I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1823

To establish a Presidential commission to determine and evaluate the validity

of certain land claims arising out of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

of 1848 involving the descendants of persons who were Mexican citizens

at the time of the Treaty.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 10, 2001

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico (for himself, Mr. REYES, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. BACA,

Ms. SANCHEZ, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA ́, Mr.

HINOJOSA, Mr. PASTOR, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, and Mr. UNDERWOOD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To establish a Presidential commission to determine and

evaluate the validity of certain land claims arising out

of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo of 1848 involving

the descendants of persons who were Mexican citizens

at the time of the Treaty.

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty Land Claims Act of 2001’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Definitions and findings.

Sec. 3. Establishment and membership of Commission.

Sec. 4. Examination of land claims.

Sec. 5. Assistance for Commission.

Sec. 6. Miscellaneous powers of Commission.

Sec. 7. Report.

Sec. 8. Termination.

Sec. 9. Authorization of appropriations.

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS AND FINDINGS.

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act:

5 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’

6 means the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty Land Claims

7 Commission established under section 3.

8 (2) TREATY OF GUADALUPE-HIDALGO.—The

9 term ‘‘Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo’’ means the

10 Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement

11 (Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo), between the United

12 States and the Republic of Mexico, signed February

13 2, 1848 (TS 207; 9 Bevans 791).

14 (3) ELIGIBLE DESCENDANT.—The term ‘‘eligi15 ble descendant’’ means a descendant of a person

16 who—

17 (A) was a Mexican citizen before the Trea18 ty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo;

19 (B) was a member of a community land

20 grant; and
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1 (C) became a United States citizen within

2 ten years after the effective date of the Treaty

3 of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, May 30, 1848, pursuant

4 to the terms of the Treaty.

5 (4) COMMUNITY LAND GRANT.—The term

6 ‘‘community land grant’’ means a village, town, set7 tlement, or pueblo consisting of land held in common

8 (accompanied by lesser private allotments) by three

9 or more families under a grant from the King of

10 Spain (or his representative) before the effective

11 date of the Treaty of Cordova, August 24, 1821, or

12 from the authorities of the Republic of Mexico before

13 May 30, 1848, in what became part of the United

14 States, regardless of the original character of the

15 grant.

16 (5) RECONSTITUTED.—The term ‘‘reconsti17 tuted’’, with regard to a valid community land grant,

18 means restoration to full status as a municipality

19 with rights properly belonging to a municipality

20 under State law and the right of local self-govern21 ment.

22 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

23 (1) The western and southwestern portion of

24 the United States has a unique history regarding the

25 acquisition of ownership of land as a result of the
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1 substantial number of Spanish and Mexican land

2 grants that were an integral part of the colonization

3 and growth of the region before the United States

4 acquired the region in the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hi5 dalgo.

6 (2) Various provisions of the Treaty of Guada7 lupe-Hidalgo have not yet been fully implemented in

8 the spirit of Article VI, section 2, of the Constitution

9 of the United States.

10 (3) Serious questions regarding the prior own11 ership of lands in several western and southwestern

12 State, particularly certain public lands, still exist.

13 (4) Congressionally established land claim com14 missions have been used in the past to successfully

15 examine disputed land possession questions.

16 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP OF COMMIS17 SION.

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com19 mission to be known as the ‘‘Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty

20 Land Claims Commission’’.

21 (b) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.—

22 The Commission shall be composed of seven members ap23 pointed by the President by and with the advice and con24 sent of the Senate. At least three of the members of the

25 Commission shall be selected from among persons who are
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1 eligible descendants, including one of whom is a member

2 of an Indian tribe.

3 (c) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed for the

4 life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Commission shall

5 be filled in the manner in which the original appointment

6 was made.

7 (d) COMPENSATION.—Members shall each be entitled

8 to receive the daily equivalent of level V of the Executive

9 Schedule for each day (including travel time) during which

10 they are engaged in the actual performance of duties vest11 ed in the Commission.

12 SEC. 4. EXAMINATION OF LAND CLAIMS.

13 (a) SUBMISSION OF LAND CLAIMS PETITIONS.—Any

14 three (or more) eligible descendants who are also descend15 ants of the same community land grant may file with the

16 Commission a petition on behalf of themselves and all

17 other descendants of that community land grant seeking

18 a determination of the validity of the land claim that is

19 the basis for the petition.

20 (b) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—To be considered

21 by the Commission, a petition under subsection (a) must

22 be received by the Commission not later than five years

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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1 (c) ELEMENTS OF PETITION.—A petition under sub2 section (a) shall be made under oath and shall contain

3 the following:

4 (1) The names and addresses of the eligible de5 scendants who are petitioners.

6 (2) The fact that the land involved in the peti7 tion was a community land grant at the time of the

8 effective date of the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty.

9 (3) The extent of the community land grant, to

10 the best of the knowledge of the petitioners, accom11 panied with a survey or, if a survey is not feasible

12 to them, a sketch map thereof.

13 (4) The fact that the petitioners reside, or in14 tend to settle upon, the community land grant.

