Union Calendar No. 367

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4653

[Report No. 103–676]

A BILL

To settle Indian land claims within the State of

Connecticut, and for other purposes.

AUGUST 5, 1994

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee

dered to be printedof the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
IB

Union Calendar No. 367

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4653

[Report No. 103–676]

To settle Indian land claims within the State of Connecticut, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 27, 1994

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

Committee on Natural Resources

AUGUST 5, 1994

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 27, 1994]

A BILL

To settle Indian land claims within the State of Connecticut,

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 ‘‘Mohegan Nation of Con5 necticut Land Claims Settlement Act of 1994’’.
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1 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF

2 POLICY.

3 Congress finds and declares that—

4 (1) the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut

5 has been recognized by the United States through the

6 administrative process pursuant to part 83 of title 25

7 of the Code of Federal Regulations;

8 (2) the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut

9 is a successor in interest to the aboriginal entity

10 known as the Mohegan Indian Tribe which has ex11 isted in what is now the State of Connecticut from

12 time immemorial and for which certain lands were

13 sequestered as tribal lands by the Colony and State

14 of Connecticut;

15 (3) there is pending before the United States Dis16 trict Court for the Southern District of Connecticut a

17 lawsuit by the Mohegan Indian Tribe which involves

18 certain lands within the State of Connecticut;

19 (4) the pendency of the lawsuit may result in

20 economic hardships for residents of the State of Con21 necticut by clouding the titles to lands in the State,

22 including lands not now involved in the lawsuit;

23 (5) the State of Connecticut and the Mohegan

24 Tribe have executed agreements for the purposes of re25 solving all disputes between them and settling the
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1 lawsuit, which agreements require implementing leg2 islation by the Congress of the United States;

3 (6) in the agreements described above, the parties

4 provide for the assumption by the State of Connecti5 cut of jurisdiction over offenses by and against mem6 bers of the Mohegan Tribe and other Indians on In7 dian country and to the submission of all gaming-re8 lated development to the jurisdiction of the State of

9 Connecticut State Traffic Commission;

10 (7) the Town of Montville, Connecticut, will be

11 affected by the loss of tax base from, and jurisdiction

12 over, lands taken into trust on behalf of the Tribe and

13 will serve as the host community for the Tribe’s gam14 ing operations;

15 (8) the Town of Montville and the Mohegan

16 Tribe have entered into an agreement to resolve issues

17 extant between them and to establish the basis for a

18 cooperative government-to-government relationship;

19 and

20 (9) Congress shares with the parties to such

21 agreements a desire to settle all Mohegan Indian

22 claims in the State of Connecticut and to remove all

23 clouds on titles resulting from such lawsuits.

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

25 For purposes of this Act, the term—
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1 (1) ‘‘Mohegan Tribe’’ means the Mohegan Tribe

2 of Indians of Connecticut, a tribe of American Indi3 ans recognized by the United States pursuant to part

4 83 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations, and by the

5 State of Connecticut pursuant to Connecticut General

6 Statutes sections 47–59 (a) and (b);

7 (2) ‘‘State of Connecticut’’ means the State of

8 Connecticut, its agencies, political subdivisions, con9 stitutional officers, officials of its agencies and sub10 divisions;

11 (3) ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Inte12 rior;

13 (4) ‘‘Lands or natural resources’’ means any real

14 property or natural resources, or any interest in or

15 right involving any real property or natural resources

16 including, but not limited to, minerals and mineral

17 rights, timber and timber rights, water and water

18 rights, and rights to hunt and fish;

19 (5) ‘‘Lawsuit’’ means the action in the United

20 States District Court for the District of Connecticut,

21 entitled ‘‘Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut v.

