[Senate Report 118-130]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                   Calendar No. 273

118th Congress}                                            { Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session  }                                            { 118-130

======================================================================
 
   PUYALLUP TRIBE OF INDIANS LAND INTO TRUST CONFIRMATION ACT OF 2023

                                _______
                                

               December 12, 2023.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 382]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 382), to take certain land in the State of Washington 
into trust for the benefit of the Puyallup Tribe of the 
Puyallup Reservation, and for other purposes, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon, without amendment, and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 382 is to transfer into trust three 
separate parcels of land, totaling approximately 17.264 acres, 
currently owned in fee simple by the Puyallup Tribe of the 
Puyallup Reservation.

                               BACKGROUND

    The Puyallup Tribe of the Puyallup Reservation (Tribe) is a 
federally recognized Indian Tribe with a 28 square mile 
reservation that encompasses parts of the towns of Tacoma and 
Fife, Washington. Under the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek with 
the United States,\1\ the Tribe reserved approximately 20,000 
acres of land for its reservation, which was formally 
established by two subsequent Executive Orders.\2\ Over a 
course of 50 years, however, the Tribe's reservation was 
reduced through Acts of Congress, sales of reservation land, 
and theft.\3\ By 1989, the Tribe's reservation was reduced to 
only a few acres of trust land.
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    \1\10 Stat. 1132 (1854).
    \2\Exec. Order Jan. 20, 1857; Exec. Order Sept. 6, 1873.
    \3\See, H.R. Rep. No. 101-57, at 3 (1989).
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    Through the Puyallup Settlement Act of 1989,\4\ 
approximately 1,000 acres of the Tribe's original reservation 
was restored. Currently, 1,252.7 acres of land are held in 
trust for the Tribe, and an additional 1,383.8 acres of land 
are owned by the Tribe in fee simple.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\P.L. No. 101-41 (1989).
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                          NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The transfer of these 17.264 acres of land from fee to 
trust will enable the Tribe to continue its land restoration 
activities and support further economic development and growth.

                          SUMMARY OF THE BILL

    S. 382 takes into trust approximately 17.264 acres of land 
currently owned by the Tribe in fee simple, prohibits the lands 
from being used for classes II and III gamining purposes, 
clarifies the jurisdiction over the lands, and relieves the 
United States of liability for any environmental contamination 
occurring on the lands.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    On February 9, 2023, Senators Cantwell (D-WA) and Murray 
(D-WA) introduced S. 382, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians Land 
Into Trust Confirmation Act of 2023. On the same day, the 
Senate referred the bill to the Committee on Indian Affairs 
(Committee). On May 3, 2023, the Committee held a legislative 
hearing to receive testimony on S. 382. On July 19, 2023, the 
Committee held a duly convened business meeting and ordered S. 
382 reported favorably, without amendment, by voice vote.
    On February 9, 2023, Representatives Kilmer (D-WA) and 
Strickland (D-WA) introduced H.R. 929, an identical companion 
bill to S. 382. On the same day, the House of Representatives 
referred the bill to the Committee on Natural Resources. On 
February 21, 2023, H.R. 929 was further referred to the 
Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs of the Committee on 
Natural Resources (Subcommittee). On July 12, 2023, the 
Subcommittee held a hearing to receive testimony on H.R. 929. 
On September 20, 2023, the Subcommittee discharged the bill and 
the Committee on Natural Resources held a mark-up session. On 
the same day, the Committee on Natural Resources ordered the 
bill to be reported by unanimous consent. To date, the House 
has taken no further action on H.R. 929.
    117th Congress. On September 22, 2022, Senators Cantwell 
(D-WA) and Murray (D-WA) introduced S. 4933, the Puyallup Tribe 
of Indians Land Into Trust Confirmation Act of 2022. On the 
same day, the Senate referred the bill to the Committee. The 
Senate took no further action on S. 4933 in the 117th Congress.
    On September 22, 2022, Representatives Kilmer (D-WA) and 
Strickland (D-WA) introduced H.R. 8967, an identical companion 
bill to S. 4933. On the same day, the House of Representatives 
referred the bill to the Committee on Natural Resources. The 
House took no further action on H.R. 8967 in the 117th 
Congress.

       SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF S. 382 AS ORDERED REPORTED

Section 1--Short title

    This section sets forth the short title as the ``Puyallup 
Tribe of Indians Land Into Trust Confirmation Act of 2023.''

Section 2--Land to be taken into trust for the benefit of the Puyallup 
        Tribe of the Puyallup Reservation

    Section 2(a) takes into trust approximately 17.264 acres of 
land owned in fee simple by the Puyallup Tribe of the Puyallup 
Reservation.
    Section 2(b) provides descriptions of the three parcels of 
land to be taken into trust.
    Section 2(c) clarifies that the lands to be taken into 
trust shall be part of the Tribe's reservation and shall be 
administered according to the laws and regulations applicable 
to Indian trust lands.
    Section 2(d) relieves the United States of any liability 
for any environmental contamination occurring on or before the 
date on which the lands are taken into trust under this Act.
    Section 2(e) prohibits the lands taken into trust under 
this Act from being used for class II or class III gaming under 
the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703).

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS



    S. 382 would direct the Department of the Interior (DOI) to 
take into trust approximately 17 acres of land in Pierce 
County, Washington, owned by the Puyallup Tribe. Under the 
bill, DOI would hold title to that land for the benefit of the 
tribe, and the United States would not be liable for any 
environmental contamination that occurred on or before the date 
the land would be taken into trust. The legislation also would 
prohibit certain types of gaming on those lands. Using 
information from DOI, CBO estimates that the administrative 
costs to implement S. 382 would not be significant; any 
spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated 
funds.
    S. 382 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 Puyallup Tribe. Information from Pierce 
County about taxes and other receipts associated with the land 
indicates that those foregone revenues would total less than 
$100,000 annually, well below the annual intergovernmental 
threshold established in UMRA ($99 million in 2023, adjusted 
annually for inflation).
    The bill contains no private-sector mandates.
    On October 20, 2023, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 
H.R. 929, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians Land Into Trust 
Confirmation Act of 2023, as ordered reported by the House 
Committee on Natural Resources on September 20, 2023. The two 
bills are similar, and CBO's estimates of their budgetary 
effects are the same.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Julia Aman 
(for federal costs) and Rachel Austin (for mandates). The 
estimate was reviewed by Emily Stern, Senior Adviser for Budget 
Analysis.

                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

               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. 382 will 
have minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The Committee has received no communications from the 
Executive Branch regarding S. 382.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    On February 9, 2023, 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.

                                  [all]