S. Rpt. 119-79 addresses "A Bill to Reaffirm the Applicability of the Indian Reorganization Act to the Lytton Rancheria of California, and for Other Purposes". It was prepared by the Indian Affairs Committee as part of the committee's legislative and oversight work. Committee reports are among the most important primary sources in the legislative process. They explain what legislation does, why the committee believes it is necessary, what amendments were adopted, how much it costs, and what the committee's majority and minority members think. Courts and agencies refer to these reports for decades after enactment when interpreting how laws should be applied.
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Senate Report 119-79 - A BILL TO REAFFIRM THE APPLICABILITY OF THE INDIAN REORGANIZATION ACT TO THE LYTTON RANCHERIA OF CALIFORNIA, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[Senate Report 119-79]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 188
119th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 119-79
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A BILL TO REAFFIRM THE APPLICABILITY OF THE INDIAN REORGANIZATION ACT
TO THE LYTTON RANCHERIA OF CALIFORNIA, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
October 14, 2025.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Indian Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 748]
[Including the cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the
bill (S. 748) to reaffirm the applicability of the Indian
Reorganization Act to the Lytton Rancheria of California, and
for other purposes, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the
bill do pass.
PURPOSE
S. 748 would reaffirm the applicability of the Indian
Reorganization Act (IRA)\1\ to the Lytton Rancheria of
California (Rancheria), a federally recognized Indian Tribe,
and clarify that it is eligible to have lands taken into trust
through the U.S. Department of the Interior's (DOI)
administrative land into trust process.
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\1\Act of June 18, 1934, Pub. L. No. 73-383, 48 Stat. 984 (1934).
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BACKGROUND AND NEED
In 1961, the Department of the Interior officially
terminated the federal-tribal relationship with the Lytton
Rancheria, pursuant to the California Rancheria Termination Act
of 1958.\2\ In 1991, the Rancheria's federal status was
restored by court order after years of litigation,\3\ and in
2000, Congress directed the Secretary of the Interior to take
9.5 acres of land into trust for the Rancheria for gaming
purposes in San Pablo, California.\4\ In 2019, Congress enacted
the Lytton Rancheria Homelands Act,\5\ which placed more than
500 acres of land into trust for the Rancheria to establish a
permanent homeland, and included a prohibition on gaming for
these acres and any future lands taken into trust in Sonoma
County, California.\6\
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\2\California Rancheria Termination Act of 1958, Pub. L. No. 85-671
(1958).
\3\Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians of the Sugar Bowl Rancheria
v. United States, No. C-86-3660 (N.D.Cal. March 22, 1991).
\4\Omnibus Indian Advancement Act, Pub. L. No. 106-568, Sec. 819,
114 Stat. 2919 (2000).
\5\Lytton Rancheria Homelands Act of 2019, Pub. L. No. L. 116-92
Sec. 2869 (2019).
\6\Id.; see also S. Rep. No. 116-67 (2019).
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Due to the Supreme Court's decision in Carcieri v. Salazar,
555 U.S. 379 (2009), the Secretary of the Interior's authority
to take land into trust is limited to Indian Tribes that were
``under federal jurisdiction'' at the time of enactment of the
Indian Reorganization Act. DOI has struggled to determine
whether a Tribe was ``under federal jurisdiction'' in 1934, as
required by the Carcieri decision, relying on multiple Interior
Solicitor Opinions. In 2023, Interior updated the Part 151
regulations governing the acquisition of land by the United
States in trust status for Tribes to further clarify the DOI's
process to determine whether a Tribe is under federal
jurisdiction.\7\ The process, however, remains a fact-specific
analysis that is conducted on a Tribe-by-Tribe basis, which is
costly and time-consuming for Tribes and the DOI, and is often
the subject of litigation.
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\7\25 C.F.R. pt.151.
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While the Lytton Rancheria Homelands Act contemplated that
the Tribe would have future lands taken into trust under the
IRA, the Tribe has been unable to proceed with its land into
trust application because DOI has not affirmed that the Tribe
is ``under federal jurisdiction'' for purposes of Carcieri. S.
738 would reaffirm and make explicit that the Tribe can go
through the administrative land into trust process under the
IRA.
SUMMARY
S. 748 clarifies that the IRA applies to the Tribe and
reaffirms the DOI's ability to take land into trust for the
benefit of the Tribe. The bill also reaffirms that any land to
be taken into trust for the Tribe will become part of its
reservation and the laws and regulations regarding Tribal trust
lands will apply.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 748 was introduced by Senator Padilla on January 26,
2025. The Committee held a business meeting on March 5, 2025,
to consider S. 748 and ordered the bill to be reported
favorably, without amendment, by voice vote.
