I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 458

To provide for the use and distribution of certain funds awarded to the 

Gila River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 29, 2003

Mr. HAYWORTH (for himself and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To provide for the use and distribution of certain funds 

awarded to the Gila River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Gila River Indian Community Judgment Fund Distribu6 tion Act of 2003’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 
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TITLE I—GILA RIVER JUDGMENT FUND DISTRIBUTION 

Sec. 101. Distribution of judgment funds. 

Sec. 102. Responsibility of Secretary; applicable law. 

TITLE II—CONDITIONS RELATING TO COMMUNITY JUDGMENT 

FUND PLANS 

Sec. 201. Plan for use and distribution of judgment funds awarded in Docket 

No. 228. 

Sec. 202. Plan for use and distribution of judgment funds awarded in Docket 

No. 236–N. 

TITLE III—EXPERT ASSISTANCE LOANS 

Sec. 301. Waiver of repayment of expert assistance loans to Gila River Indian 

Community.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) on August 8, 1951, the Gila River Indian 

4 Community filed a complaint before the Indian 

5 Claims Commission in Gila River Pima-Maricopa In6 dian Community v. United States, Docket No. 236, 

7 for the failure of the United States to carry out its 

8 obligation to protect the use by the Community of 

9 water from the Gila River and the Salt River in the 

10 State of Arizona; 

11 (2) except for Docket Nos. 236–C and 236–D, 

12 which remain undistributed, all 14 original dockets 

13 under Docket No. 236 have been resolved and dis14 tributed; 

15 (3) in Gila River Pima-Maricopa Indian Com16 munity v. United States, 29 Ind. Cl. Comm. 144 

17 (1972), the Indian Claims Commission held that the 

18 United States, as trustee, was liable to the Commu-
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1 nity with respect to the claims made in Docket No. 

2 236–C; 

3 (4) in Gila River Pima-Maricopa Indian Com4 munity v. United States, 684 F.2d 852 (1982), the 

5 United States Claims Court held that the United 

6 States, as trustee, was liable to the Community with 

7 respect to the claims made in Docket No. 236–D; 

8 (5) with the approval of the Community under 

9 Community Resolution GR–98–98, the Community 

10 entered into a settlement with the United States on 

11 April 27, 1999, for claims made under Dockets Nos. 

12 236–C and 236–D for an aggregate total of 

13 $7,000,000; 

14 (6) on May 3, 1999, the United States Court 

15 of Federal Claims ordered that a final judgment be 

16 entered in consolidated Dockets Nos. 236–C and 

17 236–D for $7,000,000 in favor of the Community 

18 and against the United States; 

19 (7)(A) on October 6, 1999, the Department of 

20 the Treasury certified the payment of $7,000,000, 

21 less attorney fees, to be deposited in a trust account 

22 on behalf of the Community; and 

23 (B) that payment was deposited in a trust ac24 count managed by the Office of Trust Funds Man25 agement of the Department of the Interior; and 
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1 (8) in accordance with the Indian Tribal Judg2 ment Funds Use or Distribution Act (25 U.S.C. 

3 1401 et seq.), the Secretary is required to submit an 

4 Indian judgment fund use or distribution plan to 

5 Congress for approval. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ADULT.—The term ‘‘adult’’ means an indi9 vidual who—

10 (A) is 18 years of age or older as of the 

11 date on which the payment roll is approved by 

12 the Community; or 

13 (B) will reach 18 years of age not later 

14 than 30 days after the date on which the pay15 ment roll is approved by the Community. 

16 (2) COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘Community’’ 

17 means the Gila River Indian Community. 

18 (3) COMMUNITY-OWNED FUNDS.—The term 

19 ‘‘Community-owned funds’’ means—

20 (A) funds held in trust by the Secretary as 

21 of the date of enactment of this Act that may 

22 be made available to make payments under sec23 tion 101; or 

24 (B) revenues held by the Community 

25 that—
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1 (i) are derived from trust resources; 

2 and 

3 (ii) qualify for an exemption under 

4 section 7 or 8 of the Indian Tribal Judg5 ment Funds Use or Distribution Act (25 

6 U.S.C. 1407, 1408). 

7 (4) IIM ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘IIM account’’ 

8 means an individual Indian money account. 

