House panel gives Richfield a boost

WASHINGTON — The House Resources Committee has endorsed a bill that would bring Utah's Paiute Tribe some money and allow Richfield to expand its airport.

The panel passed by voice vote a bill by Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, to allow sale of three acres of federal land now held in trust for the Paiute Tribe at yet-to-be-determined fair market value to Richfield to expand its airport.

The federal government holds vast tracts in trust to raise money for tribes nationally. Federal recognition of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah was restored by Congress in 1980, and it includes five bands: the Shivwits, Kanosh, Koosharem, Indian Peak and Cedar City bands.

Cannon's bill also would rename for federal purposes the Cedar City Band as the Cedar Band. It would also authorize transferring three other parcels — each an acre or smaller — from trust for the entire tribe to to the Shivwits and Kanosh bands.

The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.