69–010 ★ Star Print 

Calendar No. 452 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 110–208 

TO AMEND THE OMNIBUS INDIAN ADVANCEMENT ACT TO MODIFY THE 

DATE AS OF WHICH CERTAIN TRIBAL LAND OF THE LYTTON 

RANCHERIA OF CALIFORNIA IS DEEMED TO BE HELD IN TRUST AND TO 

PROVIDE FOR THE CONDUCT OF CERTAIN ACTIVITIES ON THE LAND 

OCTOBER 26, 2007.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. DORGAN, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1347] 

The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the bill 

(S. 1347) to amend the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act to modify the date as of which certain tribal land of the Lytton Rancheria 

of California is deemed to be held in trust and to provide for the 

conduct of certain activities on the land, having considered the 

same, reports favorably thereon and recommends that the bill do 

pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 1347 is to require the Lytton Rancheria of 

California to go through the administrative process set forth in the 

Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. § 2701 et. seq. (‘‘IGRA’’), 

before engaging in class III gaming on land acquired in trust for 

the Lytton Rancheria of California in the City of San Pablo, California pursuant to Public Law 106–568. 

BACKGROUND

A. THE LYTTON RANCHERIA

The Lytton Rancheria of California is a federally recognized Indian tribe. During the termination policy era of the 1950’s, Congress attempted to terminate its federal trust relationship with the 

Lytton Rancheria of California and transferred title to the Tribe’s 

land to individual tribal members. Subsequently, the land was conveyed to non-Indians. 

In the 1980’s, the Lytton Rancheria of California joined a lawsuit 

against the Bureau of Indian Affairs challenging its termination. 


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Finding that the government did not meet the conditions called for 

in the termination statute to make termination effective, a federal 

court approved a settlement of the case in 1991. 

The settlement restored the Lytton Rancheria of California to its 

pre-termination status, but failed to return the Tribe’s original 

lands or give the Tribe any other land. The settlement also required that any gaming the Lytton Rancheria of California conducted in the area around their original Rancheria be in conformance with the Sonoma County general plan for land use. 

B. PUBLIC LAW 106–568, SECTION 819

The Sonoma County general plan for land use prohibited the 

Lytton Rancheria of California from conducting gaming in the area 

of the Tribe’s original reservation. Thus, the Tribe sought land elsewhere for the development of a gaming facility. The Tribe acquired 

an existing card room and the nine and one-half acre property it 

was located on, in the City of San Pablo, California, twenty miles 

from the city of San Francisco. Since acquiring the land, the Tribe 

has significantly remodeled the card room into a gaming facility at 

which the Tribe conducts class II gaming activities. Elected officials 

in the City of San Pablo supported and continue to support, the 

Tribe’s gaming facility. 

In 2000, a provision sought by Congressman George Miller, 

whose district includes the city of San Pablo, was included in the 

Omnibus Indian Advancement Act of 2000 (P.L. 106–568). The provision directed the Secretary of the Interior to take the land acquired by the Lytton Rancheria of California in the city of San 

Pablo into trust, and deem the land to have been held in trust prior 

to October 17, 1988 (the date IGRA was enacted). IGRA restricts 

gaming on lands acquired after October 17, 1988. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 1347 was introduced on May 9, 2007 by Senator Feinstein and 

was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. On September 27, 

2007, the Committee held an open business meeting at which it 

voted to favorably report S. 1347 to the full Senate with a recommendation that the bill do pass. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTE

On September 27, 2007, the Committee on Indian Affairs convened a business meeting to consider S. 1347 and other measures, 

and voted to have the bill favorably reported to the full Senate, 

without amendment, with recommendation that the bill do pass. 

SUMMARY OF MAJOR PROVISIONS

S. 1347 would modify the date when certain tribal lands of the 

Lytton Rancheria of California were deemed to have been taken 

into trust status. The bill amends the statutory language contained 

in the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act of 2000, which deemed 

that certain lands of the Lytton Rancheria of California were held 

in trust and part of the reservation prior to the adoption of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) in 1988. 

S. 1347 amends this language to state that for class II gaming 

purposes, the land owned by the Tribe in San Pablo is deemed to 


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be held in trust prior to October 17, 1988. Accordingly, with this 

new designation, the Tribe does not have to go through the administrative process to have lands taken into trust in order to conduct 

class II gaming on the land pursuant to IGRA. 

However, S. 1347 states that for class III gaming purposes, the 

land owned by the Tribe in San Pablo is deemed to have been acquired by the Tribe on October 9, 2003. Therefore, the Tribe would 

have to go through the administrative process pursuant to IGRA 

before it could conduct class III gaming on its lands. This is because the land would be deemed to have been acquired after the 

enactment of IGRA. 

Thus, S. 1347 would allow the Tribe to continue class II gaming 

on its lands in San Pablo, but require the Tribe to go through the 

administrative process required by IGRA before it could conduct 

class III gaming on the lands. 

