Bill
HR 412
Authorizes the Bay Mills Indian Community to convey, lease, or encumber non-trust real property without further federal approval, preserving trust-land rules and limiting U.S. liab
Status & Procedural Timeline
- Introduced in the House: January 15, 2025
- Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources and the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs (Jan 15–29, 2025)
- Subcommittee hearings: Feb 5, 2025
- Reported/enrolled and adopted in the House: March–June 2025 (rules suspended Mar 5; reported enrolled Mar 6; placed on calendar and adopted June 1, 2025)
- Final classification shown as: Resolution — Adopted
Note on source material: The bill file provided contains multiple, inconsistent texts: (1) a short statutory-style section concerning the Bay Mills Indian Community (federal jurisdiction), and (2) ceremonial state House resolutions honoring Dr. Janine Janosky (Illinois) and the Savannah Country Day School clay target team (Georgia). These items appear to be collated together in the provided materials. This summary separates and clarifies the substantive components.
1) Federal provision affecting Bay Mills Indian Community (substantive statutory language)
- Main purpose: Authorizes the Bay Mills Indian Community of Michigan (the Tribe), including its agents/instrumentalities, to transfer, lease, encumber, or otherwise convey any interest it holds in real property that is NOT held in trust by the United States — without further federal authorization or approval.
- Key provisions:
- (a) Grants the Tribe unilateral authority to convey, lease, encumber, or otherwise transfer all or part of its non-trust real property interests.
- (b) Explicitly excludes lands or interests that are held in trust by the United States for the Tribe — those remain subject to existing federal trust rules and approvals.
- (c) Limits United States liability: the U.S. is not liable for terms or losses arising from such tribal land transactions unless the U.S. (or its agent) is a party to the transaction or another law imposes liability. Exception: does not limit liability for land transferred by the Tribe to the U.S. to be held in trust.
- Who is affected:
- Primary: Bay Mills Indian Community and its agents/instrumentalities.
- Secondary: Third parties entering transactions with the Tribe (buyers, lessees, lenders).
- Federal government: narrows post-transaction U.S. liability and oversight for non-trust lands.
- Practical impact:
- Increases tribal sovereignty and autonomy over non-trust land management and economic development.
- Reduces need for federal approval for non-trust land transactions, potentially speeding deals and financing.
- Leaves trust lands and federal trust responsibilities unchanged.
- Purchasers and lenders must rely on tribal authorities and contractual protections; U.S. protections/recourse are limited unless the U.S. is a transaction party.
2) Ceremonial content included in the file
- The document also contains two ceremonial state-style resolutions:
- An Illinois House resolution congratulating Dr. Janine Janosky on accomplishments as President of Richard J. Daley College (leadership, enrollment and graduation gains, grant funding increases, recognition as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, program innovations).
- A Georgia House resolution congratulating the Savannah Country Day School clay target team for winning the 2024 Georgia State Clay Target Championship (team and individual achievements).
- These are honorary/ceremonial in nature and do not create substantive legal obligations or policy changes at the federal level.
Sponsors (as provided)
- Jack Bergman (primary), Rashida Tlaib (cosponsor), Jesse Petrea, Ron Stephens, Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar (primaries listed). (Note: listed sponsors include members associated with disparate state-level resolutions; the mixed contents suggest verifying sponsor list in the official congressional record.)
Interpretation & Recommendation
- The operative, legally substantive language appears to be the limited federal authority granting Bay Mills the right to convey non-trust lands without further federal approval while preserving the federal trust framework for trust lands and limiting U.S. liability. Because the file contains mixed and inconsistent texts (federal statutory language plus state ceremonial resolutions), consult the official Congressional Record or the House Clerk’s enrolled bill text to confirm final enacted language and sponsorship.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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