Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Land Transfer Act of 2025
Floor Speech
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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2302) to take certain Federal land in the State of California into trust for the benefit of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 2302
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 ``Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Land Transfer Act of 2025''. SEC. 2. REVOCATION OF PUBLIC LAND ORDER; LANDS TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST.
(a) Revocation of Public Land Order.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law--
(1) Public Land Order 3309 (Sacramento 071209), dated January 17, 1964 (29 Fed. Reg. 609), is revoked; and
(2) jurisdiction over the land described in the public land order referred to in paragraph (1) is transferred to the Secretary.
(b) Trust Transfer.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary shall place the following land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe:
(1) The approximately 80 acres of land generally depicted as ``BLM Land-Proposed Transfer into Trust'' on the Map.
(2) The approximately 185 acres of land generally depicted as ``Indian Creek Ranch-Proposed Transfer into Trust Land Status'' on the Map.
(c) Review; Survey.--
(1) Review.--Before the deadline described in subsection (b), the Secretary shall conduct a review of the land described in that subsection to determine if a survey of the land is required.
(2) Survey.--
(A) In general.--If the Secretary determines that a survey is required under paragraph (1) after conducting the review required under that paragraph, the Secretary--
(i) shall perform a survey of the land taken into trust under subsection (b); and
(ii) may make minor corrections to the survey and legal land description of the land described in that subsection as the Secretary determines to be necessary to correct clerical, typographical, and surveying errors.
(B) Availability.--A survey conducted under subparagraph (A) shall be kept on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
(d) Lands Part of Reservation; Administration.--The land taken into trust under subsection (b)--
(1) is hereby declared to be part of the Reservation; and
(2) shall be administered by the Secretary in accordance with the laws and regulations generally applicable to property held in trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe.
(e) Gaming Prohibited.--Land taken into trust under subsection (b) shall not be used for any class II gaming or class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) (as those terms are defined in section 4 of that Act (25 U.S.C. 2703)).
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Map.--The term ``Map'' means the map prepared by the Bureau of Land Management titled ``Proposed Bureau of Land Management Land Transfer to Shingle Springs Rancheria'' and dated May 2, 2025.
(2) Reservation.--The term ``Reservation'' means the reservation of the Tribe.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior.
(4) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract), California.
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Mr. WESTERMAN. 2302, the bill now under consideration.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2302, the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Land Transfer Act of 2025, introduced by Congressman McClintock, would place approximately 80 acres of BLM land and 185 acres of fee land into trust for the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians.
Descendants of the Miwok Indians once lived throughout north central California, inhabiting land from the Sacramento area to the Sierra Nevada mountains.
The Shingle Springs Band, however, was displaced by the Gold Rush of the 1850s, prompting the Federal Government to refer to the Tribe as the ``Sacramento-Verona Band of Homeless Indians.'' In 1920, the government provided the Tribe a 160-acre parcel of land known as the Verona Tract, which serves as the Tribe's rancheria.
As the years have passed, and without the realignment of Highway 50 in California, the rancheria has become largely landlocked. This has prohibited the Tribe's growth and restricted its housing opportunities.
In 2014, roughly 41 acres of BLM land were placed into trust for the Tribe to assist with Tribal housing needs. Developing the land for housing has proved difficult, however, due to the land's rough terrain.
Recently, the Tribe purchased land near the rancheria known as the Indian Creek Subdivision, which was previously approved for a now- defunct subdivision. The Tribe seeks to place this land into trust and is pursuing this goal legislatively, as their previous attempts to obtain fee-to-trust approval through the Federal administrative process have been mired in bureaucracy.
The other parcels involved in this legislation comprise approximately 80 acres of BLM land that will be transferred into trust for the Tribe. These parcels have suffered from various management issues, which have led the Tribe and other surrounding landowners to raise concerns about increased wildfire risk. Despite lacking ownership, the Tribe has performed needed management functions on this land, a fact that reflects positively on the Tribe's stewardship capabilities and deep- felt concern for the land's overall health.
Currently, the Tribe has no immediate commercial or development plans for these parcels. Pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, gaming on these lands is prohibited.
I applaud Mr. McClintock for working with the Tribe to develop H.R. 2302, which would place land into trust for the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians.
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Mr. WESTERMAN.
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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman for his work on this important issue and representing his district so well.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time.
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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, this legislation will allow the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians to place land into trust in a way that will benefit both the Tribe and the surrounding area.
Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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