Congress gives California tribal land to Pechanga Band of Indians

What it does

This bill moves about 860 acres of federal land into trust. The land is in Riverside County, California. It becomes part of the tribe's reservation. The tribe must keep the land as open space. It must protect archaeology, culture, and wildlife. The tribe cannot use the land for gaming.

Who it affects

The Pechanga Band of Indians gains control of the land. Other groups with water rights or easements keep those rights. The bill does not change public access or citizen rights.

One thing to notice

The bill stops the tribe from using the land for gaming. The tribe cannot earn money from casinos on this land.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

• Oct 3, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Oct 3, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources and Senate Committee on Indian Affairs · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
• Nov 19, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Hearings Held”
• Mar 5, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
• Mar 5, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Unanimous Consent”
• Jun 2, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H3745)”
• Jun 2, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 2 reports from Dec 2025 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $40,000 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 4 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 0% of bills with any report.

Darrell Issa, who sponsored the bill, received $335,200 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• Rancho California Water District — $40,000 in 2 reports

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• trust — Land held by the federal government for a Native American tribe.
• reservation — Land set aside by the federal government for a Native American tribe.
• gaming — Operating casinos or gambling businesses.
• easement — A right that lets someone use another person's land for a specific purpose.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.