# 119-s-1363: New Mexico Land Grant-Mercedes Historical or Traditional Use Cooperation and Coordination Act

119-s-1363, New Mexico Land Grant-Mercedes Historical or Traditional Use Cooperation and Coordination Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM] (D-NM); status passed_senate (as of 2026-10-09).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1363
- As of: 2026-10-09
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1363
- Congress: 119
- Title: New Mexico Land Grant-Mercedes Historical or Traditional Use Cooperation and Coordination Act
- Status: passed_senate
- Introduced: 2025-04-09
- Sponsor: Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM] (D-NM)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-09

## Summary

**Establishes a cooperative framework to recognize and manage historical and traditional noncommercial uses of Federal public land by New Mexico Spanish/Mexican community land grants.** It creates a process for memoranda of understanding that spell out permits, fees, maintenance, and consultation between land grant communities and Federal land managers. - Heirs and community users: Heirs of qualified New Mexico land grants gain a formal pathway to request permits for noncommercial historical uses like grazing, gathering plants and wood, water use, cemetery upkeep, and subsistence hunting or fishing. - Governing bodies and the New Mexico Land Grant Council: The Council and local governing bodies can negotiate and be represented in MOUs and may sign subsidiary project agreements. MOUs must include rules on fees and let the Secretary consider community socioeconomic conditions and a governing body's annual budget for fee reductions or waivers. - Federal agencies and Tribal consultation: The Secretary of Agriculture or the Interior must negotiate an initial MOU within 2 years and may renew it later. MOUs must route uses through existing permit and land-use authorities, require procedures for Tribal consultation, and explicitly preserve Tribal treaty rights and State water and wildlife authorities.

## Provisions PRIA read

- Permit steps and fee relief for land grants: benefit, medium. If enacted, heirs of qualified New Mexico land grants would get clear permit steps for long‑standing, noncommercial uses on federal land. Indian reservations and trust lands would be excluded. The Secretary would sign an agreement with the New Mexico Land Grant Council within two years. Each agreem…
- Land plans must consider traditional uses: benefit, low. If enacted, federal land use plans in New Mexico would need to consider how other uses affect traditional uses by qualified land grants. This would apply when plans are developed, revised, or maintained under federal land and forest laws. The Secretary would decide how to include this, following ap…
- Tribal, state, and existing rights preserved: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would not change tribal treaty rights or state authority over water, game, or fish. It would not change valid existing rights or create a new right to use federal land.

## Related bills

- 119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-4668: Protect College Sports Act of 2026
- 119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
- 119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act
- 119-s-3597: National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-s-4504: Full-Service Community School Expansion Act of 2026

## Sources
- [119-s-1363 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1363)

## Related
- [119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2120)
- [119-s-4668: Protect College Sports Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4668)
- [119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5022)
- [119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819)
- [119-s-3597: National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3597)
- [119-s-4504: Full-Service Community School Expansion Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4504)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1363 (as of 2026-10-09).