Should The Morongo Band of Mission Indians Be Able To Trade Tribal Land For Public Land? (H.R. 387)

What is H.R. 387?

(Updated July 19, 2017)

This bill would authorize a transfer of land between the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, a private landowner, and the city of Banning, California. Because the tribe’s land is held in trust by the federal government for the benefit of the tribe, the tribe needs the approval of Congress to enter into a land exchange.

Argument in favor

The tribe, the landowner, and the city of Banning have already reached an agreement. They just need approval from Congress to finalize the deal.

Argument opposed

This bill should include provisions to empower tribes to make exchanges with land held in trust by the federal government without congressional approval.

Impact

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians, the private landowner, the city of Banning, California.

Cost of H.R. 387

A CBO cost estimate found that implementing this bill would have no significant impact on the federal budget.

Additional Info

In-Depth: The Morongo Band of Mission Indians has been in possession of more than 35,000 acres in Riverside County, California since 1875 when President Grant established the reservation.

Law 360 describes the land exchange issue between the Morongo Band, Banning, and a non-native landowner Lloyd Fields this way: 

"Fields bought a 41-acre parcel of land in 1995 near the Morongo Reservation in southern California that later became surrounded by lands acquired by the tribe ... The city, the tribe and Fields became involved in a “sharp dispute” when he tried to develop his parcel, with the tribe setting up a guard shack on a public road that Fields claimed blocked access to his land, according to the memo.
The city said it couldn’t remove the shack because it was unclear whether the city’s easement covered the part of the road where the shack was located.
The parties agreed to settle the issue by agreeing to a land swap to be authorized by Congress, letting Fields have a different parcel of the same size in exchange for conveying his current land to the federal government to hold in trust as reservation land for the tribe."

Media:

• House Natural Resources Committee Passes Package of Bills
• CBO Estimate
• Stand Up for California! (In Favor)
• Desert Sun (Context)