79–010 

Calendar No. 370 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 115–222 

PASCUA YAQUI TRIBE LAND CONVEYANCE ACT 

APRIL 10, 2018.—Ordered to be printed 

Ms. MURKOWSKI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1404] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (H.R. 1404) to provide for the conveyance of certain land inholdings owned by the United States to the Tucson 

Unified School District and to the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona, 

having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 

amendment and recommends that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of H.R. 1404 is to provide for the conveyance of certain land inholdings owned by the United States to the Tucson 

Unified School District (District) and to the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of 

Arizona. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The Pascua Yaqui Reservation is located in southern Arizona, 15 

miles southwest of Tucson. In 1952, the original 40-acre Pascua 

Village was annexed by the City of Tucson. In 1964, Congressman 

Morris K. Udall introduced a bill to transfer 202 acres of desert 

land southwest of Tucson to the Yaquis. The bill was later signed 

into law (Private Law 88–350) and the deed to the land was transferred to the recently formed Pascua Yaqui Association, a nonprofit 

Arizona corporation. 

The reservation was formally established in 1978 under Public 

Law 95–375, which also federally recognized the members of the 

Pascua Yaqui Association as the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. In 1982, the 

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reservation added an additional 690 acres for improving the socioeconomic environment of tribal members with the enactment of 

Public Law 97–386. In the 113th Congress, Public Law 113–134 

placed two 10-acre parcels into trust for the Tribe. 

The Tribe is interested in acquiring 40 acres of land from the 

Tucson Unified School District through a land exchange with the 

District. The tribe intends to use the land for flood control development. The bill is needed because some lands exchanged under H.R. 

1404 were patented to the District in 1981 pursuant to the Recreation and Public Purposes Act (RPPA, 43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.) and 

are restricted only for a school site. A change in land use for RPPApatented land requires an Act of Congress. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 1404 was introduced in the House of Representatives by 

Representative Grijalva on March 7, 2017. The Committee on Natural Resources ordered H.R. 1404 favorably reported by voice vote 

on June 27, 2017. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1404 

by voice vote on July 11, 2017. 

The Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining 

held a hearing on the bill on February 7, 2018. 

In the 114th Congress, similar legislation, H.R. 2009, was introduced by Representative Grijalva in the House of Representatives 

on April 23, 2015, and referred to the Natural Resources Committee. The Subcommittee on Indian, Insular, and Alaska Native 

Affairs held a hearing on November 4, 2015. On March 15, 2016, 

the Natural Resources Committee ordered the bill favorably reported, with amendments, by voice vote. H.R. 2009 was agreed to 

by voice vote in the House of Representatives on June 7, 2016. The 

Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing on H.R. 2009 on September 22, 2016. 

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in 

open business session on March 8, 2018, and ordered H.R. 1404 favorably reported. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 

open business session on March 8, 2018, by a majority voice vote 

of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1404. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

Section 1 provides the short title. 

Section 2. Definitions 

Section 2 provides definitions. 

Section 3. Land to be held in trust 

Section 3 declares 39.65 acres of Federal lands (Parcel A) to be 

held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Pascua 

Yaqui Tribe of Arizona, one day after which the District relinquishes all right, title, and interest to the Parcel. 

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Section 4. Lands to be conveyed to the District 

Section 4(a) conveys 13.24 acres of Federal lands (Parcel B) from 

the United States to the District, subject to valid existing rights 

and payment to the United States of the fair market value. Fair 

market value must be determined by the Secretary in accordance 

with certain appraisal standards, and all conveyance-related costs 

must be paid by the District. 

Subsection (b) also directs the Secretary to convey the reversionary 27.5 acres of Federal lands (Parcel C) to the District, subject to a survey and appraisal by the Secretary, and payment by 

the District of the appraised value and other conveyance-related 

costs. 

Section 5. Gaming prohibition 

Section 5 prohibits gaming activities on lands taken into trust 

pursuant to this Act. 

Section 6. Water rights 

Section 6 states that the Federal government shall reserve no 

rights to surface or groundwater rights for lands taken into trust 

for the benefit of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. The Tribe may retain 

any right or claim to water under Arizona State law for any land 

taken into trust for the benefit of the Tribe. Any water rights that 

are appurtenant to land taken into trust by the United States for 

the benefit of the Tribe under this Act may not be forfeited or 

abandoned. In addition, nothing in this Act affects or modifies any 

right of the Tribe or any obligation of the United States under Public Law 95–375. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of the costs of this measure has been provided by the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 1404 would authorize exchanges of land and related interests among the Pascua Yaqui Indian Tribe in Pima County, Arizona, the Tucson Unified School District, and the federal government. The proposed transactions involve three parcels of land and 

would be contingent on the school district relinquishing its interest 

in nearly 40 acres of land, which the Department of the Interior 

(DOI) would take into trust on behalf of the tribe. In exchange, 

DOI would convey to the school district roughly 13 acres of other 

land and, if requested by the district, the federal government’s reversionary interest in nearly 28 acres of additional land, provided 

that the school district pays DOI the fair market value of such 

lands and interests. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1404 would have no significant effect on the federal budget. Information from DOI indicates 

that any administrative costs incurred under the bill (which would 

be subject to appropriation) would not exceed $500,000 in any year. 

