
amendment will be made to prohibit class II and class III 
gaming (as defined under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 
1988) on these lands when the bill is considered in the full 
House of Representatives.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 2467 was introduced on July 8, 2011, by Congressman 
Howard ``Buck'' McKeon (R-CA). The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs. On January 
25, 2012, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On April 
25, 2012, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider 
the bill. The Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs 
was discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman Don Young (R-
AK) offered en bloc amendment designated #1 to the bill; the 
amendment was approved by unanimous consent. The bill, as 
amended, was then adopted and ordered favorably reported to the 
House of Representatives by unanimous consent.

            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.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) 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)(2)(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. 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. 2467--Bridgeport Indian Colony Land Trust, Health, and Economic 
        Development Act of 2012

    H.R. 2467 would authorize the transfer of 39 acres of 
federal land into trust for the benefit of the Bridgeport 
Paiute Indian Colony of California. The land consists of a 32-
acre parcel adjacent to the existing 40-acre reservation and a 
7.5-acre parcel currently under lease by the Toiyabe Indian 
Health Project (TIHP), a consortium of seven federally 
recognized tribes, including the Bridgeport Paiute Indian 
Colony of California.
    Based on information provided by the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM), CBO estimates that any administrative costs 
to carry out the bill's provisions would be minimal. (Any such 
costs would be subject to the availability of appropriated 
funds.) Enacting H.R. 2467 would have an insignificant effect 
on direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. 
Under current law, BLM collects $1,500 annually under a 
Recreation and Public Purposes Act lease with the TIHP. Under 
the bill, those receipts would no longer be collected.
    H.R. 2467 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 
Enacting the bill would benefit the tribe.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von 
Gnechten. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. Section 308(a) of 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. Based on 
information provided by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), 
CBO estimates that any administrative costs to carry out the 
bill's provisions would be minimal. (Any such costs would be 
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.) Enacting 
H.R. 2467 would have an insignificant effect on direct 
spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Under 
current law, BLM collects $1,500 annually under a Recreation 
and Public Purposes Act lease with the TIHP. Under the bill, 
those receipts would no longer be collected.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill, as ordered reported, is to take certain 
Federal lands in Mono County, California, into trust for the 
benefit of the Bridgeport Indian Colony.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                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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