Federal land restored to California tribe after 60-year hold
S. 2735 — Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians Land Transfer Act of 2025 · Filed by Alex Padilla (D-CA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Sep 8, 2025 · Reported out
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What it does
This bill transfers approximately 265 acres of federal land in California into trust for the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, revokes a 1964 public land order that had restricted the land, and makes the land part of the tribe's reservation. The transferred land cannot be used for gambling under federal Indian gaming law. The Secretary of the Interior has 180 days to complete the transfer and must conduct a survey if needed.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative mechanism is the transfer of federal land into trust status for a federally recognized Indian tribe, a standard form of Indian affairs legislation that restores tribal land holdings and governance authority.
What the text implies
- The gaming prohibition may limit the tribe's economic development options on the transferred land, as gaming enterprises are a significant revenue source for many tribes.
- The 180-day deadline and survey requirement create administrative timelines that could delay the tribe's use and development of the land.
- The phrase 'subject to valid existing rights' may preserve third-party claims or easements on the land that could constrain tribal use.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill restores land to a federally recognized Indian tribe, addressing a historical land claim and enabling tribal self-governance and economic development on the transferred acreage. The gaming prohibition is a reasonable public-policy constraint that does not negate the core benefit of land restoration to the tribe.
Who stands to gain
- Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians (tribal government and members)
Named in the bill
Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs Rancheria, Secretary of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Public Land Order 3309, Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Sep 8, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Sep 8, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Indian Affairs · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S6403)”
- Dec 17, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held”
- May 20, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably”
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 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $120,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 2 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.
Alex Padilla, the sponsor, reported $176,500 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Shingle Springs Rancheria — $120,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 21, 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 (2,854 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 Jun 2026 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 21, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Federal land restored to California tribe after 60-year hold” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/s2735 Report an error
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