HR-8483-119
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Sponsored by Darrell Issa (R-CA)
What it does
This bill would transfer administrative jurisdiction of two parcels of federal land and take three parcels totaling approximately 836 acres in San Diego County, California into trust for the benefit of the Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians. The land would become part of the Tribe's reservation, subject to existing rights-of-way, continued public recreational access, emergency access for federal agencies, and a permanent prohibition on class II and class III gaming on the transferred land.
Who benefits
The Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians, who gain expanded trust land, tribal jurisdiction, and associated sovereignty and resource benefits; tribal members who may use the land for housing, cultural, or economic purposes other than gaming. Recreational users benefit from a guaranteed continuing right of access.
Who is hurt
San Diego County, which would lose property tax revenue and some land-use jurisdiction over the parcels once they enter federal trust status. Neighboring landowners or businesses that might have sought to acquire or develop the land under state/local rules lose that option. No group appears to face substantial direct harm given the gaming prohibition and preserved access rights.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue this bill restores land to a federally recognized tribe with historical and cultural ties to the area, consistent with the federal policy of tribal self-determination and land consolidation. They contend the built-in protections — preserved public recreational access, emergency access for wildfire and search-and-rescue operations, and an explicit gaming prohibition — address the practical concerns neighbors and agencies typically raise about land-into-trust transfers.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that taking land into trust removes it from county property tax rolls and local zoning authority, shifting a fiscal burden onto other San Diego County taxpayers and reducing local government control over land use. They contend that even with a gaming prohibition, trust status can complicate future regulatory oversight and that Congress should evaluate such transfers case-by-case rather than establishing them as a matter of course.
Constitutional context
Congress's authority to take land into trust for tribes derives from its plenary power over Indian affairs under Article I, Section 8's Indian Commerce Clause, and this bill raises no significant equal protection or free speech questions typical of other civil rights legislation.
Checks and balances
Congress directs the land transfer by statute, while the Secretary of the Interior implements the trust designation and administers conditions such as access rights and rights-of-way, with courts available to resolve disputes over valid existing rights.
Historical precedent
Congress has enacted numerous similar tribe-specific land-into-trust bills over the decades, transferring federal or private land into trust for individual tribes under its Indian affairs authority.