Union Calendar No. 457

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1146

[Report No. 103–812]

AN ACT

To provide for the settlement of the water rights

Yavapai County, Arizona, and for other purposes.claims of the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe in

OCTOBER 3, 1994

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitorder to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 457

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1146

[Report No. 103–812]

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 27, 1994

Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

OCTOBER 3, 1994

Reported with an amendment, 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 Senate passed bill, see copy of bill as printed in the House of Representatives on

July 27, 1994]

AN ACT

To provide for the settlement of the water rights claims

of the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe in Yavapai County,

Arizona, 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,
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1 TITLE I—YAVAPAI-PRESCOTT IN2 DIAN TRIBE WATER RIGHTS

3 SETTLEMENT

4 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Yavapai-Prescott

6 Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act of 1994’’.

7 SEC. 102. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS.

8 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

9 (1) it is the policy of the United States, in ful10 fillment of its trust responsibility to the Indian tribes,

11 to promote Indian self-determination and economic

12 self-sufficiency, and to settle, wherever possible, the

13 water rights claims of Indian tribes without lengthy

14 and costly litigation;

15 (2) meaningful Indian self-determination and

16 economic self-sufficiency depend on the development of

17 viable Indian reservation economies;

18 (3) quantification of rights to water and develop19 ment of facilities needed to utilize tribal water sup20 plies effectively is essential to the development of via21 ble Indian reservation economies, particularly in arid

22 western States;

23 (4) on June 7, 1935, and by actions subsequent

24 thereto, the United States established a reservation for
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1 the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe in Arizona adja2 cent to the city of Prescott;

3 (5) proceedings to determine the full extent of

4 Yavapai-Prescott Tribe’s water rights are currently

5 pending before the Superior Court of the State of Ari6 zona in and for Maricopa County, as part of the gen7 eral adjudication of the Gila River system and source;

8 (6) recognizing that final resolution of the gen9 eral adjudication will take many years and entail

10 great expense to all parties, prolong uncertainty as to

11 the full extent of the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe’s entitle12 ment to water and the availability of water supplies

13 to fulfill that entitlement, and impair orderly plan14 ning and development by the Tribe and the city of

15 Prescott; the Tribe, the city of Prescott, the Chino Val16 ley Irrigation District, the State of Arizona and the

17 United States have sought to settle all claims to water

18 between and among them;

19 (7) representatives of the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe,

20 the city of Prescott, the Chino Valley Irrigation Dis21 trict, the State of Arizona and the United States have

22 negotiated a Settlement Agreement to resolve all water

23 rights claims between and among them, and to pro24 vide the Tribe with long term, reliable water supplies
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1 for the orderly development and maintenance of the

2 Tribe’s reservation;

3 (8) pursuant to the Settlement Agreement and

4 the Water Service Agreement, the quantity of water

5 made available to the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe by the

6 city of Prescott and the Chino Valley Irrigation Dis7 trict will be secured, such Agreements will be contin8 ued in perpetuity, and the Tribe’s continued on-res9 ervation use of water for municipal and industrial,

10 recreational and agricultural purposes will be pro11 vided for;

12 (9) to advance the goals of Federal Indian policy

13 and to fulfill the trust responsibility of the United

14 States to the Tribe, it is appropriate that the United

15 States participate in the implementation of the Set16 tlement Agreement and assist in firming up the long17 term water supplies of the city of Prescott and the

18 Yavapai-Prescott Tribe so as to enable the Tribe to

19 utilize fully its water entitlements in developing a di20 verse, efficient reservation economy; and

21 (10) the assignment of the CAP contract of the

22 Yavapai-Prescott Tribe and the CAP subcontract of

23 the city of Prescott is a cost-effective means to ensure

24 reliable, long-term water supplies for the Yavapai25 Prescott Tribe and to promote efficient, environ-
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1 mentally sound use of available water supplies in the

2 Verde River basin.

3 (b) DECLARATION OF PURPOSES.—The Congress de4 clares that the purposes of this title are—

5 (1) to approve, ratify and confirm the Settlement

6 Agreement among the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe, the city

7 of Prescott, the Chino Valley Irrigation District, the

8 State of Arizona and the United States;

9 (2) to authorize and direct the Secretary of the

10 Interior to execute and perform the Settlement Agree11 ment;

12 (3) to authorize the actions and appropriations

13 necessary for the United States to fulfill its legal and

14 trust obligations to the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe as pro15 vided in the Settlement Agreement and this title;

16 (4) to require that expenditures of funds obtained

17 through the assignment of CAP contract entitlements

18 by the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe and Prescott for the ac19 quisition or development of replacement water sup20 plies in the Verde River basin shall not be inconsist21 ent with the goals of the Prescott Active Management

22 Area, preservation of riparian habitat, flows and

23 biota of the Verde River and its tributaries; and

24 (5) to repeal section 406(k) of Public Law 101–

25 628 which authorizes $30,000,000 in appropriations
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1 for the acquisition of land and water resources in the

2 Verde River basin and for the development thereof as

3 an alternative source of water for the Fort McDowell

4 Indian Community.

5 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.

6 For purposes of this title:

7 (1) The term ‘‘CAP’’ means the Central Arizona

8 Project, a reclamation project authorized under title

9 III of the Colorado River Basin Project Act of 1968

10 (43 U.S.C. 1521 et seq.).

11 (2) The term ‘‘CAWCD’’ means the Central Ari12 zona Water Conservation District, organized under

13 the laws of the State of Arizona, which is the contrac14 tor under a contract with the United States, dated

15 December 1, 1988, for the delivery of water and re16 payment of costs of the Central Arizona Project.

17 (3) The term ‘‘CVID’’ means the Chino Valley

18 Irrigation District, an irrigation district organized

19 under the laws of the State of Arizona.

20 (4) The term ‘‘Prescott AMA’’ means the Active

21 Management Area, established pursuant to Arizona

22 law and encompassing the Prescott ground water

23 basin, wherein the primary goal is to achieve balance

24 between annual ground water withdrawals and natu25 ral and artificial recharge by the year 2025.
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1 (5) The term ‘‘Prescott’’ means the city of Pres2 cott, an Arizona municipal corporation.

3 (6) The term ‘‘Reservation’’ means the reserva4 tion established by the Act of June 7, 1935 (49 Stat.

5 332) and the Act of May 18, 1956 (70 Stat. 157) for

6 the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe of Indians.

7 (7) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of

8 the United States Department of the Interior.

9 (8) The term ‘‘Settlement Agreement’’ means that

10 agreement entered into by the city of Prescott, the

11 Chino Valley Irrigation District, the Yavapai-Prescott

12 Indian Tribe, the State of Arizona, and the United

13 States, providing for the settlement of all water

14 claims between and among them.

15 (9) The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Yavapai-Pres16 cott Indian Tribe, a tribe of Yavapai Indians duly

17 recognized by the Secretary.

18 (10) The term ‘‘Water Service Agreement’’ means

19 that agreement between the Yavapai-Prescott Indian

20 Tribe and the city of Prescott, as approved by the

21 Secretary, providing for water, sewer, and effluent

22 service from the city of Prescott to the Yavapai23 Prescott Tribe.
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1 SEC. 104. RATIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.

2 (a) APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—To the

3 extent the Settlement Agreement does not conflict with the

4 provisions of this title, such Agreement is approved, ratified

5 and confirmed. The Secretary shall execute and perform

6 such Agreement, and shall execute any amendments to the

7 Agreement and perform any action required by any amend8 ments to the Agreement which may be mutually agreed

9 upon by the parties.

10 (b) PERPETUITY.—The Settlement Agreement and

11 Water Service Agreement shall include provisions which

12 will ensure that the benefits to the Tribe thereunder shall

13 be secure in perpetuity. Notwithstanding the provisions of

14 section 2103 of the Revised Statutes of the United States

15 (25 U.S.C. 81) relating to the term of the Agreement, the

16 Secretary is authorized and directed to approve the Water

17 Service Agreement with a perpetual term.

18 SEC. 105. ASSIGNMENT OF CAP WATER.

19 The Secretary is authorized and directed to arrange

20 for the assignment of, or to purchase, the CAP contract of

21 the Tribe and the CAP subcontract of the city of Prescott

22 to provide funds for deposit into the Verde River Basin

23 Water Fund established pursuant to section 106.

24 SEC. 106. REPLACEMENT WATER FUND; CONTRACTS.

25 (a) FUND.—The Secretary shall establish a fund to be

26 known as the ‘‘Verde River Basin Water Fund’’ (hereinafter
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1 called the ‘‘Fund’’) to provide replacement water for the

2 CAP water relinquished by the Tribe and by Prescott. Mon3 eys in the Fund shall be available without fiscal year limi4 tations.