22 State of Connecticut, et al.’’, Case No. H77–434;

23 (6) ‘‘State Agreement’’ means that document en24 titled ‘‘Agreement between the Mohegan Tribe and the

25 State of Connecticut’’ executed on May 17, 1994, by
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1 the Governor acting on behalf of the State of Con2 necticut and the Chief of the Mohegan Tribe acting on

3 behalf of the Mohegan Tribe and filed with the Sec4 retary of State of the State of Connecticut;

5 (7) ‘‘Town Agreement’’ means that document ex6 ecuted on June 16, 1994, by the Mayor of the Town

7 of Montville and the Chief of the Mohegan Tribe;

8 (8) ‘‘Transfer’’ includes, but is not limited to,

9 any sale, grant, lease, allotment, partition, or convey10 ance, any transaction the purpose of which was to ef11 fect a sale, grant, lease, allotment, partition, or con12 veyance, or any event or events that resulted in a

13 change of possession or control of lands or natural re14 sources.

15 SEC. 4. FINDINGS BY THE SECRETARY.

16 Section 5 of this Act shall not take effect until the fol17 lowing events have occurred and the Secretary so finds—

18 (1) the State of Connecticut has entered into a

19 binding compact with the Mohegan Tribe providing

20 for Class III tribal gaming operations, in accordance

21 with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C.

22 2701 et seq.), and the compact has received all the

23 Federal approvals required to be fully effective; and

24 (2) title to lands described in Exhibit B to the

25 Agreement has vested in the United States in trust for
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1 the Mohegan Tribe to be used as the Mohegan Tribe’s

2 initial Indian reservation.

3 SEC. 5. APPROVAL OF PRIOR TRANSFERS AND EXTINGUISH4 MENT OF CLAIMS AND ABORIGINAL TITLE IN5 VOLVING THE MOHEGAN TRIBE.

6 (a) If the Secretary finds that the conditions set forth

7 in section 4 of this Act have been satisfied, he shall publish

8 such findings and the State Agreement in the Federal Reg9 ister, and upon such publication:

10 (1) The transfers, waivers, releases,

11 relinquishments, and other commitments made by the

12 Mohegan Tribe in paragraph (1) of its Agreement

13 with the State of Connecticut shall be of full force and

14 effect on the terms and conditions therein stated.

15 (2) The transfers, waivers, releases,

16 relinquishments, and other commitments validated by

17 paragraph (1) of the Agreement and of this section

18 and the transfers and extinguishments approved and

19 validated by subsection (b) (1) and (2) shall be

20 deemed to have been made in accordance with the

21 United States Constitution and all laws of the United

22 States that are specifically applicable to transfers of

23 lands or natural resources from, by, or on behalf of

24 any Indian, Indian nation, or tribe of Indians (in25 cluding but not limited to the Trade and Intercourse
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1 Act of 1790, Act of July 22, 1790, ch. 33, sec. 4, 1

2 Stat. 137, and any amendments thereto and all subse3 quent versions thereof), and Congress does hereby ap4 prove any such transfers effective as of the date of

5 said transfers.

6 (b)(1) All claims to lands within the State of Connecti7 cut based upon aboriginal title by the Mohegan Tribe, or

8 any predecessor or successor in interest, are hereby extin9 guished, as are any and all other claims the Mohegan Tribe

10 might have to any public or private lands or natural re11 sources in Connecticut, such as claims or rights based on

12 recognized title, including but not limited to—

13 (A) any claim the Mohegan Tribe might have to

14 the tribal sequestered lands bounded out to the Tribe

15 in 1684, consisting of some 20,480 acres lying be16 tween the Thames River, New London bounds, Nor17 wich bounds, and Colchester bounds;

18 (B) any claim the Mohegan Tribe might have

19 based on a survey under the authority of the Con20 necticut General Assembly in 1736 of lands reserved

21 and sequestered by the General Assembly for the sole

22 use and improvement of the Mohegan Indian Tribe;

23 and

24 (C) any claim the Mohegan Tribe might have

25 based on any action by the State in 1860, 1861, or
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1 otherwise to allot, reallot, and/or confirm any lands

