On Wednesday, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a full committee “marathon markup” on 21 bills of varying topics. Included in the markup were H.R. 825 and H.R. 1491.
Proposed by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Arizona), H.R. 825 “Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act” was introduced to promote the development of renewable energy on public land. In addition, Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Butte) proposed H.R. 1491 “Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Land Affirmation Act of 2017” in order to reaffirm the action of the Secretary of the Interior to take land into trust for the benefit of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-North Coast) addressed Rep. LaMalfa to speak on the matter of a potential local government agreement to address the Chumash Indian land conflict. LaMalfa conveyed support for an agreement between the local government and the tribe, saying he would appreciate efforts to work together to produce an agreement that can be incorporated into the bill, even going further to say that this is the ideal solution. Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) received unanimous consent to report all 21 bills favorably to the Floor of the House of Representatives.