In the Senate of the United States,
October 12 (legislative day, October 2), 1998.
Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representa-
tives (H.R. 700) entitled ‘‘An Act to remove the restriction
on the distribution of certain revenues from the Mineral
Springs parcel to certain members of the Agua Caliente Band
of Cahuilla Indians.’’, do pass with the following
AMENDMENT:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) among its purposes, the Act entitled ‘‘An Act
to provide for the equalization of allotments on the
Agua Caliente (Palm Springs) Reservation in Cali-
fornia, and for other purposes’’, approved September
21, 1959, commonly known as the ‘‘Agua Caliente
Equalization Act of 1959’’ (25 U.S.C. 951 et seq.) (re-
ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Act’’) was intended
to provide for a reasonable degree of equalization of
HR 700 EAS
the value of allotments made to members of the Agua
Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians;
(2) the Act was enacted in response to litigation
in Federal courts in Segundo, et al. v. United States,
123 F. Supp. 554 (1954);
(3) the case referred to in paragraph (2) was ap-
pealed under the case name United States v. Pierce,
235 F. 2d 885 (1956) and that case affirmed the enti-
tlement of certain members of the Band to allotments
of approximately equal value to lands allotted to other
members of the Band;
(4)(A) to achieve the equalization referred to in
paragraph (3), section 3 of the Act (25 U.S.C. 953)
provided for the allotment or sale of all remaining
tribal lands, with the exception of several specifically
designated parcels, including 2 parcels in the Mineral
Springs area known as parcel A and parcel B;
(B) section 3 of the Act restricted the distribu-
tion of any net rents, profits, or other revenues de-
rived from parcel B to members of the Band and their
heirs entitled to equalization of the value of the allot-
ments of those members;
(C) from 1959 through 1984, each annual budget
of the Band, as approved by the Bureau of Indian Af-
fairs, provided for expenditure of all revenues derived
HR 700 EAS
from both parcel A and parcel B solely for tribal gov-
ernmental purposes; and
(D) as a result of the annual budgets referred to
in subparagraph (C), no net revenues from parcel B
were available for distribution to tribal members enti-
tled to equalization under section 3 of the Act referred
to in paragraph (1);
(5) by letter of December 6, 1961, the Director of
the Sacramento Area Office of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs informed the regional solicitor of the Bureau
of Indian Affairs that the equalization of allotments
on the Agua Caliente Reservation with respect to
those members of the Band who were eligible for
equalization had been completed using all available
excess tribal land in a manner consistent with—
(A) the decree of the court in the case re-
ferred to in paragraph (2); and
(B) the Act;
(6) in 1968, the files of the Department of the
Interior with respect to the case referred to in para-
graph (3), the closure of which was contingent upon
completion of the equalization program, were retired
to the Federal Record Center, where they were subse-
quently destroyed;
HR 700 EAS
(7) on March 16, 1983, the Secretary of the Inte-
rior published notice in the Federal Register that full
equalization had been achieved within the meaning of
section 7 of the Act (25 U.S.C. 957);
(8) section 7 of the Act states that ‘‘allotments in
accordance with the provisions of this Act shall be
deemed complete and full equalization of allotments
on the Agua Caliente Reservation’’; and
(9) the regulations governing the equalization of
allotments under the Act referred to in paragraph (1)
were rescinded by the Secretary, effective March 31,
1983.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) BAND.—The term ‘‘Band’’ means the Agua
Caliente Band.
(2) PARCEL B.—The term ‘‘parcel B’’ means the
parcel of land in the Mineral Springs area referred
to as ‘‘parcel B’’ in section 3(b) of the Act entitled
‘‘An Act to provide for the equalization of allotments
on the Agua Caliente (Palm Springs) Reservation in
California, and for other purposes’’, approved Sep-
tember 21, 1959, commonly known as the ‘‘Agua
Caliente Equalization Act of 1959’’ (25 U.S.C.
953(b)).
HR 700 EAS
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 3. EQUALIZATION OF ALLOTMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The full equalization of allotments
within the meaning of section 7 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act
to provide for the equalization of allotments on the Agua
Caliente (Palm Springs) Reservation in California, and for
other purposes’’, approved September 21, 1959, commonly
known as the ‘‘Agua Caliente Equalization Act of 1959’’
(25 U.S.C. 957) is deemed to have been completed.
(b) EXPIRATION OF ENTITLEMENT.—By reason of the
achievement of the full equalization of allotments described
in subsection (a), the entitlement of holders of equalized al-
lotments to distribution of net revenues from parcel B under
section 3(b) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the
equalization of allotments on the Agua Caliente (Palm
Springs) Reservation in California, and for other pur-
poses’’, approved September 21, 1959, commonly known as
the ‘‘Agua Caliente Equalization Act of 1959’’ (25 U.S.C.
953(b)) shall be deemed to have expired.
SEC. 4. REMOVAL OF RESTRICTION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The fourth undesignated paragraph
in section 3(b) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for
the equalization of allotments on the Agua Caliente (Palm
Springs) Reservation in California, and for other pur-
HR 700 EAS
poses’’, approved September 21, 1959, commonly known as
the ‘‘Agua Caliente Equalization Act of 1959’’ (25 U.S.C.
953(b)), is amended by striking ‘‘east: Provided,’’ and all
that follows through the end of the paragraph and inserting
‘‘east.’’.
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub-
section (a) shall apply as if this section had been enacted
on March 31, 1983.
(c) SUBSEQUENT DISTRIBUTIONS.—Any per capita
distribution of tribal revenues of the Band made after the
date of enactment of this Act shall be made to all members
of the Band in equal amounts.
Attest:
Secretary.