Sponsors (2)
The bill confirms and protects Poarch Band tribal lands and governance—strengthening tribal sovereignty and avoiding litigation—while shifting tax and regulatory authority away from state/local governments and changing the legal/jurisdictional landscape for nearby non‑tribal residents.
Poarch Band members (tribal community and residents of tribal lands) retain tribal self-governance and recognized land-into-trust status, preserving tribal jurisdiction and governmental authority over those lands.
Tribal trust lands reaffirmed by the bill remain exempt from certain state taxation and regulation, protecting tribal property and revenue bases from state/local imposition.
The bill ratifies prior Department of the Interior actions, reducing the risk of litigation over trust land determinations and saving federal, state, and tribal resources that would be spent defending or challenging those actions.
State and local governments (especially jurisdictions near the reaffirmed trust lands) may lose taxing authority and some regulatory control over those lands, potentially reducing local revenues and budgets for services.
Non-tribal residents and communities adjacent to the reaffirmed trust lands may experience changes in applicable laws, services, or enforcement (shifting from state/local to tribal or federal jurisdiction), creating adjustment or service-delivery issues.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Retroactively recognizes the tribe as under federal jurisdiction on June 18, 1934 for IRA purposes, confirms prior trust lands, and ratifies past Interior trust actions.
Introduced May 14, 2025 by Katie Boyd Britt · Last progress May 14, 2025
Treats the Poarch Band of Creek Indians as if it were under Federal jurisdiction on June 18, 1934 for purposes of the Indian Reorganization Act, confirms that lands the United States took into trust for the tribe before this law are trust lands, and ratifies the Secretary of the Interior’s prior trust acquisitions for the tribe. The measure does not create new programs or appropriate funds; it affirms legal status and clears title and administrative authority related to previously taken trust lands. The main effect is legal clarification: it retroactively recognizes federal jurisdiction date for the tribe under the Indian Reorganization Act, validates past Interior Department actions taking land into trust for the tribe, and reduces uncertainty about the trust status of those lands. This primarily affects the tribe and federal land management and could limit certain legal challenges about those trust lands.