H.R. 4032, Gila River Indian Community Federal Rights-of-Way, Easements and Boundary Clarification Act

H.R. 4032 would direct the Department of the Interior (DOI) to take about 3,400 acres of land into trust for the benefit of the Gila River Indian Community. The bill also would establish a permanent northern boundary for the tribe’s reservation and would establish and ratify three rights-of-way and one grazing permit on that land. DOI would be required to survey the new tribal boundary and the rights-of-way and publish those surveys. Using information from DOI, CBO estimates that the administrative expenses associated with those activities would not be significant.

The land that could be taken into trust under the bill is currently managed by DOI and yields no financial benefits to the federal government. DOI is in the process of transferring that land to the Gila River Indian Community through a noncompetitive, direct land sale. H.R. 4032 specifies that once the sale of the land is finalized DOI shall, at the request of the tribe, take the land into trust for the benefit of the tribe.

Enacting H.R. 4032 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4032 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.

H.R. 4032 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

This cost estimate for the Gila River Indian Community Federal Rights-of-Way, Easements and Boundary Clarification Act supersedes the estimate transmitted on June 12, 2018, for the same bill. CBO’s earlier estimate was based on incorrect information indicating that the sale would not proceed under the bill and title to the land would be transferred to the tribe for no consideration. This revised cost estimate corrects that error.