5 (b) CONTENT OF FUND.—The Fund shall consist of

6 moneys obtained through the assignment or purchase of the

7 contract and subcontract referenced in section 105, appro8 priations as authorized in section 109, and any moneys re9 turned to the Fund pursuant to subsection (d) of this sec10 tion.

11 (c) PAYMENTS FROM FUND.—The Secretary shall, sub12 sequent to the publication of a statement of findings as pro13 vided in section 112(a), promptly cause to be paid from

14 the Fund to the Tribe the amounts deposited to the Fund

15 from the assignment or purchase of the Tribe’s CAP con16 tract, and, to the city of Prescott, the amounts deposited

17 to the Fund from the assignment or purchase of the city’s

18 CAP subcontract.

19 (d) CONTRACTS.—The Secretary shall require, as a

20 condition precedent to the payment of any moneys pursuant

21 to subsection (c), that the Tribe and Prescott agree, by con22 tract with the Secretary, to establish trust accounts into

23 which the payments would be deposited and administered,

24 to use such moneys consistent with the purpose and intent

25 of section 107, to provide for audits of such accounts, and
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1 for the repayment to the Fund, with interest, any amount

2 determined by the Secretary not to have been used within

3 the purpose and intent of section 107.

4 SEC. 107. EXPENDITURES OF FUNDS.

5 (a) BY THE CITY.—All moneys paid to Prescott for

6 relinquishing its CAP subcontract and deposited into a

7 trust account pursuant to section 106(d), shall be used for

8 the purposes of defraying expenses associated with the inves9 tigation, acquisition or development of alternative sources

10 of water to replace the CAP water relinquished under this

11 title. Alternative sources shall be understood to include, but

12 not be limited to, retirement of agricultural land and acqui13 sition of associated water rights, development of ground

14 water resources outside the Prescott Active Management

15 Area established pursuant to the laws of the State of Ari16 zona, and artificial recharge; except that none of the moneys

17 paid to Prescott may be used for construction or renovation

18 of the city’s existing waterworks or water delivery system.

19 (b) BY THE TRIBE.—All funds paid to the Tribe for

20 relinquishing its CAP contract and deposited into a trust

21 account pursuant to section 106(d), shall be used to defray

22 its water service costs under the Water Service Agreement

23 or to develop and maintain facilities for on-reservation

24 water or effluent use.
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1 (c) NO PER CAPITA PAYMENTS.—No amount of the

2 Tribe’s portion of the Fund may be used to make per capita

3 payments to any member of the Tribe, nor may any amount

4 of any payment made pursuant to section 106(c) be distrib5 uted as a dividend or per capita payment to any constitu6 ent, member, shareholder, director or employee of Prescott.

7 (d) DISCLAIMER.—Effective with the payment of funds

8 pursuant to section 106(c), the United States shall not be

9 liable for any claim or cause of action arising from the use

10 of such funds by the Tribe or by Prescott.

11 SEC. 108. ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.

12 The Secretary, the Tribe and Prescott shall comply

13 with all applicable Federal environmental and State envi14 ronmental and water laws in developing alternative water

15 sources pursuant to section 107(a). Development of such al16 ternative water sources shall not be inconsistent with the

17 goals of the Prescott Active Management Area, preservation

18 of the riparian habitat, flows and biota of the Verde River

19 and its tributaries.

20 SEC. 109. APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZATION AND REPEAL.

21 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap22 propriated to the Fund established pursuant to section

23 106(a):

24 (1) Such sums as may be necessary, but not to

25 exceed $200,000, to the Secretary for the Tribe’s costs
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1 associated with judicial confirmation of the settle2 ment.

3 (2) Such sums as may be necessary to establish,

4 maintain and operate the gauging station required

5 under section 111(e).

6 (b) STATE CONTRIBUTION.—The State of Arizona shall

7 contribute $200,000 to the trust account established by the

8 Tribe pursuant to the Settlement Agreement and section

9 106(d) for uses consistent with section 107(b).

