Indian Affairs Committee passes land-into-trust fix

Law | Politics | Trust

Friday, December 18, 2009

By a voice vote, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on Thursday approved S.1703, a bill to fix the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.

The decision limits the land-into-trust process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934. S.1703 ensures that all tribes, regardless of the date of their recognition, can acquire trust land.

At a business meeting yesterday, the committee accepted an amendment that requires the Interior Department to come up with a list of tribes that may be affected by the decision or the 1934 date. The provision does not affect the department's ability to acquire land for any particular tribe.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), the sponsor of the amendment, said he wants an accounting of tribes that were recognized as of 1934, noting that some have obviously been overlooked. "It's a mess right now," he said.

The House Natural Resources Committee has held a hearing on two versions of the land-into-trust fix but no action has been taken there.

Get the Story:
Senate panel OKs bill to overturn ruling on Narragansetts (The Providence Journal 12/17)
Supes see trouble in tribal-rights bill (The Amador Ledger-Dispatch 12/17)

Committee Notice:
BUSINESS MEETING on pending committee issues (December 17, 2009)

Land-Into-Trust Fix:
S.1703 | H.R.3697 | H.R.3742

Supreme Court Decision:
Syllabus | Opinion [Thomas] | Concurrence [Breyer] | Dissent [Stevens] | Concurrence/Dissent [Souter]

Supreme Court Documents:
Oral Argument Transcript | Briefs