Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Water Rights Settlement Act
Sponsored By: Representative Calvert, Ken [R-CA-41]
Introduced
Summary
Creates a Tribal Water Right of up to 20,000 acre-feet per year held in trust and implements a negotiated settlement to resolve the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians’ California water claims, fund projects, and authorize land transfers.
Show full summary
- Families and Allottees: Allocates water entitlements to Allottees that are satisfied from the Tribal Water Right and specified Tribal surface rights. Allottees must use Tribal procedures and exhaust Tribal remedies before pursuing certain federal claims.
- Tribe and water management: Establishes the Tribe’s Tribal Water Right in trust, recognizes surface water rights, allows storage and recovery of imported water, and limits off-reservation leases to 99 years. The Act also requires Tribal ordinances and a governance framework for allocation and appeals.
- Local districts and lands: Authorizes federal land transfers into trust for the Tribe, and allows the Coachella Valley Water District to buy specified Facility Land at fair market value under defined appraisal and payment timelines.
- Funding and projects: Creates an Agua Caliente Settlement Trust Fund with four accounts for development, groundwater augmentation, water management, and operations. The bill mandates appropriations of $300 million, $100 million, $50 million, and $50 million to those accounts respectively.
*Would require mandatory appropriations totaling $500.0 million deposited into the Settlement Trust Fund to carry out the settlement and related projects.*
Your PRIA Score
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this bill and every other piece of legislation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 3 mixed.
Settlement trust fund $500 million
If enacted, the bill would create the Agua Caliente Settlement Trust Fund with $500 million in deposits split into four accounts: $300 million for development projects, $100 million for groundwater augmentation, $50 million for water management, and $50 million for operations and replacement. The Tribe would be able to access $50 million of the development account immediately when funds are deposited. Money in the Trust Fund could not be paid out on a per‑capita basis and withdrawals would need Secretary approval under required plans.
Tribe's 20,000 AFY groundwater right
If enacted, the bill would ratify a Tribal Water Right of up to 20,000 acre-feet per year (AFY) of groundwater held in trust by the United States for the Agua Caliente Tribe and Allottees. This right would carry a priority date no later than the 1876–1877 Executive Orders and generally not be subject to State law except in a basin-wide adjudication. The Tribe could lease or use the water, but off-reservation uses and leases would need Secretary approval and could not run longer than 99 years. The Agreement would also allow storage and reuse of imported water and exclude this Tribal Water Right from the Replenishment Assessment Charge as described in the Agreement.
Tribal tax replaces county property tax
If enacted, the bill would let the Tribe impose a Tribal Tax on Possessory Interests in place of the Riverside County ad valorem property tax. The Tribal Tax could not be set at a lower rate or on a lower assessed value than the county tax for the same period. Governments and nonprofit entities exempt under California law would remain exempt. The Tribe must distribute amounts to Other Public Agencies equal to what they would have gotten under the county tax, and those payments take priority over other Tribal Tax uses. The Tribal Tax could be collected under agreement with Riverside County and may not be used for per‑capita payments.
Settlement enforceability and legal rules
If enacted, the bill would set legal rules to implement the Settlement Agreement. It would narrow sovereign immunity waivers so parties can seek to compel compliance to the extent federal law allows. The Act would control over the Agreement if there is a conflict. The bill would not take effect until the Secretary publishes required findings and funds are appropriated; if those steps do not happen by December 31, 2035, the Act would expire and certain actions would be void. The bill also limits U.S. liability if Congress does not appropriate funds, requires waivers and releases by the Tribe on specified claims, pauses some deadlines while the settlement is being finalized, and requires environmental compliance with most costs paid from the Trust Fund while the Secretary remains responsible for federal review.
Federal land trust and facility sale
If enacted, the bill would direct specific federal parcels to be taken into trust for the Tribe on the Enforceability Date and require the Secretary to issue trust deeds within 10 years. Those lands would be withdrawn from public entry, mining laws, and leasing and would not be eligible for class II or class III gaming. The Secretary would appraise Facility Land within 90 days of the Enforceability Date and CVWD could buy it at fair market value if it pays appraisal and conveyance costs. If cultural resources are found during ground work, CVWD would have to stop work, notify the Tribe, and follow procedures for treatment or reburial of remains.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Calvert, Ken [R-CA-41]
CA • R
Cosponsors
Rep. Ruiz, Raul [D-CA-25]
CA • D
Sponsored 1/20/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov