Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

130th MAINE LEGISLATURE
                    FIRST SPECIAL SESSION-2021
Legislative Document                                                                          No. 1626
H.P. 1210                                                      House of Representatives, April 27, 2021
            An Act Implementing the Recommendations of the Task Force on
            Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act
   Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed.
                                                                                   ROBERT B. HUNT
                                                                                              Clerk
Presented by Representative TALBOT ROSS of Portland.
Cosponsored by Senator CARNEY of Cumberland and
Representatives: COLLINGS of Portland, Speaker FECTEAU of Biddeford, HARNETT of
Gardiner, MARTIN of Greene, NEWELL of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, PERRY of Calais,
Senator: President JACKSON of Aroostook.
                                       Printed on recycled paper
 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
     Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §685-C, sub-§10, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 739, §1, is amended
 to read:
     10. Operating a personal watercraft. Operating a personal watercraft is prohibited
 on the following categories of great ponds:
     A. Great ponds located entirely or partly within the jurisdiction of the commission that
     are identified in an official comprehensive land use plan adopted by the commission
     pursuant to subsection 1 as being not accessible within 1/4 mile by 2-wheel drive
     vehicles, with less than one development unit per mile, and at least one outstanding
     resource value;
     B. Great ponds located entirely or partly within the jurisdiction of the commission that
     are identified in an official comprehensive land use plan adopted by the commission as
     being accessible within 1/4 mile by 2-wheel drive vehicles, with less than one
     development unit per mile, with 2 or more outstanding resource values in fisheries,
     wildlife, scenic or shore character;
     C. Great ponds and smaller ponds located entirely or partly within the jurisdiction of
     the commission that are identified in an official comprehensive land use plan adopted
     by the commission as being not accessible within 1/2 mile by 2-wheel drive vehicles,
     with no more than one noncommercial remote camp and with a cold water game
     fishery; and
     D. Great ponds with less than all but more than 2/3 of their surface area in or partly in
     the jurisdiction of the commission that are identified as being of statewide significance
     in the "Maine Wildlands Lake Assessment" dated June 1, 1987 prepared by the
     commission, with 2 or more outstanding resource values in fisheries, wildlife, scenic
     or shore character and with more than 1/2 of their shoreline in public and private
     conservation ownership with guaranteed public access for low-impact public
     recreation.
 The commission shall implement this subsection by rule adopted in accordance with
 section 685‑A. Rules adopted to implement this subsection are routine technical rules
 pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II‑A 2-A.
 This section does not apply to any waters subject to regulation by the Maine Indian Tribal-
 State Commission under Title 30, section 6207, subsection 3‑A.
     Sec. 2. 30 MRSA §6202, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 732, §§1 and 31, is amended to
 read:
 §6202. Legislative findings and declaration of policy
     The Legislature finds and declares the following.
     The Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation and the Houlton Band of Maliseet
 Indians are asserting asserted claims for possession of large areas of land in the State and
 for damages alleging that the lands in question originally were transferred by treaty in
 violation of the Indian Trade and Intercourse Act of 1790, 1 Stat. 137, or subsequent
 reenactments or versions thereof.
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     Substantial At the time, the prospect that these claims would not be promptly resolved
 threatened to create substantial economic and social hardship could be created for large
 numbers of landowners, citizens and communities in the State, and therefore to the State as
 a whole, if these claims are not resolved promptly.
      The claims also have produced disagreement between the Indian claimants and the
 State over the extent of the state's State's jurisdiction in the claimed areas. This
 disagreement has resulted in litigation and, if the claims are had not been resolved, further
 litigation on jurisdictional issues would be have been likely.
      The In the late 1970s, the Indian claimants and the State, acting through the Attorney
 General, have reached certain agreements which represent that represented a good faith
 effort on the part of all parties to achieve a fair and just resolution of those claims which
 that, in the absence of agreement, would be have been pursued through the courts for many
 years to the ultimate detriment of the State and all its citizens, including the Indians. The
 resolution reached among the Indian claimants and the State affirmed the land transfers and
 the reservations of rights embodied within the specific treaties that gave rise to the claims
 at issue, and sought to definitively eliminate any prospect that the claims brought by the
 Indian claimants would cloud private title to land in the State.
      The foregoing agreement between the Indian claimants and the State also represents a
 good faith effort by the Indian claimants and the State to achieve a just and fair resolution
 of their disagreement over jurisdiction on the present Passamaquoddy and Penobscot Indian
 reservations and in the claimed areas. To that end, the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the
 Penobscot Nation have agreed to adopt the laws of the State as their own to the extent
 provided in this Act. The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and its lands will be wholly
 subject to the laws of the State.
     It is the purpose of this Act to implement in part the foregoing agreement.
     1. Rights, privileges, powers, duties and immunities. The purpose of the
 amendments to this Act enacted in 2021 is to establish that the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the
 Penobscot Nation and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians enjoy rights, privileges,
 powers, duties and immunities similar to those of other federally recognized Indian tribes
 within the United States.
      2. Federal Indian law applies. Except as otherwise specified in this Act, the State,
 the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians
 agree and intend pursuant to United States Public Law 96-420 and hereby recognize and
 adopt the application of federal Indian law with regard to the rights, privileges, powers,
 duties and immunities of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation and the Houlton
 Band of Maliseet Indians, including laws and regulations of the United States enacted for
 the benefit of Indians, Indian nations or tribes or bands of Indians and laws and regulations
 that accord a special status or right to or that relate to a special status or right of any Indian,
 Indian nation, tribe or band of Indians, Indian lands, Indian reservations, Indian country,
 Indian territory or land held in trust for Indians.
     Sec. 3. 30 MRSA §6203, as amended by PL 2009, c. 636, Pt. B, §1 and affected by
 §2, is further amended to read:
 §6203. Definitions
                                           Page 2 - 130LR1341(01)
     As used in this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise, the following terms have
 the following meanings.
     1. Commission. "Commission" means the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission
 created by section 6212.
     1-A. Federal Indian law. "Federal Indian law" means the United States Constitution
 and all generally applicable federal statutes, regulations and case law and subsequent
 amendments thereto or judicial interpretations thereof, relating to the rights, privileges,
 powers, duties and immunities of federally recognized Indian tribes within the United
 States.
     2. Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians. "Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians" means
 the Maliseet Tribe of Indians as constituted on March 4, 1789, and all its predecessors and
 successors in interest, which that, as of the date of passage of this Act April 3, 1980, are
 represented, as to lands within the United States, by the Houlton Band Council of the
 Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians.
     2-A. Houlton Band Trust Land. "Houlton Band Trust Land" means land or other
 natural resources acquired by the secretary in trust for the Houlton Band of Maliseet
 Indians, in compliance with the terms of this Act section 6205-A and the Maine Indian
 Claims Settlement Act of 1980, United States Public Law 96-420, with moneys money
 from the original $900,000 congressional appropriation and interest thereon deposited in
 the Land Acquisition Fund established for the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians pursuant
 to United States Public Law 96-420, Section 5, United States Code, Title 25, Section 1724,
 or with proceeds from a taking of Houlton Band Trust Land for public uses pursuant to the
 laws of this State or the United States or as otherwise authorized by section 6205-A.
     3. Land or other natural resources. "Land or other natural resources" means any
 real property or other natural resources, or any interest in or right involving any real
 property or other natural resources, including, but without limitation, minerals and mineral
 rights, timber and timber rights, water and water rights and hunting and fishing rights.
     4. Laws of the State. "Laws of the State" means the Constitution of Maine and all
 statutes, and rules or regulations and the common law of the State and its political
 subdivisions, and subsequent amendments thereto or judicial interpretations thereof.
      4-A. Nontribal citizen or nonmember. "Nontribal citizen" or "nonmember" means
 a person or entity that is not a member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation
 or the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and is not a tribal entity.
     5. Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation. "Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation"
 means those lands reserved to the Passamaquoddy Tribe by agreement with the State
 Commonwealth of Massachusetts dated September 19, 1794, excepting any parcel within
 such lands transferred to a person or entity other than a member of the Passamaquoddy
 Tribe subsequent to such agreement and prior to the effective date of this Act October 10,
 1980. If any lands reserved to the Passamaquoddy Tribe by the aforesaid agreement
 hereafter are acquired by the Passamaquoddy Tribe, or the secretary on its behalf, that land
 shall must be included within the Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation. For purposes of this
 subsection, the lands reserved to the Passamaquoddy Tribe by the aforesaid agreement shall
 be are limited to Indian Township in Washington County; Pine Island, sometimes referred
 to as Taylor's Island, located in Big Lake, in Washington County; 100 acres of land located
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 on Nemcass Point, sometimes referred to as Governor's Point, located in Washington
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 County and shown on a survey of John Gardner which that is filed in the Maine State
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 Archives, Executive Council Records, Report Number 264 and dated June 5, 1855; 100
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 acres of land located at Pleasant Point in Washington County as described in a deed to
49
 Captain John Frost from Theodore Lincoln, Attorney for Benjamin Lincoln, Thomas
50
 Russell, and John Lowell dated July 14, 1792, and recorded in the Washington County
51
 Registry of Deeds on April 27, 1801, at Book 3, Page 73; and those 15 islands in the St.
