Albrecht

I. INTRODUCTION

This appeal challenges the validity of a possessory interest tax imposed by the

County of Riverside (the county) upon lessees of federally owned land set aside for the

Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians (Agua Caliente tribe) or its members. A subset

of the more than 450 plaintiffs in this appeal also challenge the validity of voter-approved

taxes funding the Desert Water Agency, Coachella Valley Water District, Palm Springs

Unified School District, Palo Verde School District, and Desert Community College

District. A small minority of the plaintiffs claim to hold a possessory interest in land set

aside for the Colorado River Indian tribe (CRIT), but they argue the challenged taxes are

invalid for the same reasons asserted by the other plaintiffs.

2 Following a court trial based primarily upon stipulated facts, the trial court upheld

the validity of the challenged taxes and plaintiffs’ appeal, arguing the challenged taxes

are preempted by federal law. Specifically, plaintiffs contend: (1) the challenged taxes

are explicitly preempted under Title 25 United States Code section 5108 (section 5108),

originally enacted as Title 25 United States Code…