As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on April 24, 2013
H.R. 1377 would allow the Mescalero Apache Tribe of New Mexico to enter into a lease or other temporary conveyance of its water rights. H.R. 1377 would prevent the Mescalero Apache Tribe from permanently forfeiting their water rights and would authorize leases of no more than 99 years.
Based on information from the Department of the Interior, CBO expects that the legislation would have no significant impact on the agency’s administrative costs. H.R. 1377 would have no effect on direct spending or revenues because any income resulting from additional leases would be paid directly to the Mescalero Apache Tribe. Therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 1377 conatins no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. Enacting this legislation would benefit the tribe.