According to DOI, the affected lands currently generate no significant receipts and are not expected to do so over the next 10 years. 

Using information from the Pima County Assessor’s Office about 

the estimated market value of lands and interests that would be 

conveyed to the school district under the bill, CBO estimates that 

any proceeds to the federal government would total less than 

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$500,000. Any such amounts would be recorded as offsetting receipts (or a reduction in direct spending); therefore, pay-as-you-go 

procedures apply. Enacting H.R. 1404 would not affect revenues. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1404 would not increase net 

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

10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

H.R. 1404 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

On July 5, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 1404, 

the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Land Conveyance Act, as ordered reported 

by the House Committee on Natural Resources on June 27, 2017. 

The two versions of H.R. 1404 are similar and CBO’s estimates of 

their costs are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Robert Reese. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

H.R. 1404. The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing Government-established standards or significant economic 

responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of H.R. 1404, as ordered reported. 

CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTED SPENDING

H.R. 1404, as ordered reported, does not contain any congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 

benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided on by the Bureau of Land Management 

at the hearing before the Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests 

and Mining on February 7, 2018, follows: 

STATEMENT OF BRIAN STEED, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR POLICY & PROGRAMS, BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, U.S. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Thank you for the opportunity to present the views of 

the Department of the Interior (Department) on H.R. 1404, 

the Pascua Yaqui Tribe Land Conveyance Act. Under H.R. 

1404, the United States shall hold in trust approximately 

40 acres of land in the Tucson, Arizona area for the benefit 

of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe (Tribe). The bill also authorizes 

the United States to convey approximately 13 acres of currently unencumbered public lands and a reversionary interest of approximately 27 acres to the Tucson Unified 

School District (District) at fair market value. 

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It should be generally noted that Secretary Zinke is opposed to the wide-scale sale or transfer of Federal lands; 

however, there are unique situations of this nature where 

limited land transfers may be appropriate. In this case, 

the Department supports H.R. 1404 because we recognize 

the Tribal and local community benefits that may result 

from the bill. We would, however, like the opportunity to 

work further with the sponsor and the Subcommittee regarding the survey provision. 

BACKGROUND

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe’s lands are located in Pima 

County, near Tucson, Arizona, and include a combination 

of lands held in trust by the United States and lands purchased and held in fee by the Tribe. The District has historically operated the Hohokam School on lands nearby 

and adjacent to the tribal lands. The District currently 

holds two parcels of land under separate Recreation and 

Public Purposes Act (R&PP) patents totaling approximately 67 acres, in which the United States holds reversionary interests enforceable under the R&PP Act. This 

land consists of a tract of approximately 27 acres on which 

the Hohokam School currently sits and another tract of approximately 40 acres that is currently undeveloped. The 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) also manages an 

unencumbered tract of approximately 13 acres located between the two parcels patented to the District that have 

been identified as potentially suitable for disposal in the 

current Phoenix District Resource Management Plan. 

H.R. 1404

H.R. 1404 declares that approximately 40 acres of land, 

designated in the bill as ‘‘Parcel A’’ will be held in trust 

for the benefit of the Tribe, on the day after the District 

relinquishes all right, title, and interest in the 40 acres 

where the United States holds a reversionary interest. In 

addition, the bill authorizes the United States to convey to 

the District, at fair market value, approximately 13 

unencumbered acres designated in the legislation as ‘‘Parcel B.’’ The bill also authorizes the United States to convey 

to the District, at fair market value, its reversionary interest in approximately 27 acres of land currently patented to 

the District under the R&PP Act and identified as ‘‘Parcel 

C.’’ The United States could convey the reversionary interest in Parcel C if the District submits an offer to the Department to acquire it within a year after the Department 

completes its appraisal. Both conveyances to the District 

are subject to valid existing rights. 

Under the bill, the United States will determine fair 

market value of Parcel B and the Federal reversionary interest in Parcel C in accordance with the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions and the 

Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. The 

District would pay for all costs associated with the conveyances. The Department supports holding Parcel A in trust 

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for the benefit of the Tribe, and does not object to the two 

conveyances authorized by the bill at fair market value. 

The Department recommends that the Office of Valuation 

Services manage the appraisal process. The Office of Valuation Services provides credible, timely, and efficient valuation services to ensure public trust in Federal real property transactions. 

Finally, the Department notes that Parcel B and C 

would require surveys prior to conveyance, and would like 

to work with the Subcommittee on the survey language. 

CONCLUSION

H.R. 1404 provides an opportunity to improve land use 

for both the Tribe and the District on three tracts of land. 

Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I will be glad to 

answer any questions. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by the bill as ordered reported. 

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