9 (5) JUDGMENT FUNDS.—The term ‘‘judgment 

10 funds’’ means the aggregate amount awarded to the 

11 Community by the Court of Federal Claims in Dock12 ets Nos. 236–C and 236–D. 

13 (6) LEGALLY INCOMPETENT INDIVIDUAL.—The 

14 term ‘‘legally incompetent individual’’ means an in15 dividual who has been determined to be incapable of 

16 managing his or her own affairs by a court of com17 petent jurisdiction. 

18 (7) MINOR.—The term ‘‘minor’’ means an indi19 vidual who is not an adult.

20 (8) PAYMENT ROLL.—The term ‘‘payment roll’’ 

21 means the list of eligible, enrolled members of the 

22 Community who are eligible to receive a payment 

23 under section 101(a), as prepared by the Community 

24 under section 101(b). 
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1 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Interior. 

3 TITLE I—GILA RIVER JUDGMENT 

4 FUND DISTRIBUTION 

5 SEC. 101. DISTRIBUTION OF JUDGMENT FUNDS. 

6 (a) PER CAPITA PAYMENTS.—Notwithstanding the 

7 Indian Tribal Judgment Funds Use or Distribution Act 

8 (25 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.) or any other provision of law 

9 (including any regulation promulgated or plan developed 

10 under such a law), the amounts paid in satisfaction of an 

11 award granted to the Gila River Indian Community in 

12 Dockets Nos. 236–C and 236–D before the United States 

13 Court of Federal Claims, less attorney fees and litigation 

14 expenses and including all accrued interest, shall be dis15 tributed in the form of per capita payments (in amounts 

16 as equal as practicable) to all eligible enrolled members 

17 of the Community. 

18 (b) PREPARATION OF PAYMENT ROLL.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Community shall pre20 pare a payment roll of eligible, enrolled members of 

21 the Community that are eligible to receive payments 

22 under this section in accordance with the criteria de23 scribed in paragraph (2). 

24 (2) CRITERIA.—
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1 (A) INDIVIDUALS ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE

2 PAYMENTS.—Subject to subparagraph (B), the 

3 following individuals shall be eligible to be listed 

4 on the payment roll and eligible to receive a per 

5 capita payment under subsection (a): 

6 (i) All enrolled Community members 

7 who are eligible to be listed on the per cap8 ita payment roll that was approved by the 

9 Secretary for the distribution of the funds 

10 awarded to the Community in Docket No. 

11 236–N (including any individual who was 

12 inadvertently omitted from that roll). 

13 (ii) All enrolled Community members 

14 who are living on the date of enactment of 

15 this Act. 

16 (iii) All enrolled Community members 

17 who died—

18 (I) after the effective date of the 

19 payment plan for Docket No. 236–N; 

20 but 

21 (II) on or before the date of en22 actment of this Act. 

23 (B) INDIVIDUALS INELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE

24 PAYMENTS.—The following individuals shall be 

25 ineligible to be listed on the payment roll and 
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1 ineligible to receive a per capita payment under 

2 subsection (a): 

3 (i) Any individual who, before the 

4 date on which the Community approves the 

5 payment roll, relinquished membership in 

6 the Community. 

7 (ii) Any minor who relinquishes mem8 bership in the Community, or whose parent 

9 or legal guardian relinquishes membership 

10 on behalf of the minor, before the date on 

11 which the minor reaches 18 years of age. 

12 (iii) Any individual who is disenrolled 

13 by the Community for just cause (such as 

14 dual enrollment or failure to meet the eligi15 bility requirements for enrollment). 

16 (iv) Any individual who is determined 

17 or certified by the Secretary to be eligible 

18 to receive a per capita payment of funds 

19 relating to a judgment—

20 (I) awarded to another commu21 nity, Indian tribe, or tribal entity; and 

22 (II) appropriated on or before the 

23 date of enactment of this Act. 

