12 2 STA T . 1 5 5 4PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 2 36—M A Y 2 7, 200 8theS ett l e m e n t La n dsi s held by the U nited States in t ru st fo r the J i c arilla Ap ache N ation .(7) S ECR E TA R Y . —T he term ‘ ‘Secretary ’ ’ means the Secretary of the I nterior. ( 8 ) DISPU TE D C O U N TY ROAD.—The term ‘‘Disputed C ounty R oad’’ means the county road passin g through the 19 88 Res - er v ation Addition along the course identified in the j udgment entered by the Ne wM e x ico District Court in the Lawsuit on December 1 0,2 001 and the decision entered on December 11, 2001, which judgment and decision have been appealed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals. SEC.2 .C ONGR ESS I ON ALF IN D INGS. Congress finds the following
(1) The Lawsuit is now pending before the Court of Appeals of the State of New Mexico and involves a claim that a county road passing through the 1988 Reservation Addition had been established by prescription prior to ac q uisition of the land by the Jicarilla Apache Nation in 198 5 . (2) The parties to that lawsuit, the Jicarilla Apache Nation and the County of Rio Arriba, have executed a Settlement Agreement, approved by the Secretary of the Interior, to resolve all claims relating to the disputed county road, which agree- ment requires ratifying legislation by the Congress of the United States. ( 3 ) The parties to the Settlement Agreement desire to settle the claims relating to the disputed county road on the terms agreed to by the parties, and it is in the best interests of the parties to resolve the claims through the Settlement Agree- ment and this implementing legislation. SEC. 3 . CONDI T ION ON EFFECT OF SECTION. (a) IN G ENERA L .—Section 4 of this Act shall not ta k e effect until the Secretary finds the following events have occurred: (1) The B oard of Commissioners of Rio Arriba County has enacted a resolution permanently abandoning the disputed county road and has submitted a copy of that resolution to the Secretary. (2) The Jicarilla Apache Nation has executed a quitclaim deed to Rio Arriba County for the Settlement Lands subject to the exceptions identified in the Settlement Agreement and has submitted a copy of the quitclaim deed to the Secretary. (b) P U B LICATION O FF INDIN G S.—If the Secretary finds that the conditions set forth in subsection (a) have occurred, the Secretary shall publish such findings in the Federal Register. SEC. 4 . RATIFICATION OF CON V E Y ANCE
ISS U ANCE OF P ATENT. (a) CONDITIONAL RATIFICATION AND APPRO V AL.—This Act rati- fies and approves the Jicarilla Apache Nation’s quitclaim deed for the Settlement Lands to Rio Arriba County, but such ratification and approval shall be effective only upon satisfaction of all condi- tions in section 3, and only as of the date that the Secretary’s findings are published in the Federal Register pursuant to section 3. (b) PATENT.—Following publication of the notice described in section 3, the Secretary shall issue to Rio Arriba County a patent for the Settlement Lands, subject to the exceptions and restrictive covenants described subsection (c). Ef f ectiv e da te .F ede r a lR e g i s ter ,pub licati on .
�
