[DOCID: f:hr275.110]
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110th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 110-275
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TO AUTHORIZE THE SAGINAW CHIPPEWA TRIBE OF INDIANS OF THE STATE OF
MICHIGAN TO CONVEY LAND AND INTERESTS IN LAND OWNED BY THE TRIBE
_______
July 30, 2007.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2952]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 2952) to authorize the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of
Indians of the State of Michigan to convey land and interests
in land owned by the Tribe, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill
as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. LAND AND INTERESTS OF THE SAGINAW CHIPPEWA INDIAN TRIBE OF
MICHIGAN.
(a) In General.--Subject to subsections (b) and (c), notwithstanding
any other provision of law (including regulations), the Saginaw
Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan (including any agent or
instrumentality of the Tribe) (referred to in this section as the
``Tribe''), may transfer, lease, encumber, or otherwise convey, without
further authorization or approval, all or any part of the Tribe's
interest in any real property that is not held in trust by the United
States for the benefit of the Tribe.
(b) Effect of Section.--Nothing in this section is intended to
authorize the Tribe to transfer, lease, encumber, or otherwise convey,
any lands, or any interest in any lands, that are held in trust by the
United States for the benefit of the Tribe.
(c) Liability.--The United States shall not be held liable to any
party (including the Tribe or any agent or instrumentality of the
Tribe) for any term of, or any loss resulting from the term of any
transfer, lease, encumbrance, or conveyance of land made pursuant to
this Act unless the United States or an agent or instrumentality of the
United States is a party to the transaction or the United States would
be liable pursuant to any other provision of law. This subsection shall
not apply to land transferred or conveyed by the Tribe to the United
States to be held in trust for the benefit of the Tribe.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 2952 is to authorize the Saginaw
Chippewa Tribe of Indians of the State of Michigan to convey
land and interests in land owned by the Tribe.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, comprised of three bands
of Ojibwe, is headquartered near the City of Mt. Pleasant in
Isabella County, Michigan. Established on October 18, 1864 by
treaty, the Tribe's reservation includes approximately 724
acres of allotted trust lands and 1,500 acres of tribal trust
lands. Currently, there are 2,754 tribal members.
Although the Tribe is headquartered in Isabella County, it
owns land in surrounding counties, including two 20-acre
parcels in Arenac County. These parcels were initially
purchased to develop a warehouse and advance economic
development ventures. But, after a feasibility study was
conducted, the Tribe decided not to pursue those plans. Now,
the Tribe wishes to sell this land but is prevented from doing
so by the Non-Intercourse Act. Moreover, the Tribe intends to
continue investing in real estate but the Non-Intercourse Act
will prevent the Tribe from being able to timely sell land
bought for investment purposes. The Tribe does not want the
exemption contained in this legislation to apply to trust
lands.
Non-Intercourse Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 177)
Originally enacted in 1790, the Non-Intercourse Act
reserved to the United States the exclusive right to acquire
Indian lands. It was intended to protect Indian tribes by
preventing the loss of their lands. It does so by preventing
the transfer, sale, lease, or other conveyance of land owned by
an Indian tribe, without federal approval. This prohibition
applies to both trust and fee lands, regardless of the source
of money used to obtain the lands. Finally, the Department of
the Interior does not have the authority to administratively
waive the Non-Intercourse Act.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 2952 was introduced on July 10, 2007 by Representative
Kildee (D-MI). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources. The full Natural Resources Committee held a
hearing on this legislation on July 11, 2007. On July 18, 2007,
the full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill.
Mr. Kildee (D-MI) offered an en bloc amendment that clarified
that the Tribe may lease, transfer, encumber, or otherwise
convey all or any part of any real property that is not held in
trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe. The
amendment also limited the liability of the United States that
may result from any transfer, lease, encumbrance, or conveyance
between the Tribe and third parties made pursuant to this Act,
unless otherwise liable under another provision of law. The
limitation on liability does not apply to land transferred from
the Tribe to the United States to be held in trust for the
Tribe. It was adopted by unanimous consent. The bill, as
amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Land and interests of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of
Michigan
Section 1 authorizes the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of
Michigan to transfer, lease, encumber, or otherwise convey all
or any part of the Tribe's interest in any real property that
is not held in trust by the United States for the benefit of
the Tribe. It is not intended to authorize the Tribe to
transfer, lease, encumber, or otherwise convey, any lands, or
any interest in any lands held in trust by the United States
for the benefit of the Tribe. The United States shall not be
liable to any party for any term or, or any loss resulting from
the term of, any transfer, lease, encumbrance, or conveyance
made pursuant to this Act unless the United States is a party
to the transaction or would otherwise be liable pursuant to any
other provision of law. Finally, this section does not apply to
land transferred or conveyed by the Tribe to the United States
to be held in trust for the benefit of the Tribe nor shall it
apply to any purchases of land made by the Tribe.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
H.R. 2952--A bill to authorize the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Indians of
the state of Michigan to convey land and interests in land
owned by the tribe
H.R. 2952 would authorize the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of
Indians to convey or lease, without approval of the Secretary
of the Interior, any land or interest in land owned by the
tribe and not held in trust by the United States. Based on
information from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, CBO estimates
that implementing this bill would have no significant effect on
the federal budget.
Currently, the Non-Intercourse Act prohibits the conveyance
of an interest in land from an Indian tribe without approval by
the Secretary. Because of a dispute in the federal courts, it
is not clear whether the land specified under the bill is
subject to this prohibition.
H.R. 2952 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Leigh Angres.
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistance Director for Budget Analysis.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
EARMARK STATEMENT
H.R. 2952 does not contain any congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in
clause 9(d), 9(e) or 9(f) of rule XXI.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.
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