As used in this chapter, terms shall have the same meaning as in the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 3001 et seq.), as interpreted by federal regulations, except that the following terms shall have the following meaning:

(a)  “Agency” means a division, department, bureau, commission, board, council, city, county, city and county, district, or other political subdivision of the state, but does not include a school district.

(b)  “Burial site” means, except for cemeteries and graveyards protected under existing state law, a natural or prepared physical location, whether originally below, on, or above the surface of the earth, into which human remains were intentionally deposited as a part of the death rites or ceremonies of a culture.

(c)  “Commission” means the Native American Heritage Commission, established pursuant to Section 5097.91 of the Public Resources Code.

(d)  “Cultural items” shall have the same meaning as defined by Section 3001 of Title 25 of the United States Code, except that it shall mean only those items that originated in California.

(e)  “Control” means having ownership of human remains and cultural items sufficient to lawfully permit a museum or agency to treat the object as part of its collection for purposes of this chapter, whether or not the human remains and cultural items are in the physical custody of the museum or agency. Items on loan to a museum or agency from another person, museum, or agency shall be deemed to be in the control of the lender, and not the borrowing museum or agency.

(f)  “State cultural affiliation” means that there is a relationship of shared group identity that can reasonably be traced historically or prehistorically between members of a present-day California Indian Tribe, as defined in subdivision (j), and an identifiable earlier tribe or group. Cultural affiliation is established when the preponderance of the evidence, based on geography, kinship, biology, archaeology, linguistics, folklore, oral tradition, historical evidence, or other information or expert opinion, reasonably leads to such a conclusion.

(g)  “Inventory” means an itemized list that summarizes the collection of human remains and associated funerary objects in the possession or control of an agency or museum. This itemized list may be the inventory list required under the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 3001 et seq.).

(h)  “Summary” means a document that summarizes the collection of unassociated funerary objects, sacred objects, or objects of cultural patrimony in the possession or control of an agency or museum. This document may be the summary prepared under the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 3001 et seq.).

(i)  “Museum” means an entity, including a higher educational institution, excluding school districts, that receives state funds.

(j)  “California Indian tribe” means any tribe located in California to which any of the following applies:

(1)  It meets the definition of Indian tribe under the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 3001 et seq.).

(2)  It is not recognized by the federal government, but is indigenous to the territory that is now known as the State of California, and both of the following apply:

(A)  It is listed in the Bureau of Indian Affairs Branch of Acknowledgement and Research petitioner list pursuant to Section 82.1 of Title 25 of the Federal Code of Regulations.

(B)  It is determined by the commission to be a tribe that is eligible to participate in the repatriation process set forth in this chapter. The commission shall publish a document that lists the California tribes meeting these criteria, as well as authorized representatives to act on behalf of the tribe in the consultations required under paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 8013 and in matters pertaining to repatriation under this chapter. Criteria that shall guide the commission in making the determination of eligibility shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(i)  A continuous identity as an autonomous and separate tribal government.

(ii)  Holding itself out as a tribe.

(iii)  The tribe as a whole has demonstrated aboriginal ties to the territory now known as the State of California and its members can demonstrate lineal descent from the identifiable earlier groups that inhabited a particular tribal territory.

(iv)  Recognition by the Indian community and non-Indian entities as a tribe.

(v)  Demonstrated membership criteria.

(k)  “Possession” means having physical custody of human remains and cultural items with a sufficient legal interest to lawfully treat the human remains and cultural items as part of a collection. The term does not include human remains and cultural items on loan to an agency or museum.

(l)  “Preponderance of the evidence” means that the party’s evidence on a fact indicates that it is more likely than not that the fact is true.

(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 24, Sec. 6. (SB 83) Effective June 24, 2015.)