AB 2356

AB2356:v98#DOCUMENT

Bill Start

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2356

An act to add Section 14673.16 to the Government Code, relating to state parks.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2356, as amended, Ramos. State parks: Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation: Tolowa Dunes State Park.

Existing law authorizes the Director of General Services to execute grants to real property belonging to the state in the name and upon behalf of the state, whenever the sale or exchange of real property is authorized or contemplated by law, if no other state agency is specifically authorized and directed to execute the grants. Existing law finds and declares that California’s state parks are a true reflection of the state’s collective history, natural and cultural heritage, and ideals. Existing law requires the Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation to promote and regulate the use of the state park system in a manner that conserves the scenery, natural and historic resources, and wildlife in the individual units of the system for the enjoyment of future generations. Existing law authorizes the director to transfer specified park property to specified entities, as provided.

This bill would provide that it is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to return to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation the land the state owns and that is called Tolowa Dunes State Park at no cost to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation and to terminate all leases between the state and third parties for grazing and other rights that include the assessors parcel numbers included in the land transfer to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation.

This bill would require the Department of General Services to grant to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, subject to specified conditions, all of the rights, title, and interest of the state in the land it owns within the Tolowa Dunes State Park, consisting of 3 parcels totaling approximately 4,301 acres. The bill would exempt that land from property taxation. By imposing additional duties on locals in the administration of this exemption, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation.This bill would make legislative findings and declarations related to a gift of public funds.The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.Existing law requires the state to reimburse local agencies annually for certain property tax revenues lost as a result of any exemption or classification of property for purposes of ad valorem property taxation.This bill would provide that, notwithstanding those provisions, no appropriation is made and the state shall not reimburse local agencies for property tax revenues lost by them pursuant to the bill.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NOYES Local Program: NOYES

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) The California ancestral lands of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation are in the County of Del Norte, and include Yan’-daa-k’vt, the Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ place of creation. Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ is the collective reference to all people of Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ ancestry. The Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ were forcibly and wrongfully removed and dispossessed from those lands due to prior local, state, and federal actions.(2) In 1853, acting on Governor Peter Burnett’s declaration of a war of extinction against California Indians, more than 900 Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ ancestors were slaughtered at Yan’-daa-k’vt in the second largest recorded massacre of indigenous people in United States history.(3) In 1862, 44,000 acres, including Yan’-daa-k’vt, were reserved for the Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ via presidential executive order on May 3, 1862, only for the reservation to be abandoned by the federal government in 1868.(4) Pursuant to the Indian Appropriation Act of 1906 and the Homeless, Landless Indian Act of 1906, a second reservation was set aside for the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, formerly called the Smith River Reservation, but it did not include the Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ place of creation, Yan’-daa-k’vt.(5) Yan’-daa-k’vt was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 as Yontocket Historic District.(6) In 1978, the state acquired 10,000 acres in Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ ancestral territory, which included Yan’-daa-k’vt.(7) In 1984, the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation requested that the state return Yan’-daa-k’vt to tribal ownership.(8) In 2001, the state officially designated 4,310 acres of the land acquired in 1978 as the Tolowa Dunes State Park, which included Yan’-daa-k’vt.(9) The Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation seeks to regain their ancestral lands, which includes tribal cemeteries holding ancestors from the 1853 Yan’-daa-k’vt massacre and that still serves as a place of internment today. The Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation will keep areas of the former state park accessible to the public, while safeguarding its cultural heritage resources and natural environment.(10) Executive Order No. N-15-19 apologized on behalf of the citizens of the State of California to all California Native Americans for the many instances of violence, maltreatment, and neglect California inflicted on tribes. Governor Newsom’s Statement of Administration Policy on Native American Ancestral Lands mandates that the state support and work cooperatively with California tribes that are interested in acquiring natural lands in excess of state needs.(b) In recognition of the state’s past wrongdoings concerning the violence, maltreatment, and neglect California inflicted on tribes, and in furtherance of its policy to assist tribes interested in acquiring natural lands in excess of state needs, the Legislature intends to do all of the following:(1) Return and convey title to all those lands comprising the Tolowa Dunes State Park to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation at no cost to the nation.(2) Terminate all leases between the state and third parties for grazing and other rights that include the assessor parcel numbers included in the land transfer of the Tolowa Dunes State Park to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation.(3) Exempt the conveyance described in this subdivision from real property taxation or documentary transfer taxation.

SEC. 2.

