[Senate Report 114-203]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 347
114th Congress    }                                      {      Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session       }                                      {     114-203

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

 
 TO TAKE CERTAIN FEDERAL LAND LOCATED IN TUOLUMNE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, 
INTO TRUST FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE TUOLUMNE BAND OF ME-WUK INDIANS, AND 
                           FOR OTHER PURPOSES

                                _______
                                

                January 12, 2016.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1822]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 1822) to take certain Federal land located in Tuolumne 
County, California, into trust for the benefit of the Tuolumne 
Band of Me-Wuk Indians, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably with an amendment, and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 1822 is to transfer approximately 80 
acres of land under the administrative jurisdiction of the 
United States Forest Service into trust for the Tuolumne Band 
of Me-Wuk Indians.

                          NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The bill, S. 1822, is needed to transfer Federal land under 
the administration of the United States Forest Service to the 
Department of the Interior (DOI) in order for the land to be 
placed into trust for the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians. 
After the land is taken into trust, the tribe plans to use the 
land to conduct fuel reduction activities.

                               BACKGROUND

    The Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians is a federally 
recognized Indian tribe. The tribe's constitution and bylaws 
are organized under the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA)\1\ and 
were approved on January 15, 1936.\2\
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    \1\25 U.S.C. 465 et seq.
    \2\Constitution and Bylaws for the Tuolumne Band of We-Wuk Indians 
of the Tuolumne Rancheria, California. Department of Interior, Office 
of Indian Affairs, (Jan. 15, 1936).
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    On October 25, 1910, the original Tuolumne Rancheria was 
approximately 289 acres and was purchased under the Act of June 
21, 1906.\3\ On April 13, 1912, approximately an additional 33 
acres of land were set aside for the Tuolumne Band by an 
Executive Order.\4\
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    \3\Public Law 59-257, 34 Stat. 333.
    \4\Executive Order by William H. Taft. (April 13, 1912).
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    This bill would transfer two 40-acre parcels of land 
located in Tuolumne County from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) 
to the Department of the Interior to be put into trust for the 
Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians. The two parcels of land are 
located 7 miles from the tribe's current reservation. It is 
contiguous with a ranch owned in fee simple by the tribe and a 
ranch owned by a private non-Indian owner.
    Under the bill, the land would not be eligible for Class II 
or Class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.\5\ 
In 2015, Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors wrote a letter of 
support for legislation to complete the land transfer, and on 
June 12, 2015, the private ranch owner wrote a letter to 
support the land transfer to the tribe.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.
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                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    On July 21, 2015, Senator Boxer introduced S. 1822. Senator 
Feinstein is a cosponsor. The Senate Committee on Indian 
Affairs held a legislative hearing on the bill on October 7, 
2015, at which the Associate Deputy Chief of the USFS testified 
that the USFS did not oppose the bill. On October 21, 2015, the 
Committee held a duly called business meeting to consider the 
bill. An amendment was offered, and the bill, as amended, was 
passed by voice vote. The amendment would clarify the legal 
descriptions at the request of the USFS.
    An identical companion bill, H.R. 3079, was introduced in 
the House on July 15, 2015 by Representative McClintock. On 
August 4, 2015, the bill was referred to the Subcommittee on 
Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs of the House Natural 
Resources Committee. The subcommittee held a hearing on the 
bill on November 4, 2015.

        SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF BILL AS ORDERED REPORTED

Section 1--Land into Trust

    Section 1 (a) states that the United States shall hold in 
trust the land described in subsection (b) for the benefit of 
the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians for nongaming purposes.
    Section 1 (b) provides the land descriptions for 80 acres 
of Federal land under the administrative jurisdiction of the 
United States Forest Service located in Tuolumne County, 
California. The 80-acre land total is divided into two 40-acre 
parcels.
    Section 1 (c) prohibits Class II or Class III gaming under 
the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act\6\ from being conducted on the 
land to be taken into trust under this bill.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following cost estimate, as provided by the 
Congressional Budget Office, dated November 4, 2015, was 
prepared for S. 1822:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, November 4, 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. 1822, a bill to take 
certain federal land located in Tuolumne County, California, 
into trust for the benefit of the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk 
Indians, and for other purposes.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll.
            Sincerely,
                                                        Keith Hall.
    Enclosure.

S. 1822--To take certain Federal land located in Tuolumne County, 
        California, into trust for the benefit of the Tuolumne Band of 
        Me-Wuk Indians, and for other purposes

    S. 1822 would take into trust, for the benefit of the 
Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians, approximately 80 acres of land 
located in Tuolumne County, California, that is administered by 
the United States Forest Service. The bill would prohibit 
certain types of gaming on those lands.
    CBO estimates that enacting S. 1822 would have no 
significant effect on the federal budget. We estimate that any 
change in federal costs to manage lands affected by the bill 
(which would be subject to appropriation) would be 
insignificant. Under current law, CBO expects that the affected 
lands could generate income from grazing permits; thus, CBO 
estimates that taking those lands into trust could reduce 
offsetting receipts which are certain collections that are 
treated as reductions in outlays. Because the bill could 
increase direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures apply; 
however, based on information from the Forest Service, CBO 
estimates that any such effects would be negligible. Enacting 
S. 1822 would not affect revenues.
    CBO estimates that enacting S. 1822 would not increase net 
direct spending or on-budget deficits by more than $5 billion 
in any of the next four consecutive 10-year periods beginning 
in 2026.
    S. 1822 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. 
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. 1822.

               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. 1822 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, there are no changes to existing 
law made by S. 1822, as ordered reported.

                                  [all]
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