The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is getting back to work after the historic mid-term election. With the clock ticking on the 115th Congress, lawmakers will consider three bills at a legislative hearing on Wednesday. The agenda follows:
• S.2788, a bill to repeal state jurisdiction on the Spirit Lake Nation in North Dakota. The reservation currently falls under a termination-era law that subjects American Indians to prosecution by the state. The federal government will still have jurisdiction if the bill were to become law. • H.R.2606, the Stigler Act Amendments of 2018. The bill ensures that landowners who are citizens of the Cherokee Nation, the Chickasaw Nation, the Choctaw Nation, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the Seminole Nation can pass on their trust lands and allotted lands without worrying about blood quantum. Currently, such lands lose their protected status if the owner's blood quantum falls below one-half, a requirement that's not imposed on any other landowners in Indian Country. The House passed the bill on September 12 but action is still needed in the Senate before it can become law. • H.R.4032, the Gila River Indian Community Federal Rights-of-Way, Easements and Boundary Clarification Act. The bill resolves a number of rights-of-way, easement and boundary issues for the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona. The House passed the bill on July 17 but action is still needed in the Senate before it can become law.The hearing takes place immediately following a business meeting at 2:30pm Eastern on Wednesday. The entire session will be webcast at indian.senate.gov. The current session of Congress concludes at the end of December. If the bills do not become law, they would have to be reintroduced during the 116th session, which begins in January 2019.
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Notices
Business
Meeting To Consider S. 1942 (November 14, 2018)Legislative Hearing to Receive Testimony on S. 2788, H.R. 2606 & H.R. 4032 (November 14, 2018)
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