24 (v) Any individual who is not enrolled 

25 as a member of the Community on or be-
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1 fore the date that is 90 days after the date 

2 of enactment of this Act. 

3 (c) NOTICE TO SECRETARY.—On approval by the 

4 Community of the payment roll, the Community shall sub5 mit to the Secretary a notice that indicates the total num6 ber of individuals eligible to share in the per capita dis7 tribution under subsection (a), as expressed in subdivi8 sions that reflect—

9 (1) the number of shares that are attributable 

10 to eligible living adult Community members; and 

11 (2) the number of shares that are attributable 

12 to deceased individuals, legally incompetent individ13 uals, and minors. 

14 (d) INFORMATION PROVIDED TO SECRETARY.—The 

15 Community shall provide to the Secretary enrollment in16 formation necessary to allow the Secretary to establish—

17 (1) estate accounts for deceased individuals de18 scribed in subsection (c)(2); and

19 (2) IIM accounts for legally incompetent indi20 viduals and minors described in subsection (c)(2). 

21 (e) DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

23 the date on which the payment roll is approved by 

24 the Community and the Community has reconciled 

25 the number of shares that belong in each payment 
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1 subdivision described in subsection (c), the Secretary 

2 shall disburse to the Community the funds necessary 

3 to make the per capita distribution under subsection 

4 (a) to eligible living adult members of the Commu5 nity described in subsection (c)(1). 

6 (2) ADMINISTRATION AND DISTRIBUTION.—On 

7 disbursement of the funds under paragraph (1), the 

8 Community shall bear sole responsibility for admin9 istration and distribution of the funds. 

10 (f) SHARES OF DECEASED INDIVIDUALS.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in accord12 ance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary 

13 and in effect as of the date of enactment of this Act, 

14 shall distribute to the appropriate heirs and legatees 

15 of deceased individuals described in subsection (c)(2) 

16 the per capita shares of those deceased individuals. 

17 (2) ABSENCE OF HEIRS AND LEGATEES.—If the 

18 Secretary and the Community make a final deter19 mination that a deceased individual described in sub20 section (c)(2) has no heirs or legatees, the per capita 

21 share of the deceased individual and the interest 

22 earned on that share shall—

23 (A) revert to the Community; and 

24 (B) be deposited into the general fund of 

25 the Community. 
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1 (g) SHARES OF LEGALLY INCOMPETENT INDIVID2 UALS.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall deposit 

4 the shares of legally incompetent individuals de5 scribed in subsection (c)(2) in supervised IIM ac6 counts. 

7 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—The IIM accounts de8 scribed in paragraph (1) shall be administered in ac9 cordance with regulations and procedures established 

10 by the Secretary and in effect as of the date of en11 actment of this Act. 

12 (h) SHARES OF MINORS.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall deposit 

14 the shares of minors described in subsection (c)(2) 

15 in supervised IIM accounts. 

16 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

18 hold the per capita share of a minor described 

19 in subsection (c)(2) in trust until such date as 

20 the minor reaches 18 years of age. 

21 (B) NONAPPLICABLE LAW.—Section 

22 3(b)(3) of the Indian Tribal Judgment Funds 

23 Use or Distribution Act (25 U.S.C. 1403(b)(3)) 

24 shall not apply to any per capita share of a 
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1 minor that is held by the Secretary under this 

2 Act. 

3 (C) DISBURSEMENT.—No judgment funds, 

4 nor any interest earned on judgment funds, 

5 shall be disbursed from the account of a minor 

6 described in subsection (c)(2) until such date as 

7 the minor reaches 18 years of age. 

8 (i) PAYMENT OF ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS NOT LIST9 ED ON PAYMENT ROLL.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—An individual who is not 

11 listed on the payment roll, but is eligible to receive 

12 a payment under this Act, as determined by the 

13 Community, may be paid from any remaining judg14 ment funds after the date on which—

15 (A) the Community makes the per capita 

16 distribution under subsection (a); and 

17 (B) all appropriate IIM accounts are es18 tablished under subsections (g) and (h). 

