S-1363-119
Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
Sponsored by Ben Luján (D-NM)
What it does
This bill would require the Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of the Interior to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the New Mexico Land Grant Council within two years, covering permits, fees, and procedures for historical or traditional uses (such as grazing, gathering herbs or wood, subsistence hunting, and maintaining cemeteries or shrines) on federal land by recognized land grant-mercedes communities. It also directs agencies to consider fee reductions based on community socioeconomic conditions and to address historical or traditional uses when developing federal land use plans. The bill explicitly states it does not create new rights to use federal land and does not affect Indian Tribe rights or state authority over water and wildlife.
Who benefits
Heirs and governing bodies of New Mexico's roughly 100+ recognized land grant-mercedes, who would gain a formal process for negotiating access, fee waivers, and maintenance authorizations on federal land they have historically used. The New Mexico Land Grant Council gains a formal role representing these communities in federal negotiations.
Who is hurt
No group bears a clear direct cost, since the bill creates a coordination process rather than new land use rights; however, other federal land users (such as commercial grazing permittees, recreation users, or extraction interests) could see land use plans adjusted to account for traditional uses, and Indian Tribes near affected lands would be consulted but could raise concerns if traditional use determinations affect areas of tribal interest. Federal agencies would bear administrative costs and staff time to negotiate and implement the memorandum of understanding.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue this bill formalizes long-overdue recognition of land grant-merced communities whose Spanish- and Mexican-era land use traditions predate U.S. acquisition of the territory, providing a structured process instead of ad hoc, inconsistent treatment by different federal offices. They contend the bill protects small-scale, noncommercial uses like grazing, herb gathering, and cemetery maintenance that sustain rural New Mexico communities, while explicitly preserving valid existing rights and tribal interests.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue the bill creates a new bureaucratic layer requiring agencies to negotiate detailed memoranda of understanding without guaranteeing any actual improvement in access, since the bill explicitly disclaims creating new usage rights. They contend the vague definitions of "historical or traditional use" and reliance on case-by-case Secretary determinations could invite disputes and litigation over which activities qualify, while diverting agency resources from other land management priorities.
Constitutional context
Congress's authority to manage federal public lands rests on the Property Clause (Art. IV, §3, cl. 2), which gives Congress broad power to dispose of and make rules for federal territory and property; courts have consistently upheld wide latitude for Congress in this area. The bill does not restrict private property or impose new regulatory burdens on landowners, so it does not implicate the Takings Clause concerns seen in recent environmental access cases.
Checks and balances
Congress directs the executive branch (Agriculture and Interior Departments) to negotiate and implement agreements with a state-created entity, but the bill limits agency discretion by barring the MOU from directly authorizing new land uses, preserving judicial review of any specific permit decisions.
Historical precedent
Similar federal recognition of land grant-related traditional uses has been addressed piecemeal in New Mexico enabling legislation and Forest Service policy guidance, but no prior federal statute has established a comparable formal MOU framework specifically for land grant-mercedes.