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Shivwits Band of Paiutes Jurisdictional Clarity Act
To confer jurisdiction on the State of Utah with respect to civil causes of action arising on or within the Indian lands of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes, and for other purposes.
Summary
S 1508 confers civil jurisdiction on the State of Utah over causes of action arising on or within Indian lands of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes. The bill defines the Shivwits Band to include the tribe, its governing body, tribal enterprises, and entities chartered under the Indian Reorganization Act. The bill treats contracts and agreements affecting the Indian lands or involving the Shivwits Band as involving interstate commerce and federal question jurisdiction for purposes of federal court jurisdiction. The bill preserves the Shivwits Band's sovereign immunity from unconsented suits and adds the Shivwits Band to tribes authorized to lease trust land under existing law.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Sen. Curtis, John R. [R-UT] (R-UT)
Actions (3)
- Dec 17, 2025 Committee on Indian Affairs. Hearings held. · senate
- Apr 29, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. · senate
- Apr 29, 2025 Introduced in Senate
More bills on these subjects (8)
Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Committee action
What happened to this bill in committee — the meetings where it was considered and every recorded vote taken on it.
Meetings where this bill was on the agenda
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 29, 2025
Mr. Curtis introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs
A BILL
To confer jurisdiction on the State of Utah with respect to civil causes of action arising on or within the Indian lands of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Shivwits Band of Paiutes Jurisdictional Clarity Act”.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Indian lands.—The term “Indian lands” means lands of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes that are—
(A) held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes; or
(B) subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by the United States.
(2) Shivwits band of paiutes.—The term “Shivwits Band of Paiutes” means—
(A) the Shivwits Band of Paiutes, a federally recognized Indian Tribe restored by Congress pursuant to the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah Restoration Act (Public Law 96-227; 94. Stat. 317);
(B) the recognized governing body of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes;
(C) any Shivwits Tribal enterprise, including any commercial activity, business, or entity managed, controlled, or operated by the Shivwits Band of Paiutes, and any subsidiaries thereto; and
(D) any corporation chartered by the Shivwits Band of Paiutes under section 17 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the “Indian Reorganization Act”) (48 Stat. 988, chapter 576; 25 U.S.C. 5124), and any subsidiaries thereto.
SEC. 3. STATE CIVIL JURISDICTION.
The State of Utah shall have jurisdiction over any civil cause of action—
(1) to which the Shivwits Band of Paiutes is a party; and
(2) that arises on or within the Indian lands.
SEC. 4. FEDERAL COURT JURISDICTION.
(a) In General.—Any contract or agreement, including a lease, affecting or arising on the Indian lands, or to which the Shivwits Band of Paiutes is a party, shall be considered within the meaning of “commerce” as defined in section 1 of title 9, United States Code.
(b) Causes of Action.—Any cause of action arising from any contract or agreement, including a lease, affecting or arising on the Indian lands, or to which the Shivwits Band of Paiutes is a party, shall be deemed to be a civil cause of action arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States within the meaning of section 1331 of title 28, United States Code.
SEC. 5. SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY NOT ABROGATED.
Nothing in this Act abrogates—
(1) the sovereign immunity of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes from unconsented suit; or
(2) the authority of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes to waive that sovereign immunity.
SEC. 6. SHIVWITS BAND OF PAIUTES LEASING AUTHORITY.
Subsection (a) of the first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (69 Stat. 539, chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 415(a)), is amended, in the second sentence, by inserting “, land held in trust for the Shivwits Band of Paiutes” after “land held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation”. <all>
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