I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 993 
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 
FEBRUARY 11, 2009 
Mr. LUJA´N introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Natural 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty Land Claims Act of 2009’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
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Sec. 1. Short title and 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. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS AND FINDINGS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act: 
(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty Land Claims 
Commission established under section 3. 
(2) TREATY
OF
GUADALUPE-HIDALGO.—The 
term ‘‘Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo’’ means the 
Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement 
(Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo), between the United 
States and the Republic of Mexico, signed February 
2, 1848 (TS 207; 9 Bevans 791). 
(3) ELIGIBLE DESCENDANT.—The term ‘‘eligi-
ble descendant’’ means a descendant of a person 
who— 
(A) was a Mexican citizen before the Trea-
ty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo; 
(B) was a member of a community land 
grant; and 
(C) became a United States citizen within 
ten years after the effective date of the Treaty 
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of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, May 30, 1848, pursuant 
to the terms of the Treaty. 
(4) COMMUNITY
LAND
GRANT.—The term 
‘‘community land grant’’ means a village, town, set-
tlement, or pueblo consisting of land held in common 
(accompanied by lesser private allotments) by three 
or more families under a grant from the King of 
Spain (or his representative) before the effective 
date of the Treaty of Cordova, August 24, 1821, or 
from the authorities of the Republic of Mexico before 
May 30, 1848, in what became part of the United 
States, regardless of the original character of the 
grant. 
(5) RECONSTITUTED.—The term ‘‘reconsti-
tuted’’, with regard to a valid community land grant, 
means restoration to full status as a municipality 
with rights properly belonging to a municipality 
under State law and the right of local self-govern-
ment. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) The western and southwestern portion of 
the United States has a unique history regarding the 
acquisition of ownership of land as a result of the 
substantial number of Spanish and Mexican land 
grants that were an integral part of the colonization 
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and growth of the region before the United States 
acquired the region in the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hi-
dalgo. 
(2) Various provisions of the Treaty of Guada-
lupe-Hidalgo have not yet been fully implemented in 
the spirit of article VI, section 2, of the Constitution 
of the United States. 
(3) Serious questions regarding the prior own-
ership of lands in several western and southwestern 
States, particularly certain public lands, still exist. 
(4) Congressionally established land claim com-
missions have been used in the past to successfully 
examine disputed land possession questions. 
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP OF COMMIS-
SION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com-
mission to be known as the ‘‘Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty 
Land Claims Commission’’. 
(b) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.— 
The Commission shall be composed of seven members ap-
pointed by the President by and with the advice and con-
sent of the Senate. At least three of the members of the 
Commission shall be selected from among persons who are 
eligible descendants, including one of whom is a member 
of an Indian tribe. 
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(c) TERMS.—Each member shall be appointed for the 
life of the Commission. A vacancy in the Commission shall 
be filled in the manner in which the original appointment 
was made. 
(d) COMPENSATION.—Members shall each be entitled 
to receive the daily equivalent of level V of the Executive 
Schedule for each day (including travel time) during which 
they are engaged in the actual performance of duties vest-
ed in the Commission. 
SEC. 4. EXAMINATION OF LAND CLAIMS. 
(a) SUBMISSION OF LAND CLAIMS PETITIONS.—Any 
three (or more) eligible descendants who are also descend-
ants of the same community land grant may file with the 
Commission a petition on behalf of themselves and all 
other descendants of that community land grant seeking 
a determination of the validity of the land claim that is 
the basis for the petition. 
(b) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—To be considered 
by the Commission, a petition under subsection (a) must 
be received by the Commission not later than five years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(c) ELEMENTS OF PETITION.—A petition under sub-
section (a) shall be made under oath and shall contain 
the following: 
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(1) The names and addresses of the eligible de-
scendants who are petitioners. 
(2) The fact that the land involved in the peti-
tion was a community land grant at the time of the 
effective date of the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty. 
(3) The extent of the community land grant, to 
the best of the knowledge of the petitioners, accom-
panied with a survey or, if a survey is not feasible 
to them, a sketch map thereof. 
(4) The fact that the petitioners reside, or in-
tend to settle upon, the community land grant. 
(5) All facts known to petitioners concerning 
the community land grant, together with copies of 
all papers in regard thereto available to petitioners. 
