Alex Padilla (D-CA)
A bill to take certain land in the State of California into trust for the benefit of the Pechanga Band of Indians, and for other purposes.
A Democratic bill with 1 Democratic cosponsor · See the cosponsor
Last activity — Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held.
In committee
Introduced and handed to a committee in the chamber it started in.
The committee holds it, and most bills are never heard from again. A hearing or a committee vote would be news; silence is the usual outcome, and it kills the bill without anyone voting against it.
Its path through Congress
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
This bill takes roughly 860 acres of land in Riverside County, California, and places it into trust for the Pechanga Band of Indians. The land will become part of the tribe's reservation and will be managed like other property held in trust by the United States. Under the bill, the land must be maintained as open space and used to protect cultural, archaeological, and wildlife resources. The legislation explicitly bans any class II or class III gaming on the newly trusted land. Additionally, existing water rights, service agreements, and valid encumbrances or rights-of-way will not be altered by the transfer.
Yes· 3 of 4
- Scored +10
Would Native Americans be better off under this?
Directly benefits the Pechanga Band of Indians by expanding their reservation land.
- Scored +7
Does this better protect air, water and wildlife?
Mandates the land be maintained as open space for wildlife and cultural resource protection.
- Scored +5
Does this better protect public land such as parks and forests?
Transfers federal land management to a tribal trust specifically for conservation purposes.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Section 1(a) and Section 1(b) take approximately 860 acres of land in California into trust for the benefit of the Pechanga Band of Indians, making it part of their reservation. This is positive because it fulfills the land transfer intended to benefit the tribe.
-
Section 1(c)(1)(B) and Section 1(c)(1)(C) require that the land taken into trust must be maintained as open space and used only for purposes consistent with that maintenance, as well as the protection, preservation, and maintenance of archaeological, cultural, and wildlife resources. This is beneficial for protecting natural and cultural resources.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Section 1(c)(3) strictly prohibits the land taken into trust from being used for any class II or class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. This restricts the tribe from using the land for certain potential economic development activities related to gaming.
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.
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Does this better protect air, water and wildlife? — Mandates the land be maintained as open space for wildlife and cultural resource protection. Does this better protect public land such as parks and forests? — Transfers federal land management to a tribal trust specifically for conservation purposes.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Would Native Americans be better off under this? — Directly benefits the Pechanga Band of Indians by expanding their reservation land.
- Social Issues And Justice
- Does this narrow racial gaps in how people are treated? — Returns land to trust for the benefit of an Indigenous tribe, supporting tribal sovereignty.
- 9/23/2026
- Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held.
- 3/11/2026
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1011)
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in Senate
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Adam SchiffDemocrat · California