[Senate Report 113-267]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 543
113th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     113-267

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   TO REQUIRE THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO TAKE INTO TRUST FOUR 
 PARCELS OF FEDERAL LAND FOR THE BENEFIT OF CERTAIN INDIAN PUEBLOS IN 
                        THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

                                _______
                                

                October 1, 2014.--Ordered to be printed

Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of September 18, 2014

                                _______
                                

       Mr. Tester, from the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2465]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 2465) to require the Secretary of the Interior to take 
into trust 4 parcels of Federal land for the benefit of certain 
Indian Pueblos in the State of New Mexico, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments and 
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 2465 is to require the Secretary of the 
Interior to take into trust four parcels of Federal land for 
the benefit of the 19 Indian Pueblos in the State of New Mexico 
(Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Jemez, Laguna, Nambe, Ohkay Owingeh, 
Picuris, Pojoaque, San Felipe, San Ildefonso, Sandia, Santa 
Ana, Santa Clara, Santo Domingo, Taos, Tesuque, Zia, and Zuni).

                               BACKGROUND

    In 1881, the Federal government established the Albuquerque 
Indian School in Albuquerque, New Mexico to serve as a boarding 
school for Native American children. After Federal policies 
shifted away from operating boarding schools to instead 
supporting Indian self-determination, the Albuquerque Indian 
School was closed in 1979.
    In 1981, the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico petitioned the BIA to 
transfer the 44 acres of the former Indian School site. In 1984 
the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs, Department of the 
Interior, approved the request and held ownership of those 
acres in trust for the collective benefit of the 19 Pueblos of 
New Mexico. The Pueblos have since used this tract of land for 
the establishment of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and for 
the creation of business and government offices.
    In 2003, the 19 Pueblos petitioned the Secretary of the 
Interior to convert roughly 18 additional acres of the former 
Indian School site from Federal land to trust land. In 2008, 
Senator Domenici introduced the Albuquerque Indian School Act, 
which required those tracts to be placed into trust for the 
Pueblos collectively. That bill was favorably reported out by 
the Committee on Indian Affairs and signed into law in December 
2008 (Public Law No: 110-453).
    This legislation, S. 2465, would allow the Secretary of the 
Interior to take four more tracts of this property into trust 
for the 19 Pueblos.

                          NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Since 1995, Federal regulations have limited the ability of 
the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for the 
benefit of multiple Indian tribes without specific legislation 
(see 25 CFR Part 151). This legislation, S. 2465, will allow a 
trust acquisition for the collective benefit of the 19 Pueblos. 
The addition of these four tracts of land will allow the 19 
Pueblos of New Mexico to expand their economic development 
projects for the benefit of both the Pueblos' citizens and the 
larger Albuquerque community.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    This legislation, S. 2465, was introduced on June 11, 2014, 
by Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM). The 
bill was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. On July 
9, 2014, the Committee held a hearing on the bill. On July 30, 
2014, the Committee met at a business meeting to consider the 
bill. One amendment was offered and adopted, and the bill, as 
amended, was ordered to be reported favorably to the Senate by 
voice vote.

                        SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENT

    Senator Udall of New Mexico offered an amendment at the 
July 30, 2014, business meeting, which makes two changes to S. 
2465. First, the amendment incorporates by reference a 
different map of the property identified in Section 2 of the 
bill, to address the BIA's request to clarify the boundaries of 
the land to be taken into trust. Second, at the request of the 
BIA, Section 3 is amended to include a new Section 3(f), which 
requires the Pueblos to allow the BIA to continue using its 
existing facilities on the lands being transferred. The BIA 
currently uses several parcels within the four tracts being 
transferred to house equipment used for fire, roads, and 
natural resource programs carried out by the BIA's Southwest 
Region and Southern Pueblo Agency offices.

        SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF BILL AS ORDERED REPORTED

Section 1. Short title

    The Act may be cited as the `Albuquerque Indian School Land 
Transfer Act.'

Section 2. Definitions

    Section 2 defines the key terms used throughout this Act.

Section 3. Land taken into trust for the benefit of 19 Pueblos

    Section 3 requires the Secretary of the Interior to take 
the land into trust, and to take any action which she 
determines is necessary to document the transfer. Section 3 
also provides a legal description, in conjunction with a map, 
of the property to be transferred. The Secretary is required to 
conduct a land survey and may make any minor corrections to the 
survey and legal description as necessary to correct clerical, 
typographical and surveying errors. The land taken into trust 
is to be used for the educational, health, cultural, business, 
and economic benefit of the 19 Pueblos identified in the bill. 
The property remains subject to any private or municipal 
encumbrance, right-of-way, restriction, easement of record, or 
utility service agreement in effect on the date of enactment of 
this Act, and the 19 Pueblos must allow the BIA to continue to 
use facilities located on the property until the Secretary 
determines they are no longer needed by the BIA.

Section 4. Effect of other laws

    The land taken into trust shall be subject to Federal laws 
otherwise applicable to or relating to Indian Land. No Class I 
gaming, Class II gaming, or Class III gaming shall be carried 
out on this parcel of land.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following cost estimate, as provided by the 
Congressional Budget Office, September 5, 2014, was prepared 
for S. 2465:

                                                 September 5, 2014.
Hon. Jon Tester,
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. 2465, the 
Albuquerque Indian School Land Transfer Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Martin von 
Gnechten.
            Sincerely,
                                              Douglas W. Elmendorf.
    Enclosure.

S. 2465--Albuquerque Indian School Land Transfer Act

    S. 2465 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
place four parcels consisting of about 11 acres of federal land 
in Albuquerque, New Mexico, into trust for the benefit of 19 
Indian Pueblos in New Mexico. Under the bill, those Pueblos 
would be authorized to use the land for educational, health, 
cultural, business, or economic purposes. The bill would 
prohibit gaming activities on the affected properties.
    CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have 
no significant effect on the federal budget. Enacting S. 2465 
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    S. 2465 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von 
Gnechten. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The Committee has received no communications from the 
Executive Branch regarding S. 2465.

               REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT

    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 
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that S. 2465 will 
have a minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.

                 CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW (CORDON RULE)

    In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee finds that the 
enactment of S. 2465 will not make any changes in existing law.

                                  
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