S. 1347 also prohibits the expansion of the exterior physical 

measurements of any facility on the Lytton Rancheria in use for 

class II gaming activities on the date of enactment of this paragraph. 

S. 1347 is only applicable to certain lands held in trust by the 

Lytton Rancheria of California and has no impact on other lands 

owned by the Tribe or lands owned by other Indian tribes. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following cost estimate, as provided by the Congressional 

Budget Office, dated October 11, 2007, was prepared for S. 1347: 

S. 1347—A bill to amend the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act to 

modify the date as of which certain tribal land of the Lytton 

Rancheria of California is deemed to be held in trust and to 

provide for the conduct of certain activities on the land 

This bill would amend the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act 

(Public Law 106–568) that ordered the Department of the Interior 

(DOI) to take land into trust for the Lytton Rancheria of California. 

That legislation contained a provision that deemed the trust status 

of that land to be retroactive, effectively permitting the tribe to install electronic bingo machines or slot machines without meeting 

the conditions imposed by section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). Section 20 requires additional regulatory review 

and approval by DOI and the appropriate governor as well as consultation with local communities. S. 1347 would delete that provision of the 2000 act, authorize certain gaming activities on the 

trust land, restrict the tribe’s ability to expand the current facility, 

and make the tribe subject to section 20 of IGRA if it chooses to 

pursue other types of gambling. 

Based on information from DOI and the National Indian Gaming 

Commission, CBO estimates that implementing S. 1347 would have 

no significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting the bill would 

not affect revenues or direct spending. 

S. 1347 contains an intergovernmental mandate as defined in the 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) because it would make 

the Lytton Band of Indians subject to additional requirements 

under federal law in order to have certain gaming activities on tribal trust lands. However, based on information from tribal representatives, CBO expects that the costs to comply with that manVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:17 Oct 30, 2007 Jkt 069010 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR208.XXX SR208

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date, if any, would be small and would not exceed the threshold established in UMRA ($64 million in 2007, adjusted annually for inflation). 

By making the Lytton Rancheria land subject to section 20 of 

IGRA, this bill would significantly affect the Rancheria’s gaming 

operations only if the tribe intended to expand its current facility 

or pursue other types of gambling on the trust land. Tribal representatives indicate, however, that they currently have no such 

plans to expand or pursue new operations. If S. 1347 is enacted, 

the tribe would be allowed to continue operating its existing facility; thus, it would not lose revenue as a result of the mandates contained in this bill. 

The bill contains no new private-sector mandates as defined in 

UMRA. 

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Matthew Pickford 

(for federal costs), and Melissa Merrell (for the impact on state, 

local, and tribal governments). This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The Committee has received no communications from the Executive Branch regarding S. 1347. 

REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT

Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate requires that each report accompanying a bill evaluate the regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in carrying 

out the bill. The Committee has concluded that the regulatory and 

paperwork impacts of S. 1347 should be de minimis. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill S. 

1347, as ordered reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new language to 

be added in italic, existing law to which no change is proposed is 

shown in roman): 

OMNIBUS INDIAN ADVANCEMENT ACT 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 819. LAND TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST. 

øNotwithstanding¿ (a) ACCEPTANCE OF LAND.—Notwithstanding 

any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Interior shall accept for the benefit of the Lytton Rancheria of California the land 

described in that certain grant deed dated and recorded on October 

16, 2000, in the official records of the County of Contra Costs, California, Deed Instrument Number 2000–229754. 

øThe Secretary¿ (b) DECLARATION.—The Secretary shall declare 

that such land is held in trust by the United States for the benefit 

of the Rancheria and that such land is part of the reservation of 

such Rancheria under sections 5 and 7 of the Act of June 18, 1934 

(48 Stat. 985; 25 U.S.C. 467). 


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øSuch land shall be deemed to have been held in trust and part 

of the reservation of the Rancheria prior to October 17, 1988.¿ 

(c) TREATMENT OF LAND FOR PURPOSES OF CLASS II GAMING.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), notwithstanding 

any other provision of law, the Lytton Rancheria of California 

may conduct activities for class II gaming (as defined in section 

4 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. § 2703) on 

the land taken into trust under this section. 

(2) REQUIREMENT.—The Lytton Rancheria of California shall 

not expand the exterior physical measurements of any facility 

on the Lytton Rancheria in use for class II gaming activities on 

the date of enactment of this paragraph. 

(d) TREATMENT OF LAND FOR PURPOSES OF CLASS III GAMING.—

Notwithstanding subsection (a), for purposes of class III gaming (as 

defined in section 4 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 

§ 2703)), the land taken into trust under this section shall be treated, for purposes of section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 

(25 U.S.C. § 2719), as if the land was acquired on October 9, 2003, 

the date on which the Secretary took the land into trust. 

Æ 


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