69–010 

Calendar No. 22 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 115–8 

PROVIDING THAT THE PUEBLO OF SANTA CLARA MAY 

LEASE FOR 99 YEARS CERTAIN RESTRICTED LAND, 

AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 

MARCH 22, 2017.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. HOEVEN, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 249] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

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

(S. 249) to amend the Long Term Leasing Act to provide that the 

Pueblo of Santa Clara may lease for 99 years certain restricted 

land, and for other purposes, reports favorably and recommends 

that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of the bill, S. 249, is to amend the Long Term Leasing Act to clarify that the Pueblos of Santa Clara and Ohkay 

Owingeh are authorized to lease their respective tribal trust and 

restricted fee lands for up to 99 years. Many of the tribal lands 

within these Pueblos’ respective reservations are held in restricted 

fee simple, in addition to those lands that are held in trust by the 

United States. 

NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The bill, S. 249, would allow the Pueblos of Santa Clara and 

Ohkay Owingeh to lease certain types of land located within the 

Santa Clara Pueblo Grant for purposes of economic development. 

This legislation would make clear under the Long Term Leasing 

Act that these Pueblos may lease restricted fee lands up to 99 

years. 


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1Department of the Interior. Bureau of Indian Affairs. What We Do. http://www.bia.gov/ 

WhoWeAre/RegionalOffices/Southwest/What/index.htm. (last reviewed on March 10, 2017). 2See U.S. Gov’t Accountability Office, GAO–01–951, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Definition 

and List of Community Land Grants in New Mexico, at 3 (2001). 3 Exec. Order No. XXVI (1905). 

4 11 Stat. 374 (1958). 

5 U.S. Department of Interior. Office of Indian Affairs. Pueblo of Santa Clara Land Status. 

A Report prepared by the Land Division United Pueblos Agency. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

April 1, 1940, p.23. 6Department of the Interior. Bureau of Indian Affairs. What We Do. http://www.bia.gov/ 

WhoWeAre/RegionalOffices/Southwest/What/index.htm. (last reviewed on March 10, 2017). 7 U.S. v. Sandoval, 167 U.S. 278 (1897). 

8 Act of August 9, 1955 (codified at 25 U.S.C. 415). 

9 Act of October 24, 1992, Pub.L.No. 102–497, 106 Stat. 3256. 

10 Act of January 4, 2011, Pub.L.No. 111–381, 124 Stat. 4133. 

BACKGROUND

The Pueblo of Santa Clara is located in New Mexico beside the 

Rio Grande River north of the city Santa Fe, near the city of 

Espan ̃ ola. According to the Department of the Interior, the Pueblo 

has approximately 2,800 enrolled members.1 Currently, the Pueblo 

of the Santa Clara reservation is comprised of land granted from 

the Spanish by land grant,2 and reservation land established in 

1905 by Executive Order.3 The land grant was confirmed by Congress on December 22, 1858 4 and patented on November 15, 1909.5

The Pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh is located along the Rio Grande 

River 25 miles north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. According to the 

Department of the Interior, the Pueblo has approximately 2,723 enrolled members.6 In 1897, the Supreme Court ruled that Indians 

were not considered to be allotted settlers and reduced the size of 

the land grant to approximately 5,000 acres.7 Since that time, additional Ohkay Owingeh lands have been acquired. 

On August 9, 1955, the Long Term Leasing Act 8 was enacted to 

allow Indian tribes to lease land to non-federal government entities 

for a period of 25 years. However, several amendments have been 

enacted to allow approximately fifty tribes to lease lands for a period of up to 99 years. In 1992, the Act was amended to authorize 

leasing of up to 99 years for lands held in trust for the Pueblo of 

Santa Clara 9 and for the Pueblo of Ohkay Owingeh in 2011.10 But 

these amendments failed to include the long-term leasing authority 

for the restricted fee lands of these Pueblos. This bill would authorize such long-term leasing for these Pueblo lands. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

During the 114th Congress, Senator Udall and cosponsor Senator 

Heinrich introduced S. 2916, the predecessor bill which is identical 

to S. 249. The Committee held a legislative hearing on May 18, 

2016, at which the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs testified 

in support. On December 20, 2016, S. 2916 was reported favorably 

by voice vote. No further action occurred prior to adjournment of 

the 114th Congress. 

This bill, S. 249, was introduced February 1, 2017, by Senator 

Udall and again co-sponsored by Senator Heinrich. On February 8, 

2017, the Committee held a duly called business meeting at which 

the bill was considered. No amendments were filed to the bill. The 

Committee favorably reported the bill by voice vote. 


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SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF BILL AS ORDERED REPORTED

Section 1 

This section amends the Act of August 9, 1955 (commonly known 

as the Long Term Leasing Act) by allowing the Ohkay Owingeh 

Pueblo and the Pueblo of the Santa Clara to make leases for up 

to 99 years and other technical corrections. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following cost estimate, as provided by the Congressional 

Budget Office, dated February 17, 2017, was prepared for S. 249: 

Hon. JOHN HOEVEN, 

Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 249, a bill to provide that 

the Pueblo of Santa Clara may lease for 99 years certain restricted 

land, and for other purposes. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Robert Reese. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL. 

Enclosure. 

S. 249—A bill to provide that the Pueblo of Santa Clara may lease 

for 99 years certain restricted land, and for other purposes 

Summary: S. 249 would authorize the Pueblo of Santa Clara and 

the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo to lease tribal lands for up to 99 years. 

