[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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