Today, the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs held a legislative hearing on two bills to clarify the Secretary of the Interior’s authority to place land into trust. Subcommittee Chair Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) issued the following statement in response:

"The ability to have land placed into trust is a top priority for many tribes and garners wide support across the board. Yet, there are impacts to local towns, cities, counties, and states that should be weighed by the Department of the Interior when placing land into trust. When the Secretary places land into trust it is removed from local control and falls under federal and tribal control. This change often has implications for taxation, zoning, and other local or state laws regarding property. As seen with the Poarch Band, these implications can lead to litigation which is often time-consuming and costly for all parties involved. I’m hopeful that conversations such as the one we will have today will be a catalyst for a long-term solution across the board.

Background

H.R. 1208, introduced by U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), will authorize the Department of the Interior (DOI) to take land into trust for all federally recognized Indian tribes. The legislation addresses the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, which held DOI could not take land into trust for a specified tribe because that tribe had not been under federal jurisdiction when the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) was enacted in 1934.

H.R. 6180, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians Lands Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Ala.), will recognize the Poarch Band of Creek Indians as covered by the IRA and reaffirm any lands previously taken into trust for the tribe’s benefit by DOI as trust land.