10 (c) REPEAL.—Subsection 406(k) of the Act of Novem11 ber 28, 1990 (Public Law 101–628; 104 Stat. 4487) is

12 repealed.

13 SEC. 110. SATISFACTION OF CLAIMS.

14 (a) WAIVER.—The benefits realized by the Tribe or any

15 of its members under the Settlement Agreement and this

16 title shall constitute full and complete satisfaction of all

17 claims by the Tribe and all members’ claims for water

18 rights or injuries to water rights under Federal and State

19 laws (including claims for water rights in ground water,

20 surface water and effluent) from time immemorial to the

21 effective date of this title, and for any and all future claims

22 of water rights (including claims for water rights in ground

23 water, surface water, and effluent) from and after the effec24 tive date of this title. Nothing in this title shall be deemed
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1 to recognize or establish any right of a member of the Tribe

2 to water on the Tribe’s reservation.

3 (b) WAIVER AND RELEASE.—The Tribe, on behalf of

4 itself and its members, and the Secretary on behalf of the

5 United States, are authorized and required, as a condition

6 to the implementation of this title, to execute a waiver and

7 release, except as provided in subsection (d) and the Settle8 ment Agreement, of all claims of water rights or injuries

9 to water rights (including water rights in ground water,

10 surface water and effluent), from and after the effective date

11 of this title, which the Tribe and its members may have,

12 against the United States, the State of Arizona or any agen13 cy or political subdivision thereof, or any other person, cor14 poration, or municipal corporation, arising under the laws

15 of the United States or the State of Arizona.

16 (c) WAIVER BY UNITED STATES.—Except as provided

17 in subsection (d) and the Settlement Agreement, the United

18 States, in its own right or on behalf of the Tribe, shall not

19 assert any claim against the State of Arizona or any politi20 cal subdivision thereof, or against any other person, cor21 poration, or municipal corporation, arising under the laws

22 of the United States or the State of Arizona based upon

23 water rights or injuries to water rights of the Tribe and

24 its members or based upon water rights or injuries to water
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1 rights held by the United States on behalf of the Tribe and

2 its members.

3 (d) RIGHTS RETAINED.—In the event the waivers of

4 claims authorized in subsection (b) of this section do not

5 become effective pursuant to section 112(a), the Tribe, and

6 the United States on behalf of the Tribe, shall retain the

7 right to assert past and future water rights claims as to

8 all reservation lands.

9 (e) JURISDICTION.—The United States District Court

10 for the District of Arizona shall have original jurisdiction

11 of all actions arising under this title, the Settlement Agree12 ment and the Water Service Agreement, including review

13 pursuant to title 9, United States Code, of any arbitration

14 and award under the Water Service Agreement.

15 (f) CLAIMS.—Nothing in this title shall be deemed to

16 prohibit the Tribe, or the United States on behalf of the

17 Tribe, from asserting or maintaining any claims for the

18 breach or enforcement of the Settlement Agreement or the

19 Water Service Agreement.

20 (g) DISCLAIMER.—Nothing in this title shall affect the

21 water rights or claims related to any trust allotment located

22 outside the exterior boundaries of the reservation of any

23 member of the Tribe.

24 (h) FULL SATISFACTION OF CLAIMS.—Payments made

25 to Prescott under this title shall be in full satisfaction for
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1 any claim that Prescott might have against the Secretary

2 or the United States related to the allocation, reallocation,

3 relinquishment or delivery of CAP water.

4 SEC. 111. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

5 (a) JOINING OF PARTIES.—In the event any party to

6 the Settlement Agreement should file a lawsuit in any Unit7 ed States district court relating only and directly to the

8 interpretation or enforcement of the Settlement Agreement

9 or this title, naming the United States of America or the

10 Tribe as parties, authorization is hereby granted to join the

11 United States of America or the Tribe, or both, in any such

12 litigation, and any claim by the United States of America

13 or the Tribe to sovereign immunity from such suit is hereby

14 waived. In the event Prescott submits a dispute under the

15 Water Service Agreement to arbitration or seeks review by

16 the United States District Court for the District of Arizona

17 of an arbitration award under the Water Service Agree18 ment, any claim by the Tribe to sovereign immunity from

19 such arbitration or review is hereby waived.

