Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act
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Would expand the Miccosukee Reserved Area in Florida to include Osceola Camp, a portion of Everglades National Park, and would require the federal government to take flood-protection measures for structures in that camp within two years of enactment.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend the Miccosukee Reserved Area Act to add Osceola Camp — a portion of Everglades National Park in Florida — to the Miccosukee Reserved Area. The expanded boundary would be defined by a specific map held on file with the National Park Service and filed with Miami-Dade County and the Tribe.
It would also require the Secretary of the Interior, consulting with the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, to take appropriate actions to protect structures within the newly added Osceola Camp area from flooding, with a deadline of two years after enactment. The bill does not appropriate specific funds for those actions and does not otherwise alter the broader Everglades National Park or existing Miccosukee Reserved Area boundaries outside the Osceola Camp addition.
Key provisions
- 1Would expand the definition of the Miccosukee Reserved Area to include the Osceola Camp portion of Everglades National Park, as depicted on a specified July 2023 map.
- 2Would require the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Miccosukee Tribe, to take appropriate actions to protect Osceola Camp structures from flooding within two years of enactment.
Who would be affected
The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, whose members occupy structures within Osceola Camp, are the primary parties affected. The National Park Service and the Department of the Interior would take on new obligations to protect those structures from flooding and to maintain and file the revised boundary map with local county officials.
Why it matters
For the Miccosukee Tribe, inclusion of Osceola Camp in the Reserved Area would formalize the tribe's land rights over that portion of Everglades National Park and trigger a federal obligation to address flooding threats to structures there. The two-year deadline creates an enforceable timeline for the Interior Department to act on flood protection.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Miccosukee Reserved Area Act (Public Law 105-313) (Sec. 2)
Adds Osceola Camp as an additional area within the Miccosukee Reserved Area definition and requires flood-protection actions for structures there.
Amends Miccosukee Reserved Area Act (Public Law 105-313) (Sec. 3)
Adds a new subsection directing the Secretary to protect Osceola Camp structures from flooding within two years of enactment.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Deadline for Secretary to complete flood-protection actions at Osceola Camp
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that implementing S. 673 would have insignificant costs over the 2025–2030 period, with no effect on direct spending, revenues, or the deficit.
CBO estimates that S. 673, the Miccosukee Reserved Area Amendments Act, would have no effect on direct (mandatory) spending, revenues, or the deficit over the 2025–2035 period. Any spending to implement the bill's flood-protection requirements — which direct the Department of the Interior to protect structures at the Osceola Camp within Everglades National Park — would be subject to future appropriations and is expected to be insignificant, because CBO found that existing National Park Service efforts would largely fulfill those requirements. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
How implementation would work
The National Park Service would maintain and file copies of the Osceola Camp boundary map (map No. 160/188443, dated July 2023) with its own offices, Miami-Dade County, and the Tribe. Separately, the Secretary of the Interior would consult with the Tribe and carry out flood-protection actions for Osceola Camp structures within two years of enactment. The bill does not specify a rulemaking process, leaving the Secretary discretion over what "appropriate actions" to take.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 220.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill expands the Miccosukee Reserved Area to include a portion of Everglades National Park in Florida that is known as Osceola Camp. The Department of the Interior, in consultation with the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, must take appropriate actions to protect structures within the Osceola Camp from flooding.
Legislative subjects
Floods and storm protection; Florida; Geography and mapping; Indian lands and resources rights; Native Americans
Committee report
S. Rept. 119-90