(d) PETITION HEARING.—At one or more locations 
designated by the Commission, the Commission shall hold 
a hearing upon each petition timely submitted under sub-
section (a), at which hearing all persons having an interest 
in the land involved in the petition shall have the right, 
upon notice, to appear as a party. 
(e) SUBPOENA POWER.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may issue 
subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of 
witnesses and the production of any evidence relat-
ing to any petition submitted under subsection (a). 
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(2) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a per-
son refuses to obey a subpoena issued under para-
graph (1), the Commission may apply to a United 
States district court for an order requiring that per-
son to appear before the Commission to give testi-
mony, produce evidence, or both, relating to the 
matter under investigation. The application may be 
made within the judicial district where the hearing 
is conducted or where that person is found, resides, 
or transacts business. Any failure to obey the order 
of the court may be punished by the court as civil 
contempt. 
(3) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The subpoenas 
of the Commission shall be served in the manner 
provided for subpoenas issued by a United States 
district court under the Federal Rules of Civil Pro-
cedure for the United States district courts. 
(4) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of any 
court to which application is to be made under para-
graph (2) may be served in the judicial district in 
which the person required to be served resides or 
may be found. 
(f) DECISION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—On the basis of the facts 
contained in a petition submitted under subsection 
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(a), the hearing held with regard to the petition, and 
such other information as the Commission considers 
appropriate, the Commission shall determine the va-
lidity of the community land grant described in the 
petition. 
(2) RECOMMENDED RELIEF.—In the case of a 
petition determined to be valid, the decision of the 
Commission under paragraph (1) shall include the 
Commission’s recommendations regarding the appro-
priate relief that should be provided to the peti-
tioner, including whether the community land grant 
should be reconstituted and its lands restored. 
(g) PROTECTION OF NON-FEDERAL PROPERTY.— 
The decision of the Commission regarding the validity of 
a petition submitted under subsection (a) shall not affect 
the ownership, title, or rights of owners of any non-Fed-
eral lands covered by the petition. Any recommendation 
of the Commission under subsection (f) regarding whether 
a community land grant should be reconstituted and its 
lands restored may not address non-Federal lands. In the 
case of a valid petition covering lands held in non-Federal 
ownership, the Commission shall modify any recommenda-
tion for reconstitution of the community land grant to rec-
ommend the substitution of comparable Federal lands in 
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the same State as the State in which the non-Federal 
lands are located. 
SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE FOR COMMISSION. 
(a) COMMUNITY LAND GRANT STUDY CENTER.—To 
assist the Commission in the performance of its activities 
under section 4, the Commission shall establish a Commu-
nity Land Grant Study Center at the Onate Center in Al-
calde, New Mexico. The Commission shall be charged with 
the responsibility of directing the research, study, and in-
vestigations necessary for the Commission to perform its 
duties under this Act. 
(b) COMPTROLLER GENERAL ASSISTANCE.—At the 
request of the Commission, the Comptroller General may 
make available personnel, equipment, and facilities of the 
Government Accountability Office to assist the Commis-
sion in performing its activities under section 4. The Com-
mission may review reports previously prepared by the 
Government Accountability Office regarding community 
land grants and request an interview with the authors of 
the reports. 
SEC. 6. MISCELLANEOUS POWERS OF COMMISSION. 
(a) HEARINGS
AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 
may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hear-
ings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and 
receive evidence as the Commission considers appropriate. 
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The Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to 
witnesses appearing before it. 
(b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem-
ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the 
Commission, take any action which the Commission is au-
thorized to take by this section. 
(c) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES.—The Commis-
sion may accept, use, and dispose of gifts, bequests, or 
devises of services or property, both real and personal, for 
the purpose of aiding or facilitating the work of the Com-
mission. 
(d) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 
States mails in the same manner and under the same con-
ditions as other departments and agencies of the United 
States. 
(e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon 
the request of the Commission, the Administrator of Gen-
eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim-
bursable basis, the administrative support services nec-
essary for the Commission to carry out its responsibilities 
under this Act. 
(f) IMMUNITY.—The Commission is an agency of the 
United States for the purpose of part V of title 18, United 
States Code (relating to immunity of witnesses). 
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