In the 118th Congress, Senator Padilla introduced an
identical bill, S. 4000, on March 20, 2024. The Committee held
a hearing on S. 4000 on June 12, 2024 (S. Hrg. 118-418). On
July 25, 2024, the Committee held a business meeting to
consider S. 4000 and ordered the bill to be reported favorably,
without amendment, by voice vote (S. Rept. No. 118-222). The
Senate passed S. 4000 by voice vote on December 12, 2024.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in an open business
meeting on March 5, 2025, by a majority voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 748 without
amendment.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1--Lytton Rancheria of California land reaffirmation
Section 1(a) clarifies that the Rancheria is subject to the
IRA and reaffirms the Secretary of the Interior's ability to
take land into trust for the benefit of the Rancheria.
Section 1(b) clarifies that land taken into trust for the
Rancheria is made part of its reservation and that those lands
will be administered in accordance with all laws and
regulations applicable to tribal trust lands.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. 748 would clarify that the Department of the Interior
has the authority to take land into trust for the Lytton
Rancheria of California under the Indian Reorganization Act.
The bill also would deem lands that are taken into trust under
that act to be part of the tribe's reservation and administered
accordingly.
Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that
the administrative costs to implement S. 748 would be
insignificant; any related spending would be subject to the
availability of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Margot Berman.
The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Director of 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. 748 will
have minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements.
EXECUTIVE TESTIMONY AND COMMUNICATIONS
The testimony provided by the U.S. Department of the
Interior from the June 12, 2024, hearing on S. 4000 follows:
statement of bryan newland, assistant secretary for indian affairs,
u.s. department of the interior
S. 748, a bill to reaffirm the applicability of the Indian
Reorganization Act to the Lytton Rancheria of California, and
for other purposes
Good afternoon, Chairman Schatz, Vice Chairman Murkowski,
and members of the Committee.
My name is Bryan Newland, and I am the Assistant Secretary
for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior
(Department). Thank you for the opportunity to present
testimony on S. 4000, ``To reaffirm the applicability of the
Indian Reorganization Act to the Lytton Rancheria of
California, and for other purposes,'' . . .
S. 4000 and the Impacts of the Carcieri v. Salazar Decision
In Carcieri v. Salazar, the United States Supreme Court was
faced with the question of whether the Department could acquire
land in trust under section 5 of the Indian Reorganization Act
(IRA) on behalf of the Narragansett Tribe of Rhode Island for a
housing project. The Court's majority noted that section 5
permits the Secretary to acquire land in trust for Federally
recognized Tribes that were ``under Federal jurisdiction'' in
1934. It then determined that the Secretary was precluded from
taking land into trust for the Narragansett Tribe, who had
stipulated that it was not ``under Federal jurisdiction'' in
1934.
The Carcieri decision upset the settled expectations of
both the Department and Indian Country and led to confusion
about the scope of the Secretary's authority to acquire land in
trust for all Federally recognized Tribes--including those
Tribes that were Federally recognized or restored after the
enactment of the Indian Reorganization Act. As many Tribal
leaders have noted, the Carcieri decision is contrary to
existing congressional policy, and has the potential to subject
Federally recognized Tribes to unequal treatment under Federal
law.
Since the Carcieri decision, the Department must examine
whether each Tribe seeking to have land acquired in trust under
the Indian Reorganization Act was ``under Federal
jurisdiction'' in 1934. This analysis is done on a Tribe-by-
Tribe basis, even for those Tribes whose jurisdictional status
is unquestioned. This analysis may be time-consuming and costly
for Tribes and for the Department. Overall, it has made the
Department's consideration of fee-to-trust applications more
complex and created an additional administrative burden for the
Federal government and Tribes related to decisions taking land
into trust. The Tribes at issue in S. 3263 and S. 4000 are just
two of the many Tribes who have experienced undue burdens to
reclaim and develop their lands . . . S. 4000 would clarify
that the IRA applies to the Lytton Rancheria and that the
Secretary has the authority to take land into trust for the
Lytton Tribe under Section 5 of the IRA. The bill would also
deem lands taken into trust under Section 5 of the IRA for the
Lytton Rancheria as part of the Tribe's reservation and would
be administered accordingly.
The Department supports . . . S. 4000. Tribal homelands are
at the heart of Tribal sovereignty, self-determination, and
self-governance. The power to acquire lands in trust is an
important tool for the United States to effectuate its
longstanding policy of fostering Tribal self-determination.
Congress has worked to foster self-determination for all Tribes
and did not intend to limit this essential tool to only one
class of Tribes. In addition to S. 4000, the Department has
consistently expressed strong support for a universal
legislative solution to the Carcieri decision for all Tribes.
Further, the President's budgets for fiscal years 2024 and 2025
proposed a simple and clean fix to the IRA to ensure the
Secretary has the authority to take land into trust for all
Tribes without the need for the complex review of whether a
Tribe was ``under Federal jurisdiction'' in 1934. The
Department urges Congress to consider a legislative fix to
Carcieri decision for all Tribes to eliminate the need for each
Tribe to seek separate legislation.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In the opinion of the Committee, it is necessary to
dispense with the requirements of subsection 12 of rule XXVI of
the Standing Rules of the Senate to expedite business of the
Senate.
[all]