[House Report 114-173]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


114th Congress   }                                       {      Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session     }                                       {     114-173

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



 
         ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH TRIBAL LAND EXCHANGE ACT

                                _______
                                

 June 23, 2015.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted 
                             the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 387]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 387) to provide for certain land to be taken 
into trust for the benefit of Morongo Band of Mission Indians, 
and for other purposes, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 
do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 387 is to provide for certain land to 
be taken into trust for the benefit of the Morongo Band of 
Mission Indians.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The reservation for the Morongo Band of Mission Indians is 
situated on Interstate 10, 80 miles east of Los Angeles, 
California, and 22 miles northwest of Palm Springs, California. 
Initially established by Executive Orders in 1876 and 1881, 
certain lands were also patented to the Tribe pursuant to an 
Act of March 1, 1907. Totaling more than 30,000 acres in size, 
the reservation is adjacent to the City of Banning, California, 
with several checker-boarded sections (alternating parcels 
owned by the Tribe and different persons/entities).
    In 1995, a private landowner, a businessman from Beverly 
Hills, Lloyd Fields, acquired a 41-acre parcel of land from 
other non-Indian private landowners near Interstate 10. The 
Tribe subsequently acquired the lands surrounding the Fields 
property and added it to the existing reservation. When Mr. 
Fields planned to develop his property, a sharp dispute broke 
out between him, the Tribe, and the City of Banning. The Tribe 
erected a guard shack on the only road providing access to the 
Fields property. According to Fields, the Tribe then refused 
reasonable access necessary for him to build on the land. 
Fields sued the City of Banning over its refusal to remove what 
he alleged was an illegal tribal guard shack on a public road. 
The City of Banning contended that it could not immediately 
remove the shack because it was unclear whether the City's 
public road easement covered the portion of the road on which 
the shack had been built. Mr. Fields, the Tribe, and the City 
of Banning resolved their dispute by agreeing to an exchange of 
land and interests. Because tribal lands are held trust by the 
federal government for the benefit of the Morongo Tribe, the 
Tribe needs Congressional authorization. The exchange is 
authorized by H.R. 387. To ensure the exchange is executed 
under the terms and conditions agreed to by the parties, the 
bill provides that an escrow holder shall accept and convey the 
deeds to the exchange lands currently owned by the Morongo 
Tribe and Lloyd Fields.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 387 was introduced on January 14, 2015, by Congressman 
Raul Ruiz (D-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs. On June 10, 2015, 
the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The 
Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments 
were offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the 
House of Representatives by unanimous consent on June 11, 2015.

            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. 387--Economic Development Through Tribal Land Exchange Act

    H.R. 387 would authorize the exchange of interests in lands 
among the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, a private land 
owner, and the city of Banning, California. Because the tribal 
lands are held in trust by the federal government for the 
benefit of the tribe, the tribe needs Congressional 
authorization to enter into the land exchange. CBO estimates 
that implementing the bill would have no significant effect on 
the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 387 would not affect direct 
spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do 
not apply.
    H.R. 387 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 H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
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. The Congressional 
Budget Office concludes that enactment of this bill ``would 
have no significant effect on the federal budget.''
    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 is to provide for certain land to be 
taken into trust for the benefit of the Morongo band of Mission 
Indians.

                           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.

                       COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

    Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that 
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any 
specific rule-making proceedings.
    Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not 
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government 
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was 
not included in any report from the Government Accountability 
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 
98-169) as relating to other programs.

                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.

                                  [all]