19 (2) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If insufficient judg20 ment funds remain to cover the cost of a payment 

21 described in paragraph (1), the Community may use 

22 Community-owned funds to make the payment. 

23 (3) MINORS, LEGALLY INCOMPETENT INDIVID24 UALS, AND DECEASED INDIVIDUALS.—In a case in 

25 which a payment described in paragraph (2) is to be 
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1 made to a minor, a legally incompetent individual, or 

2 a deceased individual, the Secretary—

3 (A) is authorized to accept and deposit 

4 funds from the payment in an IIM account or 

5 estate account established for the minor, legally 

6 incompetent individual, or deceased individual; 

7 and 

8 (B) shall invest those funds in accordance 

9 with applicable law. 

10 (j) USE OF RESIDUAL FUNDS.—On request by the 

11 governing body of the Community to the Secretary, and 

12 after passage by the governing body of the Community 

13 of a tribal council resolution affirming the intention of the 

14 governing body to have judgment funds disbursed to, and 

15 deposited in the general fund of, the Community, any 

16 judgment funds remaining after the date on which the 

17 Community completes the per capita distribution under 

18 subsection (a) and makes any appropriate payments under 

19 subsection (i) shall be disbursed to, and deposited in the 

20 general fund of, the Community. 

21 (k) REVERSION OF PER-CAPITA SHARES TO TRIBAL

22 OWNERSHIP.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with the first 

24 section of Public Law 87–283 (25 U.S.C. 164), the 

25 share for an individual eligible to receive a per-cap-
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1 ita share under subsection (a) that is held in trust 

2 by the Secretary, and any interest earned on that 

3 share, shall be restored to Community ownership if, 

4 for any reason—

5 (A) subject to subsection (i), the share 

6 cannot be paid to the individual entitled to re7 ceive the share; and 

8 (B) the share remains unclaimed for the 6-

9 year period beginning on the date on which the 

10 individual became eligible to receive the share. 

11 (2) REQUEST BY COMMUNITY.—In accordance 

12 with subsection (j), the Community may request that 

13 unclaimed funds described in paragraph (1)(B) be 

14 disbursed to, and deposited in the general fund of, 

15 the Community.

16 SEC. 102. RESPONSIBILITY OF SECRETARY; APPLICABLE 

17 LAW. 

18 (a) RESPONSIBILITY FOR FUNDS.—After the date on 

19 which funds are disbursed to the Community under sec20 tion 101(e)(1), the United States and the Secretary shall 

21 have no trust responsibility for the investment, super22 vision, administration, or expenditure of the funds dis23 bursed. 

24 (b) DECEASED AND LEGALLY INCOMPETENT INDI25 VIDUALS.—Funds subject to subsections (f) and (g) of 
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1 section 101 shall continue to be held in trust by the Sec2 retary until the date on which those funds are disbursed 

3 under this Act. 

4 (c) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAW.—Except as oth5 erwise provided in this Act, all funds distributed under 

6 this Act shall be subject to sections 7 and 8 of the Indian 

7 Tribal Judgment Funds Use or Distribution Act (25 

8 U.S.C. 1407, 1408). 

9 TITLE II—CONDITIONS RELAT10 ING TO COMMUNITY JUDG11 MENT FUND PLANS 

12 SEC. 201. PLAN FOR USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF JUDG13 MENT FUNDS AWARDED IN DOCKET NO. 228. 

14 (a) DEFINITION OF PLAN.—In this section, the term 

15 ‘‘plan’’ means the plan for the use and distribution of 

16 judgment funds awarded to the Community in Docket No. 

17 228 of the United States Claims Court (52 Fed. Reg. 

