I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4685 

To take certain Federal lands located in Tulare County, California, into 

trust for the benefit of the Tule River Indian Tribe, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 3, 2016 

Mr. MCCARTHY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To take certain Federal lands located in Tulare County, 

California, into trust for the benefit of the Tule River 

Indian Tribe, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tule River Indian Res5 ervation Land Trust, Health, and Economic Development 

6 Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. LANDS TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), valid, 

9 existing rights, and management agreements related to 

10 easements and rights-of-way, all right, title, and interest 


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1 (including improvements and appurtenances) of the 

2 United States in and to the approximately 34 acres of 

3 Federal lands generally depicted on the map titled ‘‘Pro4 posed Lands to be Held in Trust for the Tule River Tribe’’ 

5 and dated May 14, 2015, are hereby held in trust by the 

6 United States for the benefit of the Tule River Indian 

7 Tribe. 

8 (b) EASEMENTS AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—For the pur9 poses of subsection (a), valid, existing rights include any 

10 easement or right-of-way for which an application is pend11 ing with the Bureau of Land Management on the date 

12 of the enactment of this Act. If such application is denied 

13 upon final action, the valid, existing right related to the 

14 application shall cease to exist. 

15 (c) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map referred to in 

16 subsection (a) shall be on file and available for public in17 spection at the office of the California State Director, Bu18 reau of Land Management. 

19 (d) CONVERSION OF VALID, EXISTING RIGHTS.— 

20 (1) CONTINUITY OF USE.—Any person claiming 

21 in good faith to have valid, existing rights to lands 

22 taken into trust by this Act may continue to exercise 

23 such rights to the same extent that the rights were 

24 exercised before the date of the enactment of this 

25 Act until the Secretary makes a determination on an 


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1 application submitted under paragraph (2)(B) or the 

2 application is deemed to be granted under paragraph 

3 (3). 

4 (2) NOTICE AND APPLICATION.—Consistent 

5 with sections 2800 through 2880 of title 43, Code 

6 of Federal Regulations, as soon as practicable after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

8 of the Interior shall notify any person that claims to 

9 have valid, existing rights, such as a management 

10 agreement, easement, or other right-of-way, to lands 

11 taken into trust under subsection (a) that— 

12 (A) such lands have been taken into trust; 

13 and 

14 (B) the person claiming the valid, existing 

15 rights has 60 days to submit an application to 

16 the Secretary requesting that the valid, existing 

17 rights be converted to a long-term easement or 

18 other right-of-way. 

19 (3) DETERMINATION.—The Secretary of the In20 terior shall grant or deny an application submitted 

21 under paragraph (2)(B) not later than 180 days 

22 after the application is submitted. Such a determina23 tion shall be considered a final action. If the Sec24 retary does not make a determination within 180 


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1 days after the application is submitted, the applica2 tion shall be deemed to be granted. 

3 (e) RESTRICTION ON GAMING.—Lands taken into 

4 trust pursuant to subsection (a) shall not be considered 

5 to have been taken into trust for, and shall not be eligible 

6 for, class II gaming or class III gaming (as those terms 

7 are defined in section 4 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory 

8 Act (25 U.S.C. 2703)). 

Æ 


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