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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

93

Introduced by Assembly Member Alvarez

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Patel)

February 20, 2026

An act to add Section 14673.14 to the Government Code, relating to state property.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: yes

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Under existing law, there is in the Natural Resources Agency, the Department of Parks and Recreation, conducted under the control of an executive officer known as the Director of Parks and Recreation, charged with administration, protection, and development of the state park system. Existing law designates all parks, public campgrounds, monument sites, landmark sites, and sites of historical interest established or acquired by the state, or that are under its control, as the state park system, except as specified. Under existing law, the Department of Parks and Recreation controls the state park system, which is made up of units. One unit is the San Pasqual Battlefield State Park.

This bill would require the state to quitclaim forthwith to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, at no cost to the tribe, and subject to specified conditions, all interests of the state in the land owned within the San Pasqual Battlefield State Park, consisting of 3 parcels of land totaling approximately 3.68 acres. The bill would exempt the 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 provide that if the City of San Diego agrees to the transfer, the state would be required, at no cost to the tribe, to relinquish or transfer to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians all rights and interests that the state has in those lands through lease, permit, or otherwise, and to take any and all other actions necessary to effectuate the city’s transfer of the land to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians.

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.

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 San Pasqual Band of Mission Indian’s ancestral lands are located in the San Pasqual Valley. The tribe and its people were forcibly and wrongfully removed from those lands due to prior local, state, and federal actions. The San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians initially owned this land after the Mexican government established a civil pueblo for the tribe in 1835. The San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians were the only California tribe with this designation when the United States obtained the territory in 1848. As a result, the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians were the lawful owners of the San Pasqual Valley when California became a state.

(2) In 1870, the United States government granted the land to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians as a reservation. However, that reservation was rescinded a year later in 1871.

(3) In 1891, the United States Congress passed the Mission Indian Relief Act of 1891 intending to establish a reservation for the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians on the lands that it occupied at the time, which were in the fertile San Pasqual Valley, located in Township 12. However, the reservation was sited incorrectly in Township 11, and the tribe was forcibly removed from the fertile San Pasqual Valley to the rocky, barren land in Township 11, where the reservation is currently located.

(4) Currently, a small portion of the San Pasqual Valley in Township 12 is set aside for the San Pasqual Battlefield State Park. That state park has been closed for years and there is no designated date to reopen it. A small portion of the land in the state park is owned by the state and the remaining portion is owned by the City of San Diego. The state has interests in the land owned by the City of San Diego by virtue of a lease agreement and permits.

(5) The San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians wishes to have its ancestral lands returned to it. A tribal cemetery is located within those lands and the tribe intends to utilize the lands to operate a park open to the public that will celebrate the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indian’s history and its contributions to the community.

(6) 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) Therefore, 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 both of the following:

(1) Return to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians the land the state owns within the San Pasqual Battlefield State Park.

(2) If the City of San Diego agrees to return the land it owns to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, the state intends to transfer or renounce all state interests in the city’s lands in order to effectuate the transfer of land to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians.

SEC. 2.

Section 14673.14 is added to the Government Code, to read:

14673.14.

(a) Notwithstanding Section 11011.1, the state shall quitclaim forthwith to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, at no cost to the tribe, all interests of the state in the land owned within the San Pasqual Battlefield State Park, consisting of three parcels of land totaling approximately 3.68 acres. The state shall publish public notice thereof once in a newspaper in the County of San Diego and shall post a notice for 10 days at the intersection of the public right-of-way and the property.

(b) The quitclaim to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians 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 San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians.

(2) (A) The quitclaim deed conveying the lands pursuant to subdivision (a) shall restrict the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians’ commercial use of the lands solely to operating a cultural or educational educational or cultural center. The educational center shall include artifacts, displays, and information relating to the 1846 Battle of San Pasqual, including the role of the Mormon Battalion in that battle and in the Mexican-American War, and the lasting impacts of the battle on surrounding communities. No other commercial use or development, including, but not limited to, gaming, shall be permitted on the lands.

(B) Subparagraph (A) does not prohibit the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians from operating commercial uses related to the enjoyment of educational and cultural experiences tied to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians’ culture and history or related to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians’ operation of a cultural or educational center, including, but not limited to, a gift shop, snack bar, parking lot, or other similar use.

(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 San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, 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 San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians’ Tribal Council adopts a resolution pursuant to its tribal law accepting the fee title grants in accordance with the conditions set forth in this section.

(7) Public access shall be subject to reasonable regulations adopted by the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians pursuant to its inherent sovereign authority as landowner, provided that public recreation activities shall be limited to existing trails and roads, and that the use of off-road vehicles and e-bicycles shall be prohibited.

(c) If the City of San Diego agrees to transfer the land that it owns within the San Pasqual Battlefield State Park to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, the state shall, at no cost to the tribe, relinquish or transfer to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians all rights and interests that the state has in those lands through lease, permit, or otherwise, and take any and all other actions necessary to effectuate the City of San Diego’s transfer of the land to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians.

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 San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians and the state’s attempt to rectify the recognized wrongs of the state by returning the land to the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians.

SEC. 4.

The Legislature finds and declares that the addition of Section 14673.14 to the Government Code by this act serves a public purpose of attempting to rectify the recognized wrongs of the state in discriminating against Native Americans and to heal the relationship between the state and the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, and also serves a public purpose of allowing the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians to operate a public park to educate the public on the tribe’s 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.