15 (5) All facts known to petitioners concerning

16 the community land grant, together with copies of

17 all papers in regard thereto available to petitioners.

18 (d) PETITION HEARING.—At one or more locations

19 designated by the Commission, the Commission shall hold

20 a hearing upon each petition timely submitted under sub21 section (a), at which hearing all persons having an interest

22 in the land involved in the petition shall have the right,

23 upon notice, to appear as a party.

24 (e) SUBPOENA POWER.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may issue

2 subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of

3 witnesses and the production of any evidence relat4 ing to any petition submitted under subsection (a).

5 (2) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a per6 son refuses to obey a subpoena issued under para7 graph (1), the Commission may apply to a United

8 States district court for an order requiring that per9 son to appear before the Commission to give testi10 mony, produce evidence, or both, relating to the

11 matter under investigation. The application may be

12 made within the judicial district where the hearing

13 is conducted or where that person is found, resides,

14 or transacts business. Any failure to obey the order

15 of the court may be punished by the court as civil

16 contempt.

17 (3) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The subpoenas

18 of the Commission shall be served in the manner

19 provided for subpoenas issued by a United States

20 district court under the Federal Rules of Civil Pro21 cedure for the United States district courts.

22 (4) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of any

23 court to which application is to be made under para24 graph (2) may be served in the judicial district in
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1 which the person required to be served resides or

2 may be found.

3 (f) DECISION.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—On the basis of the facts

5 contained in a petition submitted under subsection

6 (a), the hearing held with regard to the petition, and

7 such other information as the Commission considers

8 appropriate, the Commission shall determine the va9 lidity of the community land grant described in the

10 petition.

11 (2) RECOMMENDED RELIEF.—In the case of a

12 petition determined to be valid, the decision of the

13 Commission under paragraph (1) shall include the

14 Commission’s recommendations regarding the appro15 priate relief that should be provided to the peti16 tioner, including whether the community land grant

17 should be reconstituted and its lands restored.

18 (g) PROTECTION OF NON-FEDERAL PROPERTY.—

19 The decision of the Commission regarding the validity of

20 a petition submitted under subsection (a) shall not affect

21 the ownership, title, or rights of owners of any non-Fed22 eral lands covered by the petition. Any recommendation

23 of the Commission under subsection (f) regarding whether

24 a community land grant should be reconstituted and its

25 lands restored may not address non-Federal lands. In the
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1 case of a valid petition covering lands held in non-Federal

2 ownership, the Commission shall modify any recommenda3 tion for reconstitution of the community land grant to rec4 ommend the substitution of comparable Federal lands in

5 the same State as the State in which the non-federal lands

6 are located.

7 SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE FOR COMMISSION.

8 (a) COMMUNITY LAND GRANT STUDY CENTER.—To

9 assist the Commission in the performance of its activities

10 under section 4, the Commission shall establish a Commu11 nity Land Grant Study Center at the Onate Center in Al12 calde, New Mexico. The Commission shall be charged with

13 the responsibility of directing the research, study, and in14 vestigations necessary for the Commission to perform its

15 duties under this Act.

16 (b) COMPTROLLER GENERAL ASSISTANCE.—At the

17 request of the Commission, the Comptroller General may

18 make available personnel, equipment, and facilities of the

19 General Accounting Office to assist the Commission in

20 performing its activities under section 4. The Commission

21 may review reports previously prepared by the General Ac22 counting Office regarding community land grants and re23 quest an interview with the authors of the reports.
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1 SEC. 6. MISCELLANEOUS POWERS OF COMMISSION.

2 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission

3 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hear4 ings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and

5 receive evidence as the Commission considers appropriate.

6 The Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to

7 witnesses appearing before it.

8 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem9 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the

10 Commission, take any action which the Commission is au11 thorized to take by this section.

12 (c) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES.—The Commis13 sion may accept, use, and dispose of gifts, bequests, or

14 devises of services or property, both real and personal, for

15 the purpose of aiding or facilitating the work of the Com16 mission.

17 (d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

18 States mails in the same manner and under the same con19 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United

20 States.

21 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon

22 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of Gen23 eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim24 bursable basis, the administrative support services nec25 essary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities

26 under this Act.
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1 (f) IMMUNITY.—The Commission is an agency of the

2 United States for the purpose of part V of title 18, United

3 States Code (relating to immunity of witnesses).

4 SEC. 7. REPORT.

5 As soon as practicable after reaching its last decision

6 under section 4, the Commission shall submit to the Presi7 dent and the Congress a report containing each decision,

8 including the recommendation of the Commission regard9 ing whether certain community land grants should be re10 constituted or other relief provided to eligible descendants,

11 so that the Congress may act upon the recommendations.

12 SEC. 8. TERMINATION.

13 The Commission shall terminate on 180 days after

14 submitting its final report under section 7.

15 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 There is authorized to be appropriated $1,900,000

17 for each of the fiscal years 2002 through 2008 for the

18 purpose of carrying out the activities of the Commission

19 and to establish and operate the Community Land Grant

20 Study Center under section 5.

Æ