Section 14673.16 is added to the Government Code, to read:

14673.16. (a) Notwithstanding Section 11011.1, the Department of General Services shall grant to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, subject to the conditions set forth in this section, all of the rights, title, and interest of the state in the land it owns within the Tolowa Dunes State Park, consisting of three parcels totaling approximately 4,301 acres.(b) The grant to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation pursuant to subdivision (a) is subject to all of the following conditions:(1) Any agreements, including, but not limited to, leases, in which the State of California is a counterparty, and which concern the lands subject to the grant, shall be terminated by operation of law upon the conveyance of the lands pursuant to subdivision (a) to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation.(2) Commercial development, including, but not limited to, gaming, not related to the enjoyment of educational and cultural experiences tied to Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ culture and history, shall be prohibited in perpetuity.(3) The lands transferred pursuant to subdivision (a), and improvements on those lands, shall not be subsequently sold or transferred, except as necessary for the United States to hold the lands in trust on behalf of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, in which case that transfer into trust status is not prohibited by this section.(4) The lands transferred pursuant to subdivision (a), and improvements on those lands, shall not be encumbered. For purposes of this paragraph, “encumbered” includes, but is not limited to, mortgaging the property, pledging the property as collateral, or any other transaction where the property would serve as security for borrowed funds. Any lease of the land and improvements shall be consistent with the purposes for which the land and improvements are granted.(5) The lands transferred pursuant to subdivision (a), and improvements on those lands, shall not be subject to any real property taxation and no documentary transfer tax shall apply with respect to any deed, instrument, or writing effectuating that transfer.(6) The grant of lands pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be valid only if the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation Tribal Council adopts a resolution pursuant to nation law accepting the fee title grants in accordance with the conditions set forth in this section.(7) The deed conveying the lands to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation shall include provisions restricting the use of the lands to protect in perpetuity the conservation, cultural, wildlife, environmental, and historical values of the land.(8) Public access shall be subject to reasonable regulations adopted by the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation pursuant to its inherent sovereign authority as landowner, provided that public recreation activities shall be limited to existing trails, roads, and beaches, and that the use of off-road vehicles and e-bicycles shall be prohibited.(9) Hunting and fishing by citizens of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation shall be allowed pursuant to ordinances adopted by the nation that ensure the sustainability of fish and wildlife populations.(10) Following conveyance of the lands to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, no public agency shall use the name “Tolowa Dunes State Park” to refer to these lands, and instead shall use the term “Yan’-daa-k’vt” to refer to the lands transferred pursuant to subdivision (a).

SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique circumstances surrounding the history of the ancestral lands of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation and the state’s attempt to rectify its acknowledged wrongs by returning the lands to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation.

SEC. 4.

The Legislature finds and declares that the addition of Section 14673.16 to the Government Code by this act serves a public purpose by attempting to rectify the acknowledged wrongs of the state in discriminating against Native Americans and to heal the relationships between the state and the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation and also serves a public purpose by allowing the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation to operate a public park to educate the public on Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ history and contributions to the community, and for all of these reasons, does not constitute a gift of public funds within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

SEC. 5. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SEC. 6. Notwithstanding Section 2229 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, no appropriation is made by this act and the state shall not reimburse any local agency for any property tax revenues lost by it pursuant to this act.

SECTION 1.

(a)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1)The Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation’s ancestral lands are located in the County of Del Norte, and include Yan’-daa-k’vt, the Dee-ni’s place of genesis. The Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation and its people were forcibly and wrongfully removed and dispossessed from those lands due to prior local, state, and federal actions.

(2)In 1862, 44,000 acres, including Yan’-daa-k’vt, were reserved for the Dee-ni’ via Executive Order on May 3, 1862, only for the reservation to be discontinued by the federal government in 1868.

(3)In 1906, a second reservation was set aside for the Dee-ni’, but it did not include the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation’s place of genesis, Yan’-daa-k’vt.

(4)In 1984, the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation requested that the state return Yan’-daa-k’vt to its ownership.

(5)Currently, Yan’-daa-k’vt is owned by the state and serves as the Tolowa Dunes State Park.

(6)The Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation seeks to reclaim its ancestral lands, which include a tribal cemetery from the 1853 massacre at Yan’-daa-k’vt and continues to serve as a place of internment for current generations. The Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation intends to keep parts of the state park accessible to the public while protecting its cultural and natural resources.

(7)Executive Order No. N-15-19 apologizes on behalf of the citizens of the State of California to all California Native Americans for the many instances of violence, maltreatment and neglect California inflicted on tribes. Governor Newsom’s Statement of Administration Policy on Native American Ancestral Lands mandates that the state support and work cooperatively with California tribes that are interested in acquiring natural lands in excess of state needs.

(b)In recognition of the state’s past wrongdoings concerning the violence, maltreatment, and neglect California inflicted on tribes, and in furtherance of its policy to assist tribes interested in acquiring natural lands in excess of state needs, it is the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to accomplish both of the following:

(1)Return to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation the land the state owns and that is called Tolowa Dunes State Park at no cost to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation.

(2)Terminate all leases between the state and third parties for grazing and other rights that include the assessors parcel numbers included in the land transfer to the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation.