New bill could make it easier for California tribes to reclaim ancestral lands
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A new bill working its way through the California assembly would make it easier for federally recognized tribes to purchase surplus land from nearby cities, a change that the local Tule River Indian Tribe is pushing for.
The proposed legislation would put tribal governments on an even playing field with local governments when purchasing surplus land. Under current law, affordable housing projects get the first opportunity to buy land from government agencies before negotiations with other potential buyers may begin.
An exemption exists for other government agencies but not for California s hundred-plus federally recognized tribes. That would change under Assembly Bill 1180.
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Last week the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Tara Katuk Sweeney approved the fee-to-trust application for the for the Tule River Indian Tribe to relocate Eagle Mountain Casino to Porterville.
The fee-to-trust application was the final step in the process and now clears the way for the relocated Eagle Mountain Casino to be built on a 40-acre site on Tule River Tribe land near the Porterville Airport. As part of the process the Department of Interior also approved the Tribal State Compact between the state and the Tule River Tribe, which took effect on December 11.
The Tule River Tribe submitted its fee-to-trust application in September 2016 and has spent 20 years preparing for the relocation of Eagle Mountain Casino.
With more members of the public present in the Council Chambers than there have been this entire year, the Porterville City Council took to reorganizing the dais and swearing in the newest member of the Council to her seat on Tuesday night during a special meeting of the Porterville City Council.
âThis is a special evening under extraordinary circumstances,â said City Manager John Lollis.
Lollis then explained that before the Council members could be sworn in for their terms on the dais, they first had to accept the official canvass of votes from the November 3 election for both the Council member elects and the proposed tax measures.