To approve the settlement of water rights claims of the Zuni Indian Tribe in the Zuni River Stream System in the State of New Mexico, to protect the Zuni Salt Lake, and for other purposes.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill defines key terms including Enforceability Date, Secretary (Interior), State (New Mexico), Tribal Water Rights, and Tribe (Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation), creates states purposes of the title: to settle water rights claims, authorize and ratify the Settlement Agreement, direct the Secretary to execute the Agreement, and authorize necessary funds, and defines Title I terms including Adjudication (pending federal water rights case), Agreement (May 2023 Settlement Agreement), Allotment, Allottee, Partial Final Judgment and Decree, Trust Fund, Zuni Lands, and Zuni River. It relies on compliance mandates, definition changes, exemptions, and appropriations. The main policy areas are Water Rights, Public Lands, Agriculture, and Energy.
Who Benefits and How
Zuni Tribe could gain revenue opportunities, State of New Mexico could face reduced risk, and Zuni Tribe (cultural protection) would be affected.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Secretary of the Interior would take on compliance duties, Bureau of Land Management would take on compliance duties, and Mineral and timber extraction interests could face higher barriers.
Key Provisions
- Defines key terms including Enforceability Date, Secretary (Interior), State (New Mexico), Tribal Water Rights, and Tribe (Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation).
- Creates states purposes of the title: to settle water rights claims, authorize and ratify the Settlement Agreement, direct the Secretary to execute the Agreement, and authorize necessary funds.
- Defines Title I terms including Adjudication (pending federal water rights case), Agreement (May 2023 Settlement Agreement), Allotment, Allottee, Partial Final Judgment and Decree, Trust Fund, Zuni Lands, and Zuni River...
- Authorizes, ratifies, and confirms the Settlement Agreement; requires Secretary to execute the Agreement; requires environmental compliance under ESA, NEPA, and other federal environmental laws; Tribe bears costs...
- Establishes Tribal Water Rights to be held in trust, protected from loss through non-use or forfeiture.
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
The bill defines key terms including Enforceability Date, Secretary (Interior), State (New Mexico), Tribal Water Rights, and Tribe (Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation), creates states purposes of the title: to settle water rights claims, authorize and ratify the Settlement Agreement, direct the Secretary to execute the Agreement, and authorize necessary funds, and defines Title I terms including Adjudication (pending federal water rights case), Agreement (May 2023 Settlement Agreement), Allotment, Allottee, Partial Final Judgment and Decree, Trust Fund, Zuni Lands, and Zuni River.
Key Policy Areas
Water Rights, Public Lands, Agriculture, Energy
Primary Purpose
The bill defines key terms including Enforceability Date, Secretary (Interior), State (New Mexico), Tribal Water Rights, and Tribe (Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation), creates states purposes of the title: to settle water rights claims, authorize and ratify the Settlement Agreement, direct the Secretary to execute the Agreement, and authorize necessary funds, and defines Title I terms including Adjudication (pending federal water rights case), Agreement (May 2023 Settlement Agreement), Allotment, Allottee, Partial Final Judgment and Decree, Trust Fund, Zuni Lands, and Zuni River.
Policy Domains
Whole bill
Identified Gains
- Zuni Tribe
- State of New Mexico
- Zuni Tribe (cultural protection)
- United States (as defendant)
- United States
Identified Costs
- Secretary of the Interior
- Bureau of Land Management
- Mineral and timber extraction interests
- Federal budget/taxpayers
- Grazing permit holders
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedReported by Mr. Schatz, without amendment
Mr. Heinrich (for himself and Mr. Luján) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Individual Indian Allottees on Zuni Lands, Zuni Tribe, Zuni Tribe (cultural protection)
Zuni Tribe faces effects in multiple directions
Positive-direction: Individual Indian Allottees on Zuni Lands, Zuni Tribe (cultural protection)
Negative-direction: Zuni Tribe (if funds not appropriated)
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior
Positive-direction: United States, United States (as defendant), United States as trustee for Allottees
Negative-direction: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior
State of New Mexico, State of New Mexico legislature
State of New Mexico faces effects in multiple directions
Agricultural water users seeking to lease water from Tribe, Grazing permit holders, Non-Indian water users in Zuni River basin
Positive-direction: Agricultural water users seeking to lease water from Tribe, Non-Indian water users in Zuni River basin
Negative-direction: Grazing permit holders
Existing permit and lease holders, Mineral and timber extraction interests
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