[House Report 119-286]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 119-286
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SHINGLE SPRINGS BAND OF MIWOK INDIANS LAND
TRANSFER ACT OF 2025
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September 15, 2025.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
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Mr. Westerman, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2302]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 2302) to take certain Federal land in the State
of California into trust for the benefit of the Shingle Springs
Band of Miwok Indians, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians
Land Transfer Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. REVOCATION OF PUBLIC LAND ORDER; LANDS TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST.
(a) Revocation of Public Land Order.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law--
(1) Public Land Order 3309 (Sacramento 071209), dated January
17, 1964 (29 Fed. Reg. 609), is revoked; and
(2) jurisdiction over the land described in the public land
order referred to in paragraph (1) is transferred to the
Secretary.
(b) Trust Transfer.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary
shall place the following land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe:
(1) The approximately 80 acres of land generally depicted as
``BLM Land-Proposed Transfer into Trust'' on the Map.
(2) The approximately 185 acres of land generally depicted as
``Indian Creek Ranch-Proposed Transfer into Trust Land Status''
on the Map.
(c) Review; Survey.--
(1) Review.--Before the deadline described in subsection (b),
the Secretary shall conduct a review of the land described in
that subsection to determine if a survey of the land is
required.
(2) Survey.--
(A) In general.--If the Secretary determines that a
survey is required under paragraph (1) after conducting
the review required under that paragraph, the
Secretary--
(i) shall perform a survey of the land taken
into trust under subsection (b); and
(ii) may make minor corrections to the survey
and legal land description of the land
described in that subsection as the Secretary
determines to be necessary to correct clerical,
typographical, and surveying errors.
(B) Availability.--A survey conducted under
subparagraph (A) shall be kept on file and available
for public inspection in the appropriate office of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs.
(d) Lands Part of Reservation; Administration.--The land taken into
trust under subsection (b)--
(1) is hereby declared to be part of the Reservation; and
(2) shall be administered by the Secretary in accordance with
the laws and regulations generally applicable to property held
in trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe.
(e) Gaming Prohibited.--Land taken into trust under subsection (b)
shall not be used for any class II gaming or class III gaming under the
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) (as those terms
are defined in section 4 of that Act (25 U.S.C. 2703)).
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Map.--The term ``Map'' means the map prepared by the
Bureau of Land Management titled ``Proposed Bureau of Land
Management Land Transfer to Shingle Springs Rancheria'' and
dated May 2, 2025.
(2) Reservation.--The term ``Reservation'' means the
reservation of the Tribe.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior.
(4) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Shingle Springs Band
of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract),
California.
PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION
The purpose of H.R. 2302 is to take certain Federal land in
the State of California into trust for the benefit of the
Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, and for other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H.R. 2302, introduced by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA), would
place approximately 80 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
land and 185 acres of fee simple land owned by the Shingle
Springs Band of Miwok Indians into trust for the tribe. Gaming
on these lands, pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act,
would be prohibited.\1\
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\1\25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.
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The Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians is located in
north central California, in El Dorado County. It has
approximately 500 tribally enrolled members.\2\ Descendants of
the Miwok and Maidu Indians lived throughout the north central
part of California,\3\ where they once inhabited land from the
Sacramento area to the Sierra Nevada Mountains.\4\
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\2\Tiller, Veronica E. Velarde. Tiller's Guide to Indian Country:
Economic Profiles of American Indian Reservations. 3rd ed. Pg. 344.
\3\Id.
\4\River City Bank. Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. Oct
2020. https://rivercitybank.com/shingle-springs-band-of-miwok-indians/
#::text=Our%20reservation%20was
%20originally%20160,economic%20development%20and%20self%2Dsufficiency.
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On March 11, 1920, the U.S. government provided the Shingle
Springs Band of Miwok with a 160-acre parcel, known as the
``Verona Tract,'' as their Rancheria. The only legal access
point to the Verona Tract was through a parcel of land known as
the ``El Dorado Tract.''\5\ The tribe resided on the Verona
Tract until the 1960s, when the California Department of
Transportation (CalTrans) began work on Highway 50. The site of
Highway 50 included an area that crossed over the El Dorado
Tract, leaving the tribe with no legal access to the Verona
Tract.\6\ As a result, the tribe left the area.
