Crow Tribe gains direct control of water infrastructure funds under settlement
S. 240 — Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Amendments Act of 2025 · Filed by Steve Daines (R-MT) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jan 24, 2025 · Signed
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What it does
This bill amends the 2010 Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act to restructure how water infrastructure funds are managed and used. It repeals the old MR&I System framework, establishes a new MR&I Projects Account that the Tribe controls directly, extends the deadline for Yellowtail Dam operations from 15 to 20 years, and clarifies that the federal government has no obligation to maintain infrastructure the Tribe builds with settlement funds.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is restructuring governance and control of water infrastructure funds under an existing settlement agreement, shifting authority from federal management to direct tribal control while maintaining the underlying settlement framework.
What the text implies
- Tribe assumes full operational and maintenance responsibility for water infrastructure without federal cost-sharing, shifting long-term financial burden to tribal resources.
- Removal of federal oversight mechanisms may reduce external accountability for how settlement funds are deployed, though the Tribe retains fiduciary obligations under trust law.
- Land purchase authority (after on-reservation projects are complete) expands the settlement's scope beyond infrastructure to potential land acquisition with water rights attached.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The Crow Tribe gains direct control over water infrastructure development and funding, removing federal intermediation and allowing the tribe to manage its own water resources and domestic/municipal systems. The 20-year extension for Yellowtail Dam operations provides longer-term certainty for water management planning.
Who stands to gain
- Crow Tribe (direct control over settlement funds and infrastructure assets)
Named in the bill
Crow Tribe, U.S. Department of Interior (Secretary), Yellowtail Dam, American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994, Claims Resolution Act of 2010, Public Law 111–291
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.
- Jan 24, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jan 24, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Indian Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs”
- Mar 5, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably”
- Dec 11, 2025 — Passed the Senate · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S8691-8692; text: CR S8691-8692)”
- Sep 14, 2026 — Passed both chambers · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote”
- Sep 14, 2026 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Westerman moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended”
- Oct 5, 2026 — Sent to president · Congress.gov: “Presented to President”
- Oct 15, 2026 — Signed into law · Congress.gov: “Became Public Law No: 119-122”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $60,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 6 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Steve Daines, the sponsor, reported $901,144 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Crow Tribe of Indians — $60,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 16, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (5,132 characters) on Aug 20, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 16, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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