Alex Padilla (D-CA)
Tule River Tribe Reserved Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025
A Democratic bill with 1 Democratic cosponsor · See the cosponsor
Last activity — Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 75.
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, known as the Tule River Tribe Reserved Water Rights Settlement Act of 2025, aims to settle water right claims for the Tule River Tribe in California. It ratifies and confirms the 2007 Agreement between the Tribe, the South Tule Independent Ditch Company, and the Tule River Association. The Act authorizes the transfer of specific lands into trust for the Tribe and establishes trust accounts for water development and maintenance. It also provides funding for these projects, including specific amounts for reservoir studies. Finally, it includes legal waivers and releases to achieve a final settlement of the Tribe's claims against the United States.
Yes
- Scored +8
Would Native Americans be better off under this?
The bill provides significant water rights certainty, land transfers, and infrastructure funding for the Tule River Tribe.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
-
Water Rights Certainty: The bill ratifies and confirms the Tribal Water Right, which includes the right to divert up to 5,828 acre-feet of surface water per year from the South Fork Tule River (Section 5).
-
Infrastructure Funding: The Act establishes a Trust Fund that includes a Water Development Projects Account for planning, designing, and constructing water projects on the Reservation (Section 6).
-
Land Acquisition: The bill authorizes the transfer of various lands, including Bureau of Land Management lands and Forest Service lands, into trust for the benefit of the Tribe (Section 8).
-
Maintenance Support: A specific account is created for the operation, maintenance, and replacement (OM&R) of water development projects (Section 6).
-
Technical Advancement: $20,000,000 of the funds are set aside specifically to conduct technical studies and investigations regarding the Phase I Reservoir and its operation rules (Section 6).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
-
Legal Waivers: To reach this settlement, the Tribe must execute a waiver and release of various claims against the United States, including claims related to water rights, damages to natural resources, and the management of irrigation projects (Section 10).
-
Restriction on Land Use: Lands transferred into trust under this Act are specifically prohibited from being used for class II or class III gaming (Section 8).
-
Financial Responsibility for Maintenance: The Tribe is responsible for all costs associated with the operation, maintenance, and replacement of any projects constructed using the trust funds (Section 6).
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 provides significant water rights certainty, land transfers, and infrastructure funding for the Tule River Tribe.
- 5/12/2025
- Committee on Indian Affairs. Reported by Senator Murkowski without amendment. With written report No. 119-22.
- Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 75.
- 3/5/2025
- Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
- 2/24/2025
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1313)
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in Senate
Adam SchiffDemocrat · California