The Grand Ronde Reservation Act, enacted in 1994, authorized the Department of the Interior (DOI) to provide 240 acres of land to the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community in Oregon. That land was added to the tribes’ reservation. In exchange, the tribes relinquished their right to pursue claims to all other land within the state. S. 559 would lower the amount of relinquished land to an 84-acre parcel, which in the future would allow the tribes to acquire additional land in Oregon to which they have a valid claim.
Using information from DOI, CBO estimates that the agency would incur administrative costs to update documents concerning the affected parcels of land; however, those costs would not be significant. Any such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
S. 559 also would impose an intergovernmental mandate—as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)—on the tribes by prohibiting some forms of gaming on tribal land in Oregon. The land was obtained by the confederated tribes as part of a land claim settlement, and because gaming on such land is currently allowed under federal law, the proposed ban would be a mandate. However, because gaming does not occur now on the tribal land and the tribes have no plans to begin gaming activities, the cost of the mandate would be small and below the threshold established in UMRA ($85 million in 2021, adjusted annually for inflation).
