Mono Lake Kootzaduka’a Tribe Recognition Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Mono Lake Kootzaduka'a Tribe Recognition Act is a federal recognition bill. It defines the Tribe, members, and Secretary; extends federal recognition to the Mono Lake Kootzaduka'a Tribe; applies generally applicable federal Indian laws, including the Indian Reorganization Act, to the Tribe and members; and makes the Tribe and members eligible for federal services and benefits without regard to whether the Tribe has a reservation or where members live. For service delivery, the bill treats Mono and Inyo Counties in California as the Tribe's service area. It preserves existing rights, privileges, and legal or equitable claims, grants hunting and fishing rights on all federal lands within the Tribe's aboriginal land area, and requires federal land-management agencies to accommodate those rights within existing land-use plans, federal law, and regulations. The Tribe must submit a membership roll to Interior within 18 months and maintain it. Interior must identify BLM-administered land in Mono County within the ancestral homelands sufficient for tribal government administration, services, economic development, and housing, and then take that land into trust when requested.
Who Benefits and How
The Mono Lake Kootzaduka'a Tribe benefits because federal recognition unlocks the legal status needed for government-to-government relations. Tribal members benefit because federal Indian services and benefits become available without a reservation-location barrier. Mono and Inyo County tribal service-area residents benefit because the bill identifies those counties for federal service delivery. Tribal hunters and fishers benefit because the bill grants hunting and fishing rights on federal lands in the aboriginal area. The Tribal government benefits because Interior must identify and accept trust land for administration, services, economic development, and housing.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Interior Department staff must administer recognition, services eligibility, the membership-roll condition, and trust-land identification. BLM land managers must identify suitable Mono County land and process trust acquisition for the Tribe. Federal land management agencies must work with the Tribe to accommodate hunting and fishing rights within existing plans and laws. The Tribe must submit a membership roll within 18 months and maintain enrollment records under its constitution. Federal taxpayers fund any services and benefits that flow from recognition and trust-land administration.
Key Provisions
- Extends federal recognition to the Mono Lake Kootzaduka'a Tribe.
- Provides eligibility for federal Indian services and benefits without regard to reservation status or member residence.
- Protects preexisting tribal rights, privileges, and legal or equitable claims.
- Grants hunting and fishing rights on federal lands within the Tribe's aboriginal land area.
- Requires a membership roll within 18 months and ongoing maintenance by the Tribe.
- Directs Interior to identify BLM land and accept it into trust for tribal government, services, economic development, and housing.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Extends federal recognition to the Mono Lake Kootzaduka'a Tribe, makes the Tribe and members eligible for federal Indian services and benefits, protects preexisting claims and privileges, grants hunting and fishing rights on federal lands in the aboriginal area, requires a membership roll, and directs Interior to take identified BLM land into trust for tribal government, services, economic development, and housing.
Key Policy Areas
Tribal Government, Public Lands, Interior
Primary Purpose
Extends federal recognition to the Mono Lake Kootzaduka'a Tribe, makes the Tribe and members eligible for federal Indian services and benefits, protects preexisting claims and privileges, grants hunting and fishing rights on federal lands in the aboriginal area, requires a membership roll, and directs Interior to take identified BLM land into trust for tribal government, services, economic development, and housing.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Mono Lake Kootzaduka'a Tribe members
- Tribal government programs
- Mono County tribal service-area residents
- Tribal hunters
- Tribal fishers
- Tribal housing programs
Identified Costs
- Interior Department staff
- BLM land managers
- Federal land management agencies
- Tribal enrollment staff
- Federal taxpayers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Kiley of California introduced the following bill; which was …
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
The Mono Lake Kootzaduka'a Tribe and its members exercising the reaffirmed rights
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology