II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1424 

To clarify the responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior in making 

a determination whether to take off-reservation land into trust for gaming purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2011 

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself and Mr. KYL) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

A BILL 

To clarify the responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior 

in making a determination whether to take off-reservation land into trust for gaming 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 ‘‘Off-Reservation Land 

5 Acquisition Guidance Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. OFF-RESERVATION LAND ACQUISITION GUIDANCE. 

7 (a) DEFINITION OF OFF-RESERVATION LAND.—In 

8 this Act, the term ‘‘off-reservation land’’ means land that 

9 is— 


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1 (1) located outside of, and noncontiguous to, 

2 the reservation of an Indian tribe; 

3 (2) likely to qualify for, result in, or be associ4 ated with the development of an Indian gaming fa5 cility; and 

6 (3) located beyond a reasonable commuting dis7 tance from the reservation of that Indian tribe. 

8 (b) PROCEDURE.—Before determining whether to 

9 take off-reservation land into trust for the benefit of an 

10 Indian tribe under section 5 of the Act of June 18, 1934 

11 (25 U.S.C. 465) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorga12 nization Act’’), the Secretary shall evaluate— 

13 (1) the anticipated benefits to the Indian tribe 

14 associated with taking the off-reservation land into 

15 trust; and 

16 (2) any concerns raised by applicable State and 

17 local governments relating to the acquisition of the 

18 off-reservation land. 

19 (c) EVALUATION.— 

20 (1) BENEFIT TO TRIBE.—In evaluating the an21 ticipated benefits to the Indian tribe of taking a par22 cel of off-reservation land into trust, the Secretary 

23 shall prepare a report that includes an assessment 

24 of— 


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1 (A) the impacts of taking the applicable 

2 off-reservation land into trust on the on-res3 ervation unemployment rate; 

4 (B) the impacts of taking the applicable 

5 off-reservation land into trust on reservation 

6 life and tribal membership if the members, de7 pendents, and descendants of the Indian tribe 

8 relocate to the off-reservation land or adjacent 

9 communities; 

10 (C) the specific on-reservation benefits of 

11 taking the off-reservation land into trust, in12 cluding an assessment of whether on-reserva13 tion jobs will be created and, if so, the quantity 

14 of jobs expected to be created; and 

15 (D) whether the tribal government can ef16 ficiently exercise the governmental and regu17 latory responsibilities of the tribal government 

18 if a gaming facility is constructed on the off19 reservation land. 

20 (2) STATE AND LOCAL CONCERNS.—In evalu21 ating any concerns raised by applicable State and 

22 local governments relating to taking a parcel of off23 reservation land into trust, the Secretary shall pre24 pare a report that includes an assessment of— 


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1 (A) whether the transfer of jurisdiction to 

2 the Indian tribe over the parcel is likely to dis3 rupt established local governmental operations; 

4 (B) potential impacts on real property 

5 taxes and special assessments on adjacent land 

6 and property, including any impact on State 

7 and local governments resulting from the ex8 emption of the parcel from the taxation; 

9 (C) whether the Indian tribe has submitted 

10 intergovernmental agreements necessary to ad11 dress State and local government concerns, in12 cluding agreements regarding law enforcement 

13 jurisdiction on the parcel; 

14 (D) the compatibility of the anticipated use 

15 of the land with the zoning and land use re16 quirements of the applicable State and local 

17 governments; 

18 (E) traffic, noise, and other negative ef19 fects on development associated with, or gen20 erated by, the anticipated use of the land, in21 cluding any impact on local water resources and 

22 water and wastewater infrastructure; and 

23 (F) any potential incompatible use between 

24 the anticipated use of the land and adjacent or 

25 contiguous land zoned or used for— 


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1 (i) national parks; 

2 (ii) national monuments; 

3 (iii) conservation areas; 

4 (iv) national fish and wildlife refuges; 

5 (v) daycare centers; 

6 (vi) schools; 

7 (vii) churches; or 

8 (viii) residential developments. 

9 (d) SUBMISSION FROM INDIAN TRIBE.—The Indian 

10 tribe requesting off-reservation land to be taken into trust 

11 under section 5 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 

12 465) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization 

13 Act’’) shall disclose and submit to the Secretary— 

14 (1) any plan, contract, agreement, or other in15 formation relating to the use, or intended use, of the 

16 off-reservation land by the Indian tribe, along with 

17 written documentation of the plan, contract, or 

18 agreement; 

19 (2) a request for a written opinion from the Of20 fice of Indian Gaming that the off-reservation land 

21 is eligible for gaming; and 

22 (3) any other information the Secretary re23 quires in determining whether to take the off-res24 ervation land into trust for the benefit of the Indian 

25 tribe. 


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1 (e) APPLICABILITY.—The Secretary shall not take 

2 the applicable off-reservation land into trust under section 

3 5 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 45) (commonly 

4 known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’), unless the 

5 Secretary determines that— 

6 (1) the Indian tribe has adequately addressed 

7 the concerns identified in the written assessments 

8 under subsection (c)(2); 

9 (2) the Indian tribe has provided the informa10 tion required under subsection (d); and 

11 (3) the proposed use of the land by the Indian 

12 tribe is compatible with State and local requirements 

13 for planning and zoning and public health and safe14 ty. 

15 SEC. 3. STAY OF DECISIONMAKING. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Unless explicitly required by an 

17 Act of Congress, the Secretary shall not approve any ap18 plication for taking off-reservation land into trust that is 

19 pending on the date of enactment of this Act until the 

20 date on which the Secretary promulgates regulations to 

21 carry out this Act. 

22 (b) FUTURE EFFECT.—All applications for taking 

23 off-reservation land into trust that are pending on the date 


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1 of enactment of this Act shall be subject to the provisions 

2 of the regulations described in subsection (a). 

Æ 


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