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\5\One Pager on H.R. 2302 provided to the IIA Team by the Shingle
Springs Band of Miwok. On file.
\6\Id.
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In the mid-1970s, the tribe reorganized under the Indian
Reorganization Act as the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok and
moved back to the area.\7\ The lack of access to the Rancheria
continued until the tribe secured a $20 million loan to
construct an off-ramp from Highway 50 into the Rancheria.\8\
Despite this addition, the tribe has continued to struggle with
land acquisition, due to the physical boundary imposed by
Highway 50.
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\7\Id.
\8\House Natural Resources Committee. Testimony of Nicholas
Fonseca, Chairman, Shingle Springs Band of Miwok. July 23, 2013.
https://naturalresources.house.gov/uploadedfiles/fonsecatestimony07-23-
13.pdf.
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In 2014, 40.85 acres of BLM land were placed into trust\9\
for the tribe to assist with tribal housing needs on the
Shingle Springs Band's reservation.\10\ However, the land's
terrain has made development for housing difficult.\11\
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\9\Public Law No: 113-127.
\10\S. Rept. 113-197--To Take Certain Federal Lands Located in El
Dorado County, California, Into Trust for the Benefit of the Shingle
Springs Band of Miwok Indians, and for Other Purposes. Senate Indian
Affairs Committee. 113th Congress. https://www.congress.gov/113/crpt/
srpt197/CRPT-113srpt197.pdf.
\11\Conversation between IIA Staff and the Shingle Springs Band of
Miwok Indians. 04.09.25.
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Recently, the tribe purchased land, known as the ``Indian
Creek Subdivision,'' which was previously approved for a
defunct subdivision. The tribe seeks to place this land into
trust and is pursuing this goal legislatively through this bill
rather than through the DOI's administrative process, as their
previous attempts to obtain a fee-to-trust approval have been
unsuccessful.\12\
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\12\Id. The tribe completed fee to trust applications in 2015 for
different parcels, but they remain in pending status.
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The other parcels involved in this legislation will be
transferred from the BLM into trust for the tribe. The BLM has
not managed the parcel adjacent to the Indian Creek Subdivision
well, prompting the tribe and surrounding landowners to raise
concerns regarding the possibility of wildfire due to the lack
of land management on the part of the BLM. The tribe has taken
on a management role for this parcel despite it not being their
land.\13\ The additional parcels are also under BLM management
and have not been meaningfully used. The tribe intends to
manage the land, as they do not have any immediate commercial
or development plans.\14\
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\13\Id.
\14\Id.
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COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 2302 was introduced on March 24, 2025, by
Representative Tom McClintock (R-CA). The bill was referred to
the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to
the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs. On April 30,
2025, the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs held a
hearing on the bill. On July 23, 2025, the Committee on Natural
Resources met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Indian
and Insular Affairs was discharged from further consideration
of H.R. 2302 by unanimous consent. Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA)
offered an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute designated
McClintock_057 ANS. The Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute
was agreed to by unanimous consent. The bill, as amended, was
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by
unanimous consent.
HEARINGS
For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure:
hearing by the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs held
on April 30, 2025.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 establishes that the Act may be cited as the
Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Land Transfer Act of
2025.
Section 2. Revocation of Public Land Order; lands to be taken into
trust
Section 2 revokes Public Land Order 3309 and transfers
specific BLM and fee simple parcels into trust for the benefit
of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians. This section also
prohibits gaming on these lands, pursuant to the Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL
BUDGET ACT
1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act.
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of House rule XIII and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, and pursuant to
clause 3(c)(3) of House rule XIII and section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has requested
but not received from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office a budgetary analysis and a cost estimate of this bill.
2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to take certain Federal land in the
State of California into trust for the benefit of the Shingle
Springs Band of Miwok Indians, and for other purposes.
EARMARK STATEMENT
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT
An estimate of federal mandates prepared by the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chair of
the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee, if such
estimate is not publicly available on the Congressional Budget
Office website.
EXISTING PROGRAMS
Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any
directed rule makings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the
U.S. Constitution.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
As ordered reported by the Committee on Natural Resources,
H.R. 2302 would make no changes in existing law.
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