20 (b) NO REIMBURSEMENT.—The United States of

21 America shall make no claims for reimbursement of costs

22 arising out of the implementation of the Settlement Agree23 ment or this title against any lands within the Yavapai24 Prescott Indian Reservation, and no assessment shall be

25 made with regard to such costs against such lands.
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1 (c) WATER MANAGEMENT.—The Tribe shall establish

2 a ground water management plan for the Reservation

3 which, except to be consistent with the Water Service Agree4 ment, the Settlement Agreement and this title, will be com5 patible with the ground water management plan in effect

6 for the Prescott Active Management Area and will include

7 an annual information exchange with the Arizona Depart8 ment of Water Resources. In establishing a ground water

9 management plan pursuant to this section, the Tribe may

10 enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ari11 zona Department of Water Resources for consultation. Not12 withstanding any other law, the Tribe may establish a trib13 al water code, consistent with the above-described water

14 management plan, under which the Tribe will manage, reg15 ulate, and control the water resources granted it in the Set16 tlement Act, the Settlement Agreement, and the Water Serv17 ice Agreement, except that such management, regulation

18 and control shall not authorize any action inconsistent with

19 the trust ownership of the Tribe’s water resources.

20 (d) GAUGING STATION.—The Secretary, acting

21 through the Geological Survey, shall establish, maintain

22 and operate a gauging station at the State Highway 89

23 bridge across Granite Creek adjacent to the reservation to

24 assist the Tribe and the CVID in allocating the surface flows
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1 from Granite Creek as provided in the Settlement Agree2 ment.

3 SEC. 112. EFFECTIVE DATE.

4 (a) WAIVERS AND RELEASES.—The waivers and re5 leases required by section 110(b) of this title shall become

6 effective as of the date the Secretary causes to be published

7 in the Federal Register a statement of findings that—

8 (1)(A) the Secretary has determined that an ac9 ceptable party, or parties, have executed contracts for

10 the assignments of the Tribe’s CAP contract and the

11 city of Prescott’s CAP subcontract, and the proceeds

12 from the assignments have been deposited into the

13 Fund as provided in section 106(d); or

14 (B) the Secretary has executed contracts for the

15 acquisition of the Tribe’s CAP contract and the city

16 of Prescott’s CAP subcontract as provided in section

17 106(d);

18 (2) the stipulation which is attached to the Set19 tlement Agreement as exhibit 9.5, has been approved

20 in substantially the form of such exhibit no later than

21 December 31, 1994;

22 (3) the Settlement Agreement has been modified

23 to the extent it is in conflict with this title and has

24 been executed by the Secretary; and
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1 (4) the State of Arizona has appropriated and

2 deposited into the Tribe’s trust account $200,000 as

3 required by the Settlement Agreement.

4 (b) DEADLINE.—If the actions described in paragraphs

5 (1), (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (a) have not occurred

6 by December 31, 1995, any contract between Prescott and

7 the United States entered into pursuant to section 106(d)

8 shall not thereafter be effective, and any funds appropriated

9 by the State of Arizona pursuant to the Settlement Agree10 ment shall be returned by the Tribe to the State of Arizona.

11 SEC. 113. OTHER CLAIMS.

12 (a) OTHER TRIBES.—Nothing in the Settlement Agree13 ment or this title shall be construed in any way to quantify

14 or otherwise adversely affect the land and water rights,

15 claims or entitlements to water of any Arizona Indian tribe,

16 band or community, other than the Tribe.

17 (b) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Nothing in this title shall

18 be construed to affect the water rights or the water rights

19 claims of any Federal agency, other than the Bureau of

20 Indian Affairs on behalf of the Tribe.

21 TITLE II—AUBURN INDIAN

22 RESTORATION

23 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

24 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Auburn Indian Restora25 tion Act’’.
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1 SEC. 202. RESTORATION OF FEDERAL RECOGNITION,

2 RIGHTS, AND PRIVILEGES.

3 (a) FEDERAL RECOGNITION.—Notwithstanding any

4 other provision of law, Federal recognition is hereby ex5 tended to the Tribe. Except as otherwise provided in this

6 title, all laws and regulations of general application to In7 dians or nations, tribes, or bands of Indians that are not

8 inconsistent with any specific provision of this title shall

9 be applicable to the Tribe and its members.

