S 2735: Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Land Transfer Act of 2025

S 2735 in plain English: This bill transfers approximately 265 acres of land in El Dorado County, California, into federal trust for the benefit of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, making it part of the tribe's reservation. It combines about 80 acres of federal land (including a former Forest Service experiment station) with about 185 acres already held by the tribe. Gaming is prohibited on the newly trusted land.

Stated purpose

To transfer approximately 265 acres of land in El Dorado County, California, into federal trust for the benefit of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, making it part of the tribe's reservation. Gaming is explicitly prohibited on the transferred land.

Key points

• Takes approximately 265 acres in El Dorado County, CA into federal trust for the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians
• Transfers about 80 acres of federal land from the Forest Service to the Department of the Interior, then into trust
• Adds approximately 185 acres of fee land already held by the tribe into the trust
• Designates the combined lands as part of the tribe's reservation
• Prohibits gaming on any of the land taken into trust

Arguments supporters make

• Taking this land into trust helps restore a land base to a federally recognized tribe, supporting tribal sovereignty and self-determination.
• The bill includes a clear prohibition on gaming, addressing a common community concern and narrowing the land's intended use.
• The land transfer consolidates parcels the tribe already partly holds as fee land, creating a more coherent and manageable reservation boundary.

Arguments opponents make

• Transferring land into federal trust removes it from local and state tax rolls and zoning authority, reducing El Dorado County's control and potential revenue over that land.
• Revoking a 1964 public land order eliminates a previously designated public resource — the experiment station — without a clear account of any remaining public use or scientific value being addressed.
• Critics of trust land transfers argue the process bypasses normal land-use planning and environmental review that would apply to other landowners, treating tribal acquisitions differently under federal law.

Tradeoffs

Placing the land in trust expands the tribe's reservation rights and legal protections but removes the acreage from local government jurisdiction, taxation, and some state regulatory oversight. The explicit gaming ban limits one potential tribal use of the land while reassuring nearby residents, but also restricts the tribe's economic options on this particular parcel.

Current status in Congress: In committee.

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