2 of the Mohegan Tribe to individual Indians or other

3 persons. Any transfer of lands or natural resources lo4 cated anywhere within the State of Connecticut in5 cluding, but not limited to, transfers pursuant to the

6 statute or treaty of or with any State or the United

7 States, by, from, or on behalf of the Mohegan Tribe,

8 or any predecessor or successor in interest, shall be

9 deemed to be in full force and effect, as provided in

10 subsection (a)(2): Provided, however, That nothing

11 herein shall be construed as extinguishing any ab12 original right, title, interest, or claim to lands or nat13 ural resources solely to the extent of the rights or in14 terests defined as ‘‘excepted interests’’ in paragraph

15 1a of the Agreement between the Mohegan Tribe and

16 the State of Connecticut.

17 (2) By virtue of the approval of a transfer of lands

18 or natural resources effected by this section, or an extin19 guishment of aboriginal title effected thereby, all claims

20 against the United States, any State or subdivision thereof,

21 or any other person or entity, by the Mohegan Tribe, aris22 ing subsequent to the transfer and based upon any interest

23 in or right involving the claims described in paragraph (1)

24 above in lands or natural resources, including, but not lim25 ited to, claims for trespass damages or claims for use and
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1 occupancy, shall be regarded as extinguished as of the date

2 of the transfer, provided that this limitation shall not apply

3 to any interest in lands or natural resources subsequently

4 and lawfully acquired by the Mohegan Tribe or its mem5 bers.

6 (c) No provision of this section shall be construed to

7 offset or eliminate the personal claim of any individual In8 dian which is pursued under any law of general applicabil9 ity that protects Indians as well as non-Indians.

10 SEC. 6. CONVEYANCE OF LANDS TO THE UNITED STATES IN

11 TRUST FOR THE MOHEGAN TRIBE.

12 (a) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and di13 rected to accept the conveyance of title to lands described

14 in Exhibits A and B of the State Agreement to be taken

15 in the name of the United States of America in trust for

16 the use and benefit of the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Con17 necticut. The lands shall be the Mohegan Tribe’s Initial In18 dian reservation.

19 (b) With regard to any tracts of land subject to Exhibit

20 B of the State Agreement but not specifically identified

21 therein, the Secretary shall consult with the Town of

22 Montville with respect to the impact on the Town resulting

23 from the removal of the land from the tax rolls and jurisdic24 tional problems and potential conflicts of land use which

25 may arise. With respect to all lands not subject to Exhibits
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1 A and B of the State Agreement, nothing in this Act shall

2 diminish or otherwise affect the Town’s rights under appli3 cable law to participate in the decisionmaking process on

4 trust acquisition requests involving these lands.

5 SEC. 7. ASSUMPTION BY STATE OF JURISDICTION OVER

6 CRIMES AND MOTOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC.

7 (a) The consent of the United States is hereby given

8 to the State of Connecticut to assume by affirmative legisla9 tion jurisdiction over offenses committed by or against Indi10 ans on the Mohegan Indian reservation or Indian country

11 owned by the Mohegan tribe or its members. Such jurisdic12 tion shall be to the same extent that the State has over such

13 offenses committed elsewhere within the State, and the

14 criminal laws of the State shall have the same force within

15 such reservation and Indian country as they have elsewhere

16 in the State.

17 (b) Notwithstanding other provisions of Federal law,

18 including but not limited to title IV of Public Law 90–

19 284 (25 U.S.C. 1321–1326) the Mohegan Tribe of Indians

20 agrees to and consents to the assumption of jurisdiction by

21 the State of Connecticut State Traffic Commission over all

22 gaming-related traffic control matters to the same extent as

23 the State Traffic Commission has jurisdiction over traffic

24 control within the State of Connecticut as set out in chapter

25 249 of the Connecticut General Statutes, sections 14–297
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1 to 14–314C. The Congress consents to this assumption of

2 traffic control jurisdiction by the State of Connecticut.

