H.R. 1880 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to place four parcels of federal land (totaling about 11 acres) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, into trust for the benefit of 19 Indian Pueblos in New Mexico. Under the bill, those Pueblos would be authorized to use the land for educational, health, cultural, business, or economic purposes. The bill would prohibit gaming activities on the affected properties. Additionally, the bill would allow the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to continue to use the facilities on that land as they were used prior to enactment.
CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have no significant effect on the federal budget. Discretionary spending for the administrative costs of the transfer would be negligible.
Based on information provided by BIA, the affected parcels of federal land currently generate no receipts and are not expected to do so over the 2016-2025 period. Therefore, CBO estimates that transferring the lands into trust for the Pueblos would not affect offsetting receipts, which are certain collections that are treated as reductions in direct spending. Because enacting H.R. 1880 would not affect direct spending or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 1880 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
On May 26, 2015, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 986, the Albuquerque Indian School Land Transfer Act, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on May 13, 2015. The two bills are similar, and the estimated budgetary effects are the same.