In general, under current law, the tribes can lease tribal lands to 

schools, businesses, and public entities for up to 25 years. 

CBO estimates that implementing S. 249 would have no effect on 

the federal budget because any additional proceeds from such 

leases would accrue to the owners of the land. Enacting S. 249 

would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-yougo procedures would not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting S. 249 would not increase net direct 

spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10- 

year periods beginning in 2028. 

S. 249 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. The Pueblo of 

Santa Clara and the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo would benefit from 

provisions in the bill allowing the tribes to lease land for up to 99 

years, regardless of the trust status of the land. 

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Robert Reese (for 

federal costs) and Rachel Austin (for intergovernmental mandates). 

The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The Committee has received no communications from the Executive Branch regarding S. 249. 


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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. 249 will have a minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW (CORDON RULE) 

In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes to existing law made by S. 249, as ordered reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be 

omitted is enclosed in black brackets and new matter is printed in 

italic).: 

(a) Authorized purposes; term; approval by Secretary. Any restricted Indian lands, whether tribally or individually owned, may 

be leased by the Indian owners, with the approval of the Secretary 

of the Interior, for public, religious, educational, recreational, residential, or business purposes, including the development or utilization of natural resources in connection with operations under such 

leases, for grazing purposes, and for those farming purposes which 

require the making of a substantial investment in the improvement 

of the land for the production of specialized crops as determined by 

said Secretary. All leases so granted shall be for a term of not to 

exceed twenty-five years, except leases of land located outside the 

boundaries of Indian reservations in the State of New Mexico, 

leases of land on the Aqua Caliente (Palm Springs) Reservation, 

the Dania Reservation, the Pueblo of Santa Ana (with the exception of the lands known as the ‘‘Santa Ana Pueblo Spanish Grant’’), 

the reservation of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs 

Reservation of Oregon, land held in trust for the Coquille Indian 

Tribe, land held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, land held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, 

Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, land held in trust for the 

Klamath Tribes, and land held in trust for the Burns Paiute Tribe, 

the Moapa Indian Reservation, the Swinomish Indian Reservation, 

the Southern Ute Reservation, the Fort Mojave Reservation, the 

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Burns 

Paiute Reservation, the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation, the 

Kalispel Indian Reservation and land held in trust for the Kalispel 

Tribe of Indians, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians,ø,¿ the pueblo of 

Cochiti, Ohkay Owingeh pueblo, the pueblo of Pojoaque, the pueblo 

of Santa Clara, the pueblo of Tesuque, the pueblo of Zuni, the 

Hualapai Reservation, the Spokane Reservation, the San Carlos 

Apache Reservation, the Yavapai-Prescott Community Reservation, 

the Pyramid Lake Reservation, the Gila River Reservation, the 

Soboba Indian Reservation, the Viejas Indian Reservation, the 

Tulalip Indian Reservation, the Navajo Reservation, the Cabazon 

Indian Reservation, the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation and land 

held in trust for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation with respect to a lease between an entity established by the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians and the Minnesota Historical Society, leases of the øthe¿ lands comprising the 

Moses Allotment Numbered 8 and the Moses Allotment Numbered 

10, Chelan County, Washington, and lands held in trust for the Las 


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Vegas Paiute Tribe of Indians, and lands held in trust for the 

Twenty-nine Palms Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, and lands 

held in trust for the Reno Sparks Indian Colony, lands held in 

trust for the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, lands held 

in trust for the Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians of the Guidiville 

Indian Rancheria, lands held in trust for the Confederated Tribes 

of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, lands held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, and 

lands held in trust for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of 

Indians, land held in trust for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, lands held in trust for the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, land 

held in trust for the Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribes, ølands held in 

trust for the Pueblo of Santa Clara,¿ lands held in trust for the 

Yurok Tribe, lands held in trust for the Hopland Band of Pomo Indians of the Hopland Rancheria, lands held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, lands held in trust for the 

Cahuilla Band of Indians of California, lands held in trust for the 

Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, 

and the lands held in trust for the Confederated Salish and 

Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Montana, and leases 

to the Devils Lake Sioux Tribe, or any organization of such tribe, 

of land on the Devils Lake Sioux Reservation, and ølands held in 

trust for Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo¿ which may be for a term of not 

to exceed ninety-nine years, and except leases of land held in trust 

for the Morongo Band of Mission Indians which may be for a term 

of not to exceed 50 years, and except leases of land for grazing purposes which may be for a term of not to exceed ten years. Leases 

for public, religious, educational, recreational, residential, or business purposes (except leases the initial term of which extends for 

more than seventy-four years) with the consent of both parties may 

include provisions authorizing their renewal for one additional 

term of not to exceed twenty-five years, and all leases and renewals 

shall be made under such terms and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior. Prior to approval of any 

lease or extension of an existing lease pursuant to this section, the 

Secretary of the Interior shall first satisfy himself that adequate 

consideration has been given to the relationship between the use 

of the leased lands and the use of neighboring lands; the height, 

quality, and safety of any structures or other facilities to be constructed on such lands; the availability of police and fire protection 

and other services; the availability of judicial forums for all criminal and civil causes arising on the leased lands; and the effect on 

the environment of the uses to which the leased lands will be subject. 

Æ 


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