52
 Croix River in existence on September 19, 1794 and located between the head of the tide
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 of that river and the falls below the forks of that river, both of which points are shown on
54
 a 1794 plan of Samuel Titcomb which that is filed in the Maine State Archives in Maine
55
 Land Office Plan Book Number 1, page 33. The "Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation"
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 includes those lands which that have been or may be acquired by the Passamaquoddy Tribe
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 within that portion of the Town of Perry which that lies south of Route 1 on the east side
58
 of Route 190 and south of lands now owned or formerly owned by William Follis on the
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 west side of Route 190, provided that no such lands may be included in the Passamaquoddy
60
 Indian Reservation until the Secretary of State receives certification from the treasurer of
61
 the Town of Perry that the Passamaquoddy Tribe has paid to the Town of Perry the amount
62
 of $350,000, provided that the consent of the Town of Perry would be voided unless the
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 payment of the $350,000 is made within 120 days of the effective date of this section. Any
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 commercial development of those lands must be by approval of the voters of the Town of
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 Perry with the exception of land development currently in the building stages.
      6. Passamaquoddy Indian territory. "Passamaquoddy Indian territory" means that
 territory defined by section 6205, subsection 1.
     7. Passamaquoddy Tribe. "Passamaquoddy Tribe" means the Passamaquoddy Indian
 Tribe as constituted on March 4, 1789, and all its predecessors and successors in interest,
 which that, as of the date of passage of this Act April 3, 1980, are represented by the Joint
 Tribal Council of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, with separate councils at the Indian Township
 and Pleasant Point Reservations.
      8. Penobscot Indian Reservation. "Penobscot Indian Reservation" means the islands
 in the Penobscot River reserved to the Penobscot Nation by agreement with the States
 Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the State of Maine consisting solely of Indian Island,
 also known as Old Town Island, and all islands in that river northward thereof that existed
 on June 29, 1818, excepting any island transferred to a person or entity other than a member
 of the Penobscot Nation subsequent to June 29, 1818, and prior to the effective date of this
 Act October 10, 1980. If any land within Nicatow Island is hereafter acquired by the
 Penobscot Nation, or the secretary on its behalf, that land must be included within the
 Penobscot Indian Reservation.
 The "Penobscot Indian Reservation" includes the following parcels of land that have been
 or may be acquired by the Penobscot Nation from Bangor Pacific Hydro Associates as
 compensation for flowage of reservation lands by the West Enfield dam: A parcel located
 on the Mattagamon Gate Road and on the East Branch of the Penobscot River in T.6 R.8
 WELS W.E.L.S., which is a portion of the "Mattagamon Lake Dam Lot" and has an area
 of approximately 24.3 acres, and Smith Island in the Penobscot River, which has an area
 of approximately one acre.
 The "Penobscot Indian Reservation" also includes a certain parcel of land located in Argyle,
 Penobscot County consisting of approximately 714 acres known as the Argyle East Parcel
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47
 and more particularly described as Parcel One in a deed from the Penobscot Indian Nation
48
 to the United States of America dated November 22, 2005 and recorded at the Penobscot
49
 County Registry of Deeds in Book 10267, Page 265.
     9. Penobscot Indian territory. "Penobscot Indian territory" means that territory
 defined by section 6205, subsection 2.
      10. Penobscot Nation. "Penobscot Nation" means the Penobscot Indian Nation as
 constituted on March 4, 1789, and all its predecessors and successors in interest, which
 that, as of the date of passage of this Act April 3, 1980, are represented by the Penobscot
 Reservation Tribal Council.
     11. Secretary. "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Interior of the United States.
     12. Settlement Fund. "Settlement Fund" means the trust fund established for the
 Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation by the United States pursuant to congressional
 legislation extinquishing extinguishing aboriginal land claims in Maine.
     13. Transfer. "Transfer" includes, but is not necessarily limited to, any voluntary or
 involuntary sale, grant, lease, allotment, partition or other conveyance; any transaction the
 purpose of which was to effect a sale, grant, lease, allotment, partition or other conveyance;
 and any act, event or circumstance that resulted in a change in title to, possession of,
 dominion over, or control of land or other natural resources.
      14. Tribal entity. "Tribal entity" means an entity, including but not limited to a
 corporation, partnership or other enterprise, that is owned by the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the
 Penobscot Nation or the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians or the tribe's, nation's or band's
 members, when more than 50% of ownership interests are held by any combination of the
 tribe, nation or band and the tribe's, nation's or band's members. For the purpose of this
 Title, "member" includes a married couple, at least one of whom is an enrolled tribal
 member.
     Sec. 4. 30 MRSA §6204, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 732, §§1 and 31, is repealed.
     Sec. 5. 30 MRSA §6205, as amended by PL 2013, c. 91, §§1 and 2 and affected by
 §3, is further amended to read:
 §6205. Indian territory
     1. Passamaquoddy Indian territory. Subject to subsections 3, 4 and 5, the The
 following lands within the State are known as the "Passamaquoddy Indian territory:"
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