59–006 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 110–274 

TO AUTHORIZE THE COQUILLE INDIAN TRIBE OF THE 

STATE OF OREGON TO CONVEY LAND AND INTERESTS 

IN LAND OWNED BY THE TRIBE 

JULY 30, 2007.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. RAHALL, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 2863] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 2863) to authorize the Coquille Indian Tribe of the State 

of Oregon to convey land and interests in land owned by the Tribe, 

having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an 

amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. LAND AND INTERESTS OF COQUILLE INDIAN TRIBE, OREGON. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b), (c), and (d) notwithstanding any other 

provision of law (including regulations), the Coquille Indian Tribe of the State of Oregon (including any agent or instrumentality of the Tribe) (referred to in this section 

as the ‘‘Tribe’’), may transfer, lease, encumber, or otherwise convey, without further 

authorization or approval, all or any part of the Tribe’s interest in any real property 

that is not held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe. 

(b) NONAPPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN CONVEYANCES.—Subsection (a) shall not apply 

with respect to any transfer, encumbrance, lease, or other conveyance of any land 

or interest in land of the Tribe that occurred before January 1, 2007. 

(c) EFFECT OF SECTION.—Nothing in this section is intended to authorize the Tribe 

to transfer, lease, encumber, or otherwise convey, any lands, or any interest in any 

lands, that are held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe. 

(d) LIABILITY.—The United States shall not be held liable to any party (including 

the Tribe or any agent or instrumentality of the Tribe) for any term of, or any loss 

resulting from the term of any transfer, lease, encumbrance, or conveyance of land 

made pursuant to this Act unless the United States or an agent or instrumentality 

of the United States is a party to the transaction or the United States would be 

liable pursuant to any other provision of law. This subsection shall not apply to land 

transferred or conveyed by the Tribe to the United States to be held in trust for 

the benefit of the Tribe. 


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PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 2863 is to authorize the Coquille Indian 

Tribe of the State of Oregon to convey land and interests in land 

owned by the Tribe. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Coquille Indian Tribe is located near the eastern shore of 

Coos Bay in southwest Oregon. The Tribe’s land base consists of 

approximately 6,400 acres of trust land and 200 acres of fee land 

located in Coos, Curry, Lane, Douglas, and Jackson Counties. 

In 1992, the Tribe established the Coquille Economic Development Corporation (CEDCO) to engage in economic development 

ventures on behalf of the Tribe. One of CEDCO’s projects is the development of the 55-acre KoKwel Wharf project. It will include a 

warehouse-style store, which will be surrounded by more than 

150,000 square feet of retail shops, restaurants, and entertainment 

venues as well as a bay-front walkway that will connect to the City 

of North Bend’s urban renewal project. The estimated cost of the 

project is approximately $50 million. The project is supported by 

the Coquille Tribe, the City of North Bend, and other local government and business leaders. 

Home Depot, the proposed anchor tenant, is planning a $17 million investment and a 130,000 square foot facility as part of the 

project. But CEDCO and Home Depot’s efforts are impeded by the 

Non-Intercourse Act. Home Depot will not agree to sign a commercial lease without Congressional approval. Rather than amend the 

Non-Intercourse Act, this bill authorizes the Tribe to convey land 

and interests in land thereby allowing the Tribe to lease property 

to Home Depot and other potential tenants. Because the land will 

continue to be held in fee, gaming may not be conducted on this 

land. 

Non-Intercourse Act (25 U.S.C. § 177) 

Originally enacted in 1790, the Non-Intercourse Act reserves to 

the United States the exclusive right to acquire Indian lands. The 

Act was intended to protect Indian tribes by preventing the loss of 

their lands, except by treaty. It does so by preventing the transfer, 

sale, lease, or other conveyance of land owned by an Indian tribe 

to third parties without federal approval. This prohibition applies 

to both trust and fee lands, regardless of the source of money used 

to obtain the lands. Finally, the Department of the Interior does 

not have the authority to administratively waive the Non-Intercourse Act. 

Legislative history 

H.R. 2863 was introduced by Representative DeFazio (D–OR) on 

June 26, 2007 and was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. A Senate companion bill, S.1286, was introduced by 

Senator Smith (R–OR) on May 3, 2007 and referred to the Senate 

Committee on Indian Affairs. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 2863 was introduced on June 26, 2007 by Representative 

DeFazio (D–OR). The bill was referred to the Committee on NatVerDate Aug 31 2005 11:03 Aug 02, 2007 Jkt 059006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR274.XXX HR274

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ural Resources. On July 11, 2007, the full Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on H.R. 2863, at which the Department of 

the Interior testified in support of the measure with some recommended changes. On July 18, 2007, the full Committee met to 

consider the bill. Representative DeFazio (D–OR) offered an 

amendment to incorporate the changes suggested by the Department of the Interior. It clarifies that trust lands may not be transferred, leased, encumbered, or otherwise conveyed pursuant to this 

Act. The amendment also provides that the federal government will 

not be liable for transactions between the Tribe and third parties, 

unless otherwise liable under another provision of law. It was 

adopted by unanimous consent. The bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Land and interests of Coquille Indian Tribe, Oregon 

Section 1 provides that the Tribe may transfer, lease, encumber, 

or otherwise convey land, or any interest in land, not held in trust 

by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe. This Act does not 

apply to any transfer, encumbrance, lease, or other conveyance of 

any land or interest in land of the Tribe that occurred before January 1, 2007. Lastly, this section provides that the United States 

will not be responsible for losses resulting from transactions made 

pursuant to this Act between the Tribe and third parties, unless 

otherwise liable under another provision of law. The limitation on 

liability also does not apply to any lands transferred by the Tribe 

to the United States to be held in trust for the benefit of the Tribe. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United States 

grants Congress the authority to enact this bill. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of 

the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) of that rule provides 

that this requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) of rule 

XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 

308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this bill does not 

contain any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. 


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3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does not 

authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the 

Rules of the House of Representatives does not apply. 

4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 

3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 

section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 2863—A bill to authorize the Coquille Indian Tribe of the state 

of Oregon to convey land and interests in land owned by the 

tribe 

H.R. 2863 would authorize the Coquille Indian Tribe to lease or 

convey, without the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, any 

land or interest in land owned by the Tribe and not held in trust 

by the Untied States. Based on information from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, CBO estimates that implementing this bill would 

have no significant effect on the federal budget. 

The tribe purchased about 50 acres of land in North Bend, Oregon, to lease or sell the property for retail development. Currently, 

the Non-Intercourse Act prohibits the conveyance of an interest in 

land from an Indian tribe without approval by the Secretary. However, because of a dispute in the federal courts, it is not clear 

whether the land specified under the bill would be subject to this 

prohibition. 

H.R. 2863 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

The staff contact for this estimate is Leigh Angres. The estimate 

was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for 

Budget Analysis. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

H.R. 2863 does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e) 

or 9(f) of rule XXI. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing law. 

Æ 


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