A bill to declare that the United States holds in trust for the Pueblo of Zia certain public domain lands.
Public Law 95-499 · S. 2358 · 95th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Jimmy Carter (D) on Oct 21, 1978 · Public Lands and Natural Resources
Sponsor: Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM)
Cosponsors: None
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Declares certain lands owned by the United States in Sandoval County, New Mexico, to be held by the United States in trust for the benefit and use of the Pueblo of Zia.
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to remove the bones and fossil remains of a dinosaur discovered in the subject lands with a requirement that removal take place within one year and that the lands be restored after excavation.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 12 actions.
- Oct 21, 1978Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public Law 95-499.
- Oct 12, 1978PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- Oct 11, 1978PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- Oct 10, 1978PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Oct 7, 1978Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to House amendments.
- Oct 3, 1978FloorFloor · Measure passed House, amended, in lieu of H.R. 10240.
- FloorFloor · Measure called up by unanimous consent in House.
- Sep 6, 1978FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate, amended.
- Aug 22, 1978CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Indian Affairs Committee
- Dec 15, 1977CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Indian Affairs Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.