18 6887 (March 5, 1987)), as modified in accordance with 

19 Public Law 99–493 (100 Stat. 1241). 

20 (b) CONDITIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provi21 sion of law, the Community shall modify the plan to in22 clude the following conditions with respect to funds dis23 tributed under the plan: 

24 (1) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAW RELATING

25 TO MINORS.—Section 3(b)(3) of the Indian Tribal 
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1 Judgment Funds Use or Distribution Act (25 

2 U.S.C. 1403(b)(3)) shall not apply to any per capita 

3 share of a minor that is held, as of the date of en4 actment of this Act, by the Secretary. 

5 (2) SHARE OF MINORS IN TRUST.—The Sec6 retary shall hold a per capita share of a minor de7 scribed in paragraph (1) in trust until such date as 

8 the minor reaches 18 years of age. 

9 (3) DISBURSAL OF FUNDS FOR MINORS.—No 

10 judgment funds, nor any interest earned on judg11 ment funds, shall be disbursed from the account of 

12 a minor described in paragraph (1) until such date 

13 as the minor reaches 18 years of age. 

14 (4) USE OF REMAINING JUDGMENT FUNDS.—

15 On request by the governing body of the Commu16 nity, as manifested by the appropriate tribal council 

17 resolution, any judgment funds remaining after the 

18 date of completion of the per capita distribution 

19 under section 101(a) shall be disbursed to, and de20 posited in the general fund of, the Community. 

21 SEC. 202. PLAN FOR USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF JUDG22 MENT FUNDS AWARDED IN DOCKET NO.

23 236–N. 

24 (a) DEFINITION OF PLAN.—In this section, the term 

25 ‘‘plan’’ means the plan for the use and distribution of 
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1 judgment funds awarded to the Community in Docket No. 

2 236–N of the United States Court of Federal Claims (59 

3 Fed. Reg. 31092 (June 16, 1994)). 

4 (b) CONDITIONS.—

5 (1) PER CAPITA ASPECT.—Notwithstanding any 

6 other provision of law, the Community shall modify 

7 the last sentence of the paragraph under the heading 

8 ‘‘Per Capita Aspect’’ in the plan to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘Upon request from the Community, any residual 

10 principal and interest funds remaining after the 

11 Community has declared the per capita distribution 

12 complete shall be disbursed to, and deposited in the 

13 general fund of, the Community.’’. 

14 (2) GENERAL PROVISIONS.—Notwithstanding 

15 any other provision of law, the Community shall—

16 (A) modify the third sentence of the first 

17 paragraph under the heading ‘‘General Provi18 sions’’ of the plan to strike the word ‘‘minors’’; 

19 and 

20 (B) insert between the first and second 

21 paragraphs under that heading the following: 

22 ‘‘Section 3(b)(3) of the Indian Tribal Judgment 

23 Funds Use or Distribution Act (25 U.S.C. 

24 1403(b)(3)) shall not apply to any per capita share 

25 of a minor that is held, as of the date of enactment 
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1 of the Gila River Indian Community Judgment 

2 Fund Distribution Act of 2003, by the Secretary. 

3 The Secretary shall hold a per capita share of a 

4 minor in trust until such date as the minor reaches 

5 18 years of age. No judgment funds, or any interest 

6 earned on judgment funds, shall be disbursed from 

7 the account of a minor until such date as the minor 

8 reaches 18 years of age.’’. 

9 TITLE III—EXPERT ASSISTANCE 

10 LOANS 

11 SEC. 301. WAIVER OF REPAYMENT OF EXPERT ASSISTANCE 

12 LOANS TO GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY. 

13 Notwithstanding any other provision of law—

14 (1) the balance of all outstanding expert assist15 ance loans made to the Community under Public 

16 Law 88–168 (77 Stat. 301) and relating to Gila 

17 River Indian Community v. United States (United 

18 States Court of Federal Claims Docket Nos. 228 

19 and 236 and associated subdockets) are canceled; 

20 and 

21 (2) the Secretary shall take such action as is 

22 necessary—

23 (A) to document the cancellation of loans 

24 under paragraph (1); and 
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1 (B) to release the Community from any li2 ability associated with those loans.

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