3 SEC. 8. GENERAL DISCHARGE AND RELEASE OF STATE OF

4 CONNECTICUT.

5 Except as expressly provided herein and in the State

6 Agreement and the Town Agreement, this Act shall con7 stitute a general discharge and release of all obligations of

8 the State of Connecticut and all of its political subdivisions,

9 agencies, departments, and all of the officers or employees

10 thereof arising from any treaty or agreement with, or on

11 behalf of the Tribe of the United Sates as trustee therefor.

12 SEC. 9. REVOCATION OF STATE AGREEMENT.

13 In the event that, within 15 years of the date of the

14 publication of the notice required by section 5(a), the Agree15 ment between the Mohegan Tribe and the State of Connecti16 cut is invalidated, or if the gaming compact provided in

17 section 4(1) of this Act, or any implementing agreements

18 between the parties thereto, is invalidated by a court of com19 petent jurisdiction, the transfers, waivers, releases,

20 relinquishments and other commitments made by the Mohe21 gan Tribe in paragraph 1a of the State Agreement shall

22 no longer be of any force or effect, section 5 of this Act shall

23 be inapplicable to the lands, interests in lands or natural

24 resources of the Mohegan Tribe and its members as if never

25 enacted, and the approvals of prior transfers and the extin-
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1 guishment of claims and aboriginal title of the Mohegan

2 Tribe otherwise effected by section 5 shall be void ab initio.

3 In any such event, the Mohegan Tribe shall have the right

4 to reinstate its land claim within a reasonable time, which

5 period shall be defined as the later of 6 months after the

6 Mohegan Tribe receives written notice of such determina7 tion, or if appealed, 6 months after entry of judgment by

8 the court of last resort, and, if the suit is reinstated within

9 that time, no defense, such as laches, statute of limitations,

10 law of the case, res judicata, or prior disposition shall be

11 asserted based on the withdrawal of the lawsuit and com12 mencement of the resumed litigation, nor shall the substance

13 of discussions leading to the State Agreement be admissible

14 in any subsequent litigation: Provided, however, That if

15 any such suit is reinstated, any defense which would have

16 been available to the State of Connecticut at the time the

17 lawsuit was withdrawn may be asserted, and is not waived

18 by anything in the State Agreement or by subsequent events

19 occurring between the withdrawal of the lawsuit and com20 mencement of the resumed litigation. In the event that any

21 suit challenging the validity of the State Agreement, the

22 gaming compact provided in section 4 of this Act, or any

23 implementing agreements between the parties thereto, is

24 pending in any court of competent jurisdiction on the date

25 that the Mohegan Tribe’s rights under this section would
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1 otherwise expire, such rights will be extended for a period

2 not to exceed 6 months from the date the Mohegan Tribe

3 receives notice of a final determination in such suit or, if

4 an appeal is filed, 6 months after entry of judgment by the

5 court of last resort.

6 SEC. 10. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

7 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any ac8 tion to contest the constitutionality of this Act or the valid9 ity of any agreement entered into under the authority of

10 this Act or approved by this Act shall be barred unless the

11 complaint is filed within 180 days after the date of enact12 ment of this Act. Exclusive jurisdiction over any such ac13 tion is hereby vested in the United States District Court

14 for the District of Connecticut.

15 SEC. 11. RATIFICATION OF TOWN AGREEMENT.

16 Notwithstanding any other provision of law—

17 (1) the Mohegan Tribe is authorized to make

18 payments to the town of Montville according to the

19 terms of the Town Agreement, subject to modification

20 by mutual agreement of the parties; and

21 (2) the Secretary is authorized and directed to

22 approve that Agreement, thereby giving full force and

23 effect to its provisions, and to approve future modi24 fications mutually agreed to by the parties.
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Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to settle certain Indian land claims within the State of Connecticut,

and for other purposes.’’.

HR 4653 RH——2