Title: Lytton Rancheria Homelands Act of 2017
Policy area: Native Americans

Summary:
Lytton Rancheria Homelands Act of 2017
This bill takes into trust for the benefit of the Lytton Rancheria of California certain land owned by the tribe in Sonoma County, California. Land taken into trust is made a part of the tribe's reservation. Gaming is prohibited on this land and in a specified area of Sonoma County.
Gaming is prohibited until March 16, 2037, on land taken into trust for the benefit of the tribe after enactment of this bill.
The memorandum of agreement entered into by the tribe and the county that was approved by the county on March 10, 2015, is not subject to review and approval by the Department of the Interior.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 597 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 597

 To take lands in Sonoma County, California, into trust as part of the 
   reservation of the Lytton Rancheria of California, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 20, 2017

  Mr. Denham introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To take lands in Sonoma County, California, into trust as part of the 
   reservation of the Lytton Rancheria of California, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Lytton Rancheria Homelands Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Lytton Rancheria of California is a federally 
        recognized Indian tribe that lost its homeland after it was 
        unjustly and unlawfully terminated in 1958. The Tribe was 
        restored to Federal recognition in 1991, but the conditions of 
        its restoration have prevented it from regaining a homeland on 
        its original lands.
            (2) Congress needs to take action to reverse historic 
        injustices that befell the Tribe and have prevented it from 
        regaining a viable homeland for its people.
            (3) Prior to European contact there were as many as 350,000 
        Indians living in what is now the State of California. By the 
        turn of the 19th century, that number had been reduced to 
        approximately 15,000 individuals, many of them homeless and 
        living in scattered bands and communities.
            (4) The Lytton Rancheria's original homeland was purchased 
        by the United States in 1926 pursuant to congressional 
        authority designed to remedy the unique tragedy that befell the 
        Indians of California and provide them with reservations called 
        Rancherias to be held in trust by the United States.
            (5) After the Lytton Rancheria lands were purchased by the 
        United States, the Tribe settled on the land and sustained 
        itself for several decades by farming and ranching.
            (6) By the mid-1950s, Federal Indian policy had shifted 
        back towards a policy of terminating Indian tribes. In 1958, 
        Congress enacted the Rancheria Act of 1958 (72 Stat. 619), 
        which slated 41 Rancherias in California, including the Lytton 
        Rancheria, for termination after certain conditions were met.
            (7) On August 1, 1961, the Lytton Rancheria was terminated 
        by the Federal Government. This termination was illegal because 
        the conditions for termination under the Rancheria Act had 
        never been met. After termination was implemented, the Tribe 
        lost its lands and was left without any means of supporting 
        itself.
            (8) In 1987, the Tribe joined three other tribes in a 
        lawsuit against the United States challenging the illegal 
        termination of their Rancherias. A Stipulated Judgment in the 
        case, Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians of the Sugar Bowl 
        Rancheria v. United States, No. C-86-3660 (N.D.Cal. March 22, 
        1991), restored the Lytton Rancheria to its status as a 
        federally recognized Indian tribe.
            (9) The Stipulated Judgment agreed that the Lytton 
        Rancheria would have the ``individual and collective status and 
        rights'' which it had prior to its termination and expressly 
        contemplated the acquisition of trust lands for the Lytton 
        Rancheria.
            (10) The Stipulated Judgment contains provisions, included 
        at the request of the local county governments and neighboring 
        landowners, that prohibit the Lytton Rancheria from exercising 
        its full Federal rights on its original homeland in the 
        Alexander Valley.
            (11) In 2000, approximately 9.5 acres of land in San Pablo, 
        California, was placed in trust status for the Lytton Rancheria 
        for economic development purposes.
            (12) The Tribe has since acquired, from willing sellers at 
        fair market value, property in Sonoma County near the Tribe's 
        historic Rancheria. This property, which the Tribe holds in fee 
        status, is suitable for a new homeland for the Tribe.
            (13) On a portion of the land to be taken into trust, which 
        portion totals approximately 124.12 acres, the Tribe plans to 
        build housing for its members and governmental and community 
        facilities.
            (14) A portion of the land to be taken into trust is being 
        used for viniculture, and the Tribe intends to develop more of 
        the lands to be taken into trust for viniculture. The Tribe's 
        investment in the ongoing viniculture operation has 
        reinvigorated the vineyards, which are producing high-quality 
        wines. The Tribe is operating its vineyards on a sustainable 
        basis and is working toward certification of sustainability.
            (15) No gaming shall be conducted on the lands to be taken 
        into trust by this Act.
            (16) No gaming shall be conducted on any lands taken into 
        trust on behalf of the Tribe in Sonoma County after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act north of a line that runs in a 
        cardinal east and west direction from the point where Highway 
        Route 12 crosses Highway 101 as they are physically on the 
        ground and used for transportation on January 1, 2016, and 
        extending to the furthest extent of Sonoma County.
            (17) Any agreement, now or in the future, regarding gaming 
        restrictions between Sonoma County and the Tribe will be 
        effective without further review by the Bureau of Indian 
        Affairs.
            (18) By directing that these lands be taken into trust, the 
        United States will ensure that the Lytton Rancheria will 
        finally have a permanently protected homeland on which they can 
        once again live communally and plan for future generations. 
        This action is necessary to fully restore the Tribe to the 
        status it had before it was wrongfully terminated in 1961.
            (19) The Tribe and County of Sonoma have entered into a 
        Memorandum of Agreement in which the County agrees to the lands 
        in the County being taken into trust for the benefit of the 
        Tribe in consideration for commitments made by the Tribe.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purpose of this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) County.--The term ``County'' means Sonoma County, 
        California.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (3) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Lytton Rancheria 
        of California.

SEC. 4. LANDS TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST.

    (a) In General.--The land owned by the Tribe and generally depicted 
on the map titled ``Lytton Fee Owned Property to be Taken into Trust'' 
and dated May 1, 2015, is hereby taken into trust for the benefit of 
the Tribe, subject to valid existing rights, contracts, and management 
agreements related to easements and rights-of-way.
    (b) Lands To Be Made Part of the Reservation.--Lands taken into 
trust under subsection (a) shall be part of the Tribe's reservation and 
shall be administered in accordance with the laws and regulations 
generally applicable to property held in trust by the United States for 
an Indian tribe.

SEC. 5. GAMING.

    (a) Lands Taken Into Trust Under This Act.--Lands taken into trust 
for the benefit of the Tribe under section 4 shall not be eligible for 
gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.).
    (b) Other Lands Taken Into Trust.--
            (1) Time-limited prohibition.--Lands taken into trust for 
        the benefit of the Tribe in Sonoma County after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act shall not be eligible for gaming under 
        the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2710 et seq.) until 
        after March 15, 2037.
            (2) Permanent prohibition.--Notwithstanding paragraph (1), 
        lands located north of a line that runs in a cardinal east and 
        west direction and is defined by California State Highway Route 
        12 as it crosses through Sonoma County at Highway 101 as they 
        are physically on the ground and used for transportation on 
        January 1, 2016, and extending to the furthest extent of Sonoma 
        County shall not be eligible for gaming under the Indian Gaming 
        Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2710 et seq.).

SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN LAW.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Memorandum of 
Agreement entered into by the Tribe and the County concerning taking 
land in the County into trust for the benefit of the Tribe, which was 
approved by the County Board of Supervisors on March 10, 2015, and any 
addenda and supplement thereto, is not subject to review or approval of 
the Secretary in order to be effective, including review or approval 
under section 2103 of the Revised Statutes (25 U.S.C. 81).
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