# 119-hr-5935: Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Water Rights Settlement Act

119-hr-5935, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Water Rights Settlement Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Calvert, Ken [R-CA-41] (R-CA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5935
- As of: 2026-09-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-5935
- Congress: 119
- Title: Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Water Rights Settlement Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-11-07
- Sponsor: Rep. Calvert, Ken [R-CA-41] (R-CA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Native Americans
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-12

## Summary

**Final settlement of Agua Caliente water rights and a $500 million trust fund.** This bill creates a statutory framework that quantifies and holds in trust a Tribal Water Right of up to 20,000 acre-feet per year and funds a four-account Agua Caliente Settlement Trust Fund to support water projects, management, operations, and replacement. - Tribe and Allottees: Establishes a Tribal Water Right held in trust by the United States and authorizes production or use up to 20,000 acre-feet per year. The right cannot be lost through non-use and is generally removed from state law outside of a comprehensive adjudication. - Funding and projects: Creates the Agua Caliente Settlement Trust Fund with four accounts and mandatory deposits totaling $500 million. $50 million from the Development Projects Account is immediately available on deposit for planning and construction of water reliability and recycling projects. - Local governments, water districts, and taxes: Transfers specified Federal lands into trust for the Tribe and allows the Coachella Valley Water District to buy Facility Land at fair market value under defined appraisal and payment rules. Replaces the Riverside County ad valorem tax on possessory interests with a Tribal Possessory Interest Tax and directs distributions to other public agencies under an apportionment schedule. *Mandatory federal deposits total $500 million into the trust fund, increasing federal outlays and subject to indexing for cost changes.*

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Ruiz, Raul [D-CA-25] (D-CA), 2026-01-20T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Agua Caliente $500 million fund: benefit, high. If enacted, the government would create a $500 million Agua Caliente Settlement Trust Fund. The bill would place $300 million in a Development Projects Account, $100 million in a Groundwater Augmentation Account, $50 million in a Water Management Account, and $50 million in an Operation, Maintenanc…
- Tribal groundwater right and fees: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would confirm a Tribal Water Right of up to 20,000 acre-feet per year. The right would have a priority date no later than the 1876 and 1877 Executive Orders. The Tribe would set rates, production fees, and delivery charges on the Reservation under its Water Ordinance and the Ag…
- Tribal tax replaces county property tax: mixed, medium. If enacted, the Tribe could impose a Tribal Tax on possessory interests instead of Riverside County ad valorem property tax. That change would take effect the January 1 after the Enforceability Date. The Tribal Tax rate and assessed value could not be set below what Riverside County would have appl…
- Federal land transfers and sale: mixed, medium. If enacted, specified federal parcels would be taken into trust for the Tribe on the Enforceability Date and removed from public-land claims, mining locations, and mineral leasing. The Bureau of Indian Affairs would assume prior management benefits and duties and the Secretary must issue trust deed…
- Timing, waivers, and legal limits: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would define an "Enforceability Date" when the Secretary publishes five specific findings in the Federal Register. Many settlement actions, funding, land transfers, and waivers would only take effect on that date. The bill would toll time limits on listed claims from enactment…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-9495: Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2027
- 119-hr-4016: Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2026
- 119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025
- 119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2548: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-5935 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5935)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-9495: Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2027](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9495)
- [119-hr-4016: Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4016)
- [119-hr-4669: FEMA Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4669)
- [119-hr-4206: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4206)
- [119-hr-2548: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2548)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5935 (as of 2026-09-12).