[Senate Report 117-126]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 431
117th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 117-126
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PALA BAND OF MISSION INDIANS LAND TRANSFER ACT OF 2021
_______
June 23, 2022.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Schatz, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1975]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill (H.R. 1975), to take certain land located in San Diego
County, California, into trust for the benefit of the Pala Band
of Mission Indians, and for other purposes, having considered
the same, reports favorably thereon, without amendment, and
recommends that the bill do pass.
PURPOSE
H.R. 1975 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to take
721.21 acres of land in San Diego County, California, into
trust for the benefit of the Pala Band of Mission Indians.
BACKGROUND & NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The reservation for the Pala Band of Mission Indians is
located in Northern San Diego County and was originally
established through Executive Order.\1\ The reservation is
currently home to more than 900 enrolled members, and
encompasses over 12,000 acres including 4,000 acres of forests,
six acres of wetlands, eight acres of lake, and over 38 miles
of streams. Members of the Pala Band belong to the Cupeno and
Luiseno Tribes.
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\1\Exec. Order of December 27, 1875.
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The 721.21 acres be taken into trust are adjacent to the
Tribes' reservation and were originally purchased by developers
for the purposes of creating a landfill. The City of San Diego
Human Relations Commission, the City of Oceanside Water
Utilities Department, the City of Oceanside Mayor, the District
Councilmember for the City of San Diego, California State
Senator Moreno-Ducheny, and San Diego County Board of
Supervisors all submitted letters opposing the landfill, and
supporting the Tribe's efforts to take this land into trust in
order to preserve the Tribe's sacred site. The Tribe acquired
the property in 2016. The Tribe did so because it includes a
portion of Gregory Mountain (Chok'la), Medicine Rock, and other
places sacred to the Pala and other Luiseno Tribes but not
currently located within the existing reservation boundaries.
Taking this land into trust will ensure the Pala Band of
Mission Indians can steward their sacred sites and cultural
history.
SUMMARY OF H.R. 1975
H.R. 1975 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to take
into trust 721.21 acres for the benefit of the Pala Band of
Mission Indians.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF H.R. 1975 AS ORDERED REPORTED
Section 1. Short title
This section sets forth the short title as the ``Pala Band
of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act of 2021.''
Section 2. Transfer of land in trust for the Pala Band of Mission
Indians
This section clarifies the administration of the lands to
be taken intro trust and the scope of the bill.
Subsection 2(a) provides that the Tribe has 180 days to
transfer the land to the Department of the Interior and that
the Department must take those lands into trust for the benefit
of the Pala Band of Mission Indians no later than 180 days
following transfer to the department. It also clarifies that
the land transferred to the Tribe shall be administered in
accordance with the laws and regulations generally applicable
to land held in trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe.
Subsection 2(b) provides a description of the land to be
transferred into trust.
Subsection 2(c) provides for the rules of construction for
the bill.
Subsection 2(d) prohibits gaming on the lands to be taken
into trust.
Subsection 2(e) sets forth the definitions to be used in
the bill.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 1975 was introduced in the House of Representatives,
by Representatives Issa (R-CA) and Vargas (D-CA) on March 17,
2021. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Natural
Resources. The House Committee on Natural Resources ordered
H.R. 1975 favorably reported by unanimous consent on October
13, 2021. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1975 on a
vote of 395-25 on November 2, 2021.
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held a hearing on
H.R. 1975 on November 17, 2021. At that hearing the Department
of Interior testified in support of H.R. 1975. The Committee
met in an open business meeting on April 6, 2022 and ordered
the bill reported favorably.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, April 26, 2022.
Hon. Brian Schatz,
Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1975, the Pala
Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act of 2021.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Madeleine
Fox.
Sincerely,
Phillip L. Swagel,
Director.
Enclosure.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
H.R. 1975 would direct the Department of the Interior (DOI)
to take into trust approximately 720 acres of land in San Diego
County, California, owned by the Pala Band of Mission Indians.
Under the act, DOI would hold title to that land for the
benefit of the tribe. The legislation also would prohibit
certain types of gaming on those lands. Using information
provided by DOI, CBO estimates that the administrative costs
the agency would incur to implement H.R. 1975 would not be
significant.
H.R. 1975 would impose an intergovernmental mandate as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). The bill
would prohibit state and local governments from taxing land
taken into trust for the Pala Band of Mission Indians. Based on
information from San Diego County, the taxable value of the
land that would be placed into trust is approximately $2.3
million. That taxable value indicates that foregone property
tax and fee revenues would fall significantly below the annual
threshold established in UMRA ($85 million in 2021, adjusted
annually for inflation).
The bill contains no private-sector mandates.
On February 24, 2022, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
H.R. 1975,1A\2\ the Pala Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer
Act of 2021, as passed by the House of Representatives on
November 2, 2021. The two pieces of legislation and CBO's
estimates of their budgetary effects are the same.
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\2\Congressional Budget Office, H.R. 1975, Pala Band of Mission
Indians Land Transfer Act of 2021, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/
57874.
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The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Madeleine Fox
(for federal costs) and Rachel Austin (for mandates). The
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director
of Budget Analysis.
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 H.R. 1975
will have minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork
requirements.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The Committee has received no communications from the
Executive Branch regarding H.R. 1975.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
On February 11, 2021 the Committee unanimously approved a
motion to waive subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing
Rules of the Senate. In the opinion of the Committee, it is
necessary to dispense with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate to expedite the business of the
Senate.
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