Lytton Rancheria Homelands Act of 2019

II Calendar No. 166 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1388 [Report No. 116–67] IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 27, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs JULY 29, 2019 Reported by Mr. HOEVEN, without amendment AN ACT To take lands in Sonoma County, California, into trust as part of the reservation of the Lytton Rancheria of Cali- fornia, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lytton Rancheria 4 Homelands Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1388.RS H1388 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1388 RS (1) The Lytton Rancheria of California is a fed- 1 erally recognized Indian tribe that lost its homeland 2 after its relationship to the United States was un- 3 justly and unlawfully terminated in 1958. The Tribe 4 was restored to Federal recognition in 1991, but the 5 conditions of its restoration have prevented it from 6 regaining a homeland on its original lands. 7 (2) Congress needs to take action to reverse 8 historic injustices that befell the Tribe and that have 9 prevented it from regaining a viable homeland for its 10 people. 11 (3) Prior to European contact there were as 12 many as 350,000 Indians living in what is now the 13 State of California. By the turn of the 19th century, 14 that number had been reduced to approximately 15 15,000 individuals, many of them homeless and liv- 16 ing in scattered bands and communities. 17 (4) The Lytton Rancheria’s original homeland 18 was purchased by the United States in 1926 pursu- 19 ant to congressional authority designed to remedy 20 the unique tragedy that befell the Indians of Cali- 21 fornia and provide them with reservations called 22 Rancherias to be held in trust by the United States. 23 (5) After the Lytton Rancheria lands were pur- 24 chased by the United States, the Tribe settled on 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1388.RS H1388 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1388 RS the land and sustained itself for several decades by 1 farming and ranching. 2 (6) By the mid-1950s, Federal Indian policy 3 had shifted back towards a policy of terminating the 4 Federal relationship with Indian tribes. In 1958, 5 Congress enacted the Rancheria Act of 1958 (72 6 Stat. 619), which slated 41 Rancherias in California, 7 including the Lytton Rancheria, for termination 8 after certain conditions were met. 9 (7) On August 1, 1961, the Federal Govern- 10 ment terminated its relationship with the Lytton 11 Rancheria. This termination was illegal because the 12 conditions for termination under the Rancheria Act 13 had never been met. After termination was imple- 14 mented, the Tribe lost its lands and was left without 15 any means of supporting itself. 16 (8) In 1987, the Tribe joined three other tribes 17 in a lawsuit against the United States challenging 18 the illegal termination of their Rancherias. A Stipu- 19 lated Judgment in the case, Scotts Valley Band of 20 Pomo Indians of the Sugar Bowl Rancheria v. 21 United States, No. C–86–3660 (N.D.Cal. March 22, 22 1991), restored the Lytton Rancheria to its status 23 as a federally recognized Indian tribe. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1388.RS H1388 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1388 RS (9) The Stipulated Judgment provides that the 1 Lytton Rancheria would have the ‘‘individual and 2 collective status and rights’’ which it had prior to its 3 termination and expressly contemplated the acquisi- 4 tion of trust lands for the Lytton Rancheria. 5 (10) The Stipulated Judgment contains provi- 6 sions, included at the request of the local county 7 governments and neighboring landowners, that pro- 8 hibit the Lytton Rancheria from exercising its full 9 Federal rights on its original homeland in the Alex- 10 ander Valley. 11 (11) In 2000, approximately 9.5 acres of land 12 in San Pablo, California, was placed in trust status 13 for the Lytton Rancheria for economic development 14 purposes. 15 (12) The Tribe has since acquired, from willing 16 sellers at fair market value, property in Sonoma 17 County near the Tribe’s historic Rancheria. This 18 property, which the Tribe holds in fee status, is suit- 19 able for a new homeland for the Tribe. 20 (13) On a portion of the land to be taken into 21 trust, which portion totals approximately 124.12 22 acres, the Tribe plans to build housing for its mem- 23 bers and governmental and community facilities. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1388.RS H1388 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1388 RS (14) A portion of the land to be taken into 1 trust is being used for viniculture, and the Tribe in- 2 tends to develop more of the lands to be taken into 3 trust for viniculture. The Tribe’s investment in the 4 ongoing viniculture operation has reinvigorated the 5 vineyards, which are producing high-quality wines. 6 The Tribe is operating its vineyards on a sustainable 7 basis and is working toward certification of sustain- 8 ability. 9 (15) No gaming shall be conducted on the lands 10 to be taken into trust by this Act. 11 (16) No gaming shall be conducted on any 12 lands taken into trust on behalf of the Tribe in 13 Sonoma County after the date of the enactment of 14 this Act. 15 (17) By directing that these lands be taken into 16 trust, the United States will ensure that the Lytton 17 Rancheria will finally have a permanently protected 18 homeland on which the Tribe can once again live 19 communally and plan for future generations. This 20 action is necessary to fully restore the Tribe to the 21 status it had before it was wrongfully terminated in 22 1961. 23 (18) The Tribe and County of Sonoma have en- 24 tered into a Memorandum of Agreement as amended 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1388.RS H1388 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1388 RS in 2018 in which the County agrees to the lands in 1 the County being taken into trust for the benefit of 2 the Tribe in consideration for commitments made by 3 the Tribe. 4 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 5 For the purpose of this Act, the following definitions 6 apply: 7 (1) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means 8 Sonoma County, California. 9 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 10 the Secretary of the Interior. 11 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the 12 Lytton Rancheria of California. 13 SEC. 4. LANDS TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The land owned by the Tribe and 15 generally depicted on the map titled ‘‘Lytton Fee Owned 16 Property to be Taken into Trust’’ and dated May 1, 2015, 17 is hereby taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe, sub- 18 ject to valid existing rights, contracts, and management 19 agreements related to easements and rights-of-way. 20 (b) LANDS TO BE MADE PART OF THE RESERVA- 21 TION.—Lands taken into trust under subsection (a) shall 22 be part of the Tribe’s reservation and shall be adminis- 23 tered in accordance with the laws and regulations gen- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1388.RS H1388 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1388 RS erally applicable to property held in trust by the United 1 States for an Indian tribe. 2 SEC. 5. GAMING. 3 (a) LANDS TAKEN INTO TRUST UNDER THIS ACT.— 4 Lands taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe under 5 section 4 shall not be eligible for gaming under the Indian 6 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.). 7 (b) OTHER LANDS TAKEN INTO TRUST.—Lands 8 taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe in Sonoma 9 County after the date of the enactment of this Act shall 10 not be eligible for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regu- 11 latory Act (25 U.S.C. 2710 et seq.). 12 SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN LAW. 13 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 14 Memorandum of Agreement entered into by the Tribe and 15 the County concerning taking land in the County into 16 trust for the benefit of the Tribe, which was approved by 17 the County Board of Supervisors on March 10, 2015, and 18 any addenda and supplement or amendment thereto, is 19 not subject to review or approval of the Secretary in order 20 to be effective, including review or approval under section 21 2103 of the Revised Statutes (25 U.S.C. 81). 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1388.RS H1388 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS Calendar No. 166 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1388 [Report No. 116–67] AN ACT To take lands in Sonoma County, California, into trust as part of the reservation of the Lytton Rancheria of California, and for other purposes. JULY 29, 2019 Reported without amendment VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Jul 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H1388.RS H1388 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS