Darrell Issa (R-CA)
Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act of 2026
A Republican bill with no cosponsors
Last activity — Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 755.
Cleared committee, waiting for its first floor vote
A committee approved it and it is on the calendar of the chamber it started in.
This is further than most bills get, and still no promise of a vote: the calendar is a queue, and the majority leadership decides what is called. A bill can sit here until the Congress ends.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- On Calendar
What this bill would do
This bill is known as the Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act of 2026. It requires certain lands in California to be taken into trust for the benefit of the Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians. The transferred land will become part of the Tribe's reservation. The legislation allows the Forest Service to retain administrative vehicular access across the transferred land. It also explicitly bans class II and class III gaming on the land taken into trust. Finally, the bill preserves existing public access, water rights, and rights-of-way.
Yes
- Scored +7
Would Native Americans be better off under this?
The bill transfers land into trust for the benefit of the Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
How the text last changed
Reported in House (10/29/2026), compared with Introduced in House. Each change is on the Text tab.
The newer version of the bill updates the land description for Parcel 1 from approximately 160 acres to approximately 164 acres, and updates Parcels 2 and 3 to approximately 683 acres based on a new Transfer Map. It adds requirements for the Forest Service to retain vehicular access, mandates that the Tribe maintain a fuel break on Parcels 2 and 3, and requires the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to jointly prepare an official map. Additionally, the new version expands rules regarding public and agency access, allows minor adjustments to the land transfer by mutual agreement, and updates definitions.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Benefit for the Tribe: Section 2(a) takes certain land into trust for the benefit of the Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians, which expands their reservation and places the property under federal trust for the Tribe.
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Public Recreation Access: Section 2(d)(2) protects the continuing right of the public to access the land for recreational, scenic, scientific, and conservation uses, along with motorized access to roads and recreational access to trails.
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Emergency and Operational Safety: Section 2(d)(3) ensures that the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service retain necessary rights-of-way for operational and emergency purposes, including search and rescue, wildfire suppression, and health safety evacuation operations.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
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Gaming Restrictions: Section 2(f) explicitly prohibits the land taken into trust from being used for any class II gaming or class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which limits economic development options for the Tribe on this specific land.
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Maintenance Burdens: Section 2(e) makes the Tribe responsible for maintaining the fuel break within Parcels 2 and 3 in accordance with applicable Forest Service standards, which places an ongoing operational and financial duty on the Tribe.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Tap or hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would Native Americans be better off under this? — The bill transfers land into trust for the benefit of the Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians.
A committee approved it and sent it to the floor
What changed from Introduced in House
The newer version of the bill updates the land description for Parcel 1 from approximately 160 acres to approximately 164 acres, and updates Parcels 2 and 3 to approximately 683 acres based on a new Transfer Map. It adds requirements for the Forest Service to retain vehicular access, mandates that the Tribe maintain a fuel break on Parcels 2 and 3, and requires the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to jointly prepare an official map. Additionally, the new version expands rules regarding public and agency access, allows minor adjustments to the land transfer by mutual agreement, and updates definitions.
Each change
- Section 2(a) changes the land transfer instructions to refer to Parcels 2 and 3 in the plural, and specifies that land is taken into trust for the Tribe rather than an Indian Tribe.
- Section 2(b) adds that the Forest Service shall retain administrative vehicular access across the transferred land, and allows the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to make minor corrections and adjustments to the land transfer and maps by mutual agreement.
- Section 2(c) adds a requirement for the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to jointly prepare, approve, and maintain an official map on file for public inspection before the administrative jurisdiction transfer.
- Section 2(d) adds special use permits to existing rights-of-way and licenses on the land, changes public access rules to be subject to rules in effect on the enactment date rather than promulgated by the Tribe in consultation with the Secretary, expands the list of agency purposes for rights-of-way, and adds provisions for fuels reduction, landscape restoration, and Forest Service access easements.
- Section 2(e) adds a requirement that the Tribe maintain the fuel break within Parcels 2 and 3 according to Forest Service standards.
- Section 2(f) reletters the gaming prohibition section from subsection (d) to subsection (f).
- Section 2(g) adds provisions specifying that the Act does not alter existing water rights or service agreements, and does not diminish existing Forest Service administrative access.
- Section 2(h) updates definitions, replacing descriptions of Parcel 1, Parcel 2, and Parcel 3 with updated acreages and references to a Transfer Map, and adds a definition for the Transfer Map.
Written by an AI model from a comparison of this version’s text with the one before it, not by a person. .
- 10/29/2026
- Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 119-858.
- Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 755.
- 9/15/2026
- Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs Discharged
- Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by Unanimous Consent.
- 5/21/2026
- Subcommittee Hearings Held
- 5/12/2026
- Referred to the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs.
- 4/23/2026
- Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
- Introduced in House