10 (b) RESTORATION OF RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES.—Ex11 cept as provided in subsection (d), all rights and privileges

12 of the Tribe and its members under any Federal treaty, Ex13 ecutive order, agreement, or statute, or under any other au14 thority which were diminished or lost under the Act of Au15 gust 18, 1958 (Public Law 85–671), are hereby restored and

16 the provisions of such Act shall be inapplicable to the Tribe

17 and its members after the date of enactment of this title.

18 (c) FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.—Notwith19 standing any other provision of law and without regard

20 to the existence of a reservation, the Tribe and its members

21 shall be eligible, on and after the date of enactment of this

22 title, for all Federal services and benefits furnished to feder23 ally recognized Indian tribes or their members. In the case

24 of Federal services available to members of federally recog25 nized Indian tribes residing on a reservation, members of
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1 the Tribe residing in the Tribe’s service area shall be deemed

2 to be residing on a reservation.

3 (d) HUNTING, FISHING, TRAPPING, AND WATER

4 RIGHTS.—Nothing in this title shall expand, reduce, or af5 fect in any manner any hunting, fishing, trapping, gather6 ing, or water right of the Tribe and its members.

7 (e) INDIAN REORGANIZATION ACT APPLICABILITY.—

8 The Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.), shall be

9 applicable to the Tribe and its members.

10 (f) CERTAIN RIGHTS NOT ALTERED.—Except as spe11 cifically provided in this title, nothing in this title shall

12 alter any property right or obligation, any contractual

13 right or obligation, or any obligation for taxes levied.

14 SEC. 203. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

15 (a) PLAN FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.—The Sec16 retary shall—

17 (1) enter into negotiations with the governing

18 body of the Tribe with respect to establishing a plan

19 for economic development for the Tribe;

20 (2) in accordance with this section and not later

21 than 2 years after the adoption of a tribal constitu22 tion as provided in section 107, develop such a plan;

23 and
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1 (3) upon the approval of such plan by the gov2 erning body of the Tribe, submit such plan to the

3 Congress.

4 (b) RESTRICTIONS.—Any proposed transfer of real

5 property contained in the plan developed by the Secretary

6 under subsection (a) shall be consistent with the require7 ments of section 104.

8 SEC. 204. TRANSFER OF LAND TO BE HELD IN TRUST.

9 (a) LANDS TO BE TAKEN IN TRUST.—The Secretary

10 shall accept any real property located in Placer County,

11 California, for the benefit of the Tribe if conveyed or other12 wise transferred to the Secretary if, at the time of such con13 veyance or transfer, there are no adverse legal claims on

14 such property, including outstanding liens, mortgages, or

15 taxes owed. The Secretary may accept any additional acre16 age in the Tribe’s service area pursuant to the authority

17 of the Secretary under the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C.

18 461 et seq.).

19 (b) FORMER TRUST LANDS OF THE AUBURN

20 RANCHERIA.—Subject to the conditions specified in this sec21 tion, real property eligible for trust status under this section

22 shall include fee land held by the White Oak Ridge Associa23 tion, Indian owned fee land held communally pursuant to

24 the distribution plan prepared and approved by the Bureau

25 of Indian Affairs on August 13, 1959, and Indian owned
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1 fee land held by persons listed as distributees or dependent

2 members in such distribution plan or such distributees’ or

3 dependent members’ Indian heirs or successors in interest.

4 (c) LANDS TO BE PART OF THE RESERVATION.—Sub5 ject to the conditions imposed by this section, any real prop6 erty conveyed or transferred under this section shall be

7 taken in the name of the United States in trust for the Tribe

8 or, as applicable, an individual member of the Tribe, and

9 shall be part of the Tribe’s reservation.

10 SEC. 205. MEMBERSHIP ROLLS.

11 (a) COMPILATION OF TRIBAL MEMBERSHIP ROLL.—

12 Within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this title,

13 the Secretary shall, after consultation with the Tribe, com14 pile a membership roll of the Tribe.

