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


                                                      Calendar No. 194
114th Congress     }                                    {       Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session       }                                    {      114-114

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              ALBUQUERQUE INDIAN SCHOOL LAND TRANSFER ACT

                                _______
                                

                 August 4, 2015.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

          Mr. Barrasso, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 986]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 986) 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 without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 986 is 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.

                               BACKGROUND

    This bill would require the Secretary of the Interior 
(Secretary) to take four tracts of land totaling approximately 
11.11 acres into trust for the benefit of the 19 Pueblo tribes 
(Pueblos) in the State of New Mexico. Upon transfer and after 
the Secretary satisfies requirements under the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the 
lands would be used by the Pueblos for educational, health, 
cultural, business, and economic development purposes. All 
classes of gaming as defined under section four of the Indian 
Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 2703) would be prohibited 
on the lands.
    The four tracts were historically part of the Albuquerque 
Indian School (School). In 1881, the United States established 
the School for Native American children. The School closed in 
1979.
    In response to requests from the Pueblos, the Department of 
the Interior took ownership of 44 acres, a portion of the 
former School site, and placed the land into trust for the 
collective benefit of the Pueblos in 1984. The Pueblos have 
since used that land to establish the Indian Pueblo Cultural 
Center and to create businesses and government offices.
    This bill, S. 986, uses a similar legislative process as 
the 2008 Albuquerque Indian School Act (introduced by Senator 
Domenici and enacted into law in December, 2008 as Public Law 
No: 110-453). The Albuquerque Indian School Act required the 
Secretary to take into trust roughly 18 additional acres of 
Federal land that were part of the former School site. The need 
for the 2008 Albuquerque Indian School Act arose because the 
Department of the Interior changed its regulations in 1995. 
That regulatory change did not contemplate the placement of 
land in trust in common for multiple tribes.
    A prior bill was considered in the 113th Congress. On June 
11, 2014, Senator Udall of New Mexico introduced S. 2465, the 
Albuquerque Indian School Land Transfer Act. On July 9, 2014, 
the Committee held a legislative hearing on S. 2465. On July 
30, 2014, the Committee favorably reported an amended version 
of S. 2465. This amended version of S. 2465 is identical to S. 
986.

                  SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF BILL

Sec. 1. Short title

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

Sec. 2. Definitions

    Section 2 defines the key terms used throughout this Act.

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

    Section 3 requires the Secretary to take the land into 
trust, and to take any action which the Secretary 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.

Sec. 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.

                          NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The Federal government closed the Albuquerque Indian School 
in 1979. The Pueblos have sought to have the former School's 
Federal parcels held in trust for their education, cultural, 
business, and economic development purposes. Other parcels 
already in trust for the Pueblos have been used for the 
collective benefit of the Pueblos and includes establishing the 
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and creating businesses and 
government offices.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    On April 16, 2015, Senator Udall and cosponsor Senator 
Heinrich introduced S. 986, the Albuquerque Indian School Land 
Transfer Act. On May 13, 2015, the Committee on Indian Affairs 
met to consider the bill.
    An identical bill was introduced in the House of 
Representatives. On April 16, 2015, Representative Michelle 
Lujan Grisham and cosponsor Representative Ben Ray Lujan 
introduced H.R. 1880, the Albuquerque Indian School Land 
Transfer Act. On May 7, 2015, the bill was referred to the 
House Committee on Natural Resources. On July 22, 2015, the 
Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs held 
a legislative hearing on H.R. 1880.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    On May 13, 2015 the Committee on Indian Affairs ordered the 
bill to be reported favorably to the full Senate with the 
recommendation that it do pass.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following cost estimate, as provided by the 
Congressional Budget Office, dated May 26, 2015, was prepared 
for S. 986:

                                                      May 26, 2015.
Hon. John Barrasso,
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. 986, 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,
                                                        Keith Hall.
    Enclosure.

S. 986--Albuquerque Indian School Land Transfer Act

    S. 986 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
place four parcels of federal land (totaling about 11 acres) 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. 
Additionally, the bill would allow the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
(BIA) to continue to use the facilities on that land as they 
were used prior to enactment.
    CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have 
no significant effect on the federal budget. Discretionary 
spending for the administrative costs of the transfer would be 
negligible.
    Based on information provided by BIA, those parcels of 
federal land currently generate no receipts and are not 
expected to do so over the 2016-2025 period. Therefore, CBO 
estimates that transferring the lands into trust for the 
Pueblos would not affect offsetting receipts (a credit against 
direct spending). Because enacting S. 986 would not affect 
direct spending or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not 
apply.
    S. 986 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.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The Committee has received no communications from the 
Executive Branch regarding S. 986.

               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. 986 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 the S. 986 will not make any changes in existing 
law.

                                  [all]