[House Report 114-314]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
114th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 114-314
======================================================================
TO TAKE CERTAIN FEDERAL LANDS LOCATED IN LASSEN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA,
INTO TRUST FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE SUSANVILLE INDIAN RANCHERIA, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES
_______
October 27, 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. 2212]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 2212) to take certain Federal lands located in
Lassen County, California, into trust for the benefit of the
Susanville Indian Rancheria, and for other purposes, 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 INTO TRUST FOR THE SUSANVILLE INDIAN RANCHERIA.
(a) In General.--The land described in subsection (b) is hereby taken
into trust for the benefit of the Susanville Indian Rancheria, subject
to valid existing rights.
(b) Land Description.--The land taken into trust pursuant to
subsection (a) is the approximately 301 acres of Federal land under the
administrative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management identified
as ``Conveyance Boundary'' on the map titled ``Susanville Indian
Rancheria Land Conveyance'' and dated December 31, 2014.
(c) Gaming.--Class II and class III gaming under the Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) shall not be allowed at any
time on the land taken into trust pursuant to subsection (a).
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 2212 is to take certain Federal lands
located in Lassen County, California, into trust for the
benefit of the Susanville Indian Rancheria.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Susanville Indian Rancheria is located in northeastern
California at the juncture of the Cascade Range and the Sierra
Nevada mountains. The original Rancheria was created under the
Landless and Homeless Indian Act in 1923 when the U.S.
purchased 30 acres in Lassen County, California. The Rancheria
was a nontribal specific assignment, though members of the
Susanville community claim tribal associations to the Maidu,
Paiute, Pit River, and Washoe Tribes of California.
The Tribe elected to charter under the authority of the
Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and in 1969 the Secretary of
the Interior approved the initial Rancheria constitution and
bylaws. Under Public Law 95-459, Congress placed 120 acres of
land in trust for the Rancheria. With additions to the Tribe's
land base, today the Rancheria has approximately 1,101 acres
held in trust and 240 acres of fee land in six locations.
In 2005, the local Bureau of Land Management (BLM) office
at Eagle Lake identified a 300-acre parcel in Lassen County,
California, as suitable for disposal, and in 2007 BLM included
the parcel its proposed Resource Management Plan and Final
Environmental Impact Statement.\1\ The 300-acre parcel, which
is adjacent to existing tribal lands, is isolated from other
BLM-managed lands and has become difficult for BLM to continue
to manage.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\See http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/eaglelake/propRMP-FEIS.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Rancheria has indicated that if H.R. 2212 is enacted,
the Tribe will build a recreational area, Pow Wow grounds, and
cultural center and museum on the land being transferred under
the bill. The BLM field office has expressed a commitment to
assist with the land transfer provided under this bill.
H.R. 2212 directs the Secretary of the Interior to take
approximately 300 acres of public land administered by BLM into
trust for the Susanville Indian Rancheria. The transfer of the
BLM lands into trust would be subject to valid existing rights
and management agreements related to easements and rights-of-
way. Additionally, under the bill, class II and class III
gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is prohibited on
these lands. The legislation is necessary as the Department of
the Interior does not have the authority to administratively
transfer public land into trust for a tribe.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 2212 was introduced on May 1, 2015, by Congressman
Doug LaMalfa (R-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 Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On October 7,
2015, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill.
The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent.
Congressman LaMalfa offered an amendment designated #1; it was
adopted by unanimous consent. No additional amendments were
offered and the bill, as amended, was ordered favorably
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent
on October 8, 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. 2212--A bill to take certain Federal lands located in Lassen
County, California, into trust for the benefit of the
Susanville Indian Rancheria, and for other purposes
H.R. 2212 would require the Secretary of the Interior to
take 300 acres of federal lands in California into trust for
the benefit of the Susanville Indian Rancheria. The bill also
would prohibit certain gaming activities on the affected lands.
CBO estimates that implementing the bill would have no
significant effect on the federal budget.
Based on information from the Department of the Interior,
CBO estimates the affected lands will generate receipts of
about $2,000 a year from leasing rights-of-way. Because
transferring the affected lands to the Rancheria would reduce
offsetting receipts by that amount (such receipts are treated
as reductions in direct spending), pay-as-you-go procedures
apply. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2212 would not increase
on-budget deficits or net direct spending by more than $5
billion in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods
beginning in 2026.
H.R. 2212 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would benefit the tribe.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. 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. According to the
Congressional Budget Office, enactment of this bill could
reduce offsetting receipts of $2,000 a year (attributed to
right-of-way leasing).
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 take certain Federal lands located
in Lassen County, California, into trust for the benefit of the
Susanville Indian Rancheria.
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]