Catawba Indian Nation Lands Act

To clarify certain provisions of Public Law 103–116 1. Gaming facility authorized (a) Gaming facility authorized The Catawba Indian Nation (formerly the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina) is authorized to own and operate a gaming facility on the land described in section 2 of this Act, in Cleveland County, North Carolina. (b) Indian Gaming Regulatory Act The facility described in subsection (a) shall operate in accordance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act ( 25 U.S.C. 2701 25 U.S.C. 2719 (c) Land in trust The Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to take the land described in section 2 into trust for the purpose of conducting gaming, on behalf of the Catawba Indian Nation. (d) Rights preserved Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, nothing in this Act shall prevent any party from enforcing all rights, privileges, or prohibitions as contained within the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Land Claims Settlement Act of 1993 ( Public Law 103–116 2. Legal description of land The land subject to this Act is described as follows: Real property in Cleveland County, North Carolina, beginning on a concrete right of way monument having NAD83 NC State Plane Grid Coordinates N: 536550.60 USFT and E: 1292093.25 USFT and being located N 11–18–59 W 637.68’ (Horizontal Ground Distance) from NCGS Dixon 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Catawba Indian Nation Lands Act 2. Application of current law (a) Land in South Carolina Section 14 of the Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina Claims Settlement Act of 1993 ( Public Law 103–116 (b) Land in States other than South Carolina Gaming conducted by the Catawba Indian Nation on land located in States other than the State of South Carolina shall be subject to— (1) the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act ( 25 U.S.C. 2701 (2) sections 1166 through 1168 of title 18, United States Code. 3. Reaffirmation of status and actions (a) Ratification of trust status The action taken by the Secretary of the Interior on July 10, 2020, to place approximately 17 acres of land located in Cleveland County, North Carolina, into trust for the benefit of the Catawba Indian Nation is hereby ratified and confirmed as if that action had been taken under a Federal law specifically authorizing or directing that action. (b) Administration The land placed into trust for the benefit of the Catawba Indian Nation by the Secretary of the Interior on July 10, 2020, shall be— (1) part of the Catawba Reservation and administered in accordance with the laws and regulations generally applicable to land held in trust by the United States for the benefit of an Indian Tribe; and (2) deemed to have been acquired and taken into trust as part of the restoration of land for an Indian Tribe that is restored to Federal recognition pursuant to section 20(b)(1)(B)(iii) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act ( 25 U.S.C. 2719(b)(1)(B)(iii) (c) Effect Nothing in this Act shall— (1) enlarge, impair, or otherwise affect any right or claim of the Catawba Indian Nation to any land or interest in land in existence before the date of enactment of this Act; (2) affect any water right of the Catawba Indian Nation in existence before the date of enactment of this Act; (3) terminate or limit any access in any way to any right-of-way or right-of-use issued, granted, or permitted before the date of enactment of this Act; or (4) alter or diminish the right of the Catawba Indian Nation to seek to have additional land taken into trust by the United States for the benefit of the Catawba Indian Nation. December 9, 2020 Reported with an amendment

Summary: Catawba Indian Nation Lands Act This bill ratifies and confirms the actions of the Department of the Interior to take into trust approximately 17 acres of land in Cleveland County, North Carolina, for the benefit of the Catawba Indian Nation. The land is made part of the Catawba Reservation. The bill allows gaming on the land taken into trust for the tribe.