15 (b) CRITERIA FOR ENROLLMENTS.—(1) Until a tribal

16 constitution is adopted pursuant to section 207, an individ17 ual shall be placed on the membership roll if the individual

18 is living, is not an enrolled member of another federally

19 recognized Indian tribe, is of United Auburn Indian Com20 munity ancestry, possesses at least one-eighth or more of

21 Indian blood quantum, and if—

22 (A) the individual’s name was listed on the Au23 burn Indian Rancheria distribution roll compiled

24 and approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Au25 gust 13, 1959, pursuant to Public Law 85–671;
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1 (B) the individual was not listed on, but met the

2 requirements that had to be met to be listed on, the

3 Auburn Indian Rancheria distribution list compiled

4 and approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Au5 gust 13, 1959, pursuant to Public Law 85–671; or

6 (C) the individual is a lineal descendant of an

7 individual, living or dead, identified in subparagraph

8 (A) or (B).

9 (2) After adoption of a tribal constitution pursuant

10 to section 207, such tribal constitution shall govern member11 ship in the Tribe, except that in addition to meeting any

12 other criteria imposed in such tribal constitution, any per13 son added to the membership roll shall be of United Auburn

14 Indian Community ancestry and shall not be an enrolled

15 member of another federally recognized Indian tribe.

16 (c) CONCLUSIVE PROOF OF UNITED AUBURN INDIAN

17 COMMUNITY ANCESTRY.—For the purpose of subsection (b),

18 the Secretary shall accept any available evidence establish19 ing United Auburn Indian Community ancestry. The Sec20 retary shall accept as conclusive evidence of United Auburn

21 Indian Community ancestry information contained in the

22 Auburn Indian Rancheria distribution list compiled by the

23 Bureau of Indian Affairs on August 13, 1959.
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1 SEC. 206. INTERIM GOVERNMENT.

2 Until a new tribal constitution and bylaws are adopt3 ed and become effective under section 207, the Tribe’s gov4 erning body shall be an Interim Council. The initial mem5 bership of the Interim Council shall consist of the members

6 of the Executive Council of the Tribe on the date of the en7 actment of this title, and the Interim Council shall continue

8 to operate in the manner prescribed for the Executive Coun9 cil under the tribal constitution adopted July 20, 1991, as

10 long as such constitution is not contrary to Federal law.

11 Any new members filling vacancies on the Interim council

12 shall meet the enrollment criteria set forth in section 205(b)

13 and be elected in the same manner as are Executive Council

14 members under the tribal constitution adopted July 20,

15 1991.

16 SEC. 207. TRIBAL CONSTITUTION.

17 (a) ELECTION; TIME AND PROCEDURE.—Upon the

18 completion of the tribal membership roll under section

19 205(a) and upon the written request of the Interim Council,

20 the Secretary shall conduct, by secret ballot, an election for

21 the purpose of adopting a constitution and bylaws for the

22 Tribe. The election shall be held according to section 16 of

23 the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 476), except that absen24 tee balloting shall be permitted regardless of voter residence.

25 (b) ELECTION OF TRIBAL OFFICIALS; PROCEDURES.—

26 Not later than 120 days after the Tribe adopts a constitu-
25

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1 tion and bylaws under subsection (a), the Secretary shall

2 conduct an election by secret ballot for the purpose of elect3 ing tribal officials as provided in such tribal constitution.

4 Such election shall be conducted according to the procedures

5 specified in subsection (a) except to the extent that such pro6 cedures conflict with the tribal constitution.

7 SEC. 208. DEFINITIONS.

8 For purposes of this title:

9 (1) The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the United Auburn

10 Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria of Cali11 fornia.

12 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of

13 the Interior.

14 (3) The term ‘‘Interim Council’’ means the gov15 erning body of the Tribe specified in section 206.

16 (4) The term ‘‘member’’ means those persons

17 meeting the enrollment criteria under section 205(b).

18 (5) The term ‘‘State’’ means the State of Califor19 nia.

20 (6) The term ‘‘reservation’’ means those lands ac21 quired and held in trust by the Secretary for the bene22 fit of the Tribe pursuant to section 204.

23 (7) The term ‘‘service area’’ means the counties

24 of Placer, Nevada, Yuba, Sutter, El Dorado, and Sac25 ramento, in the State of California.
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1 SEC. 209. REGULATIONS.

2 The Secretary may promulgate such regulations as

3 may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this title.

Passed the Senate July 26 (legislative day, July 20),

1994.

Attest: MARTHA S. POPE,

Secretary.

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