1Title: To clarifythe Department of theInterior trust acquisitionprocess forIndiantribes,andfor
2otherpurposes.
3
4
5Be it enactedbythe Senate and Houseof Representatives oftheUnited States of America in
6Congressassembled,
7SECTION 1.SHORT TITLE.
8This Act maybe citedas the “Restoringthe TrustAct of 2015”.
9SEC.2. DEFINITIONS.
10(a)InGeneral.—The first sentence of section 19 of theAct of June18, 1934 (commonly
11known as the “IndianReorganizationAct”)(25 U.S.C. 479), is amended—
12(1)bystriking “Theterm”and inserting“Effective beginningon June18,1934, the
13term”;and
14(2)bystriking“anyrecognizedIndiantribe nowunderFederal jurisdiction” and inserting
15“anyfederallyrecognizedIndiantribe”.
16(b)Retroactive Protection.—To theextent atrust acquisitionbythe Secretaryof the Interior
17pursuant to the Act of June18, 1934 (commonlyknown as the “IndianReorganizationAct”)(25
18U.S.C. 461 etseq.), is subjected to a challenge based on whetheranIndiantribe was federally
19recognized or under Federal jurisdiction on June 18, 1934, that acquisition is ratifiedand
20confirmed.
21SEC.3. LANDACQUISITIONAPPLICATIONS.
22TheAct of June18, 1934(commonlyknownas the“IndianReorganizationAct”), is amended
23byinsertingaftersection 5 (25 U.S.C. 465)the following:
24“SEC.5A.LANDACQUISITIONAPPLICATIONS.
25“(a)Definitions.—In this section:
26“(1)APPLICANT.—Theterm ‘applicant’ means anIndian tribeor individualIndian who
27submits anapplicationundersubsection (b).
28“(2)APPLICATION.—The term ‘application’ meansan application submittedtothe
29DepartmentbyanIndiantribeor individualIndianundersubsection (b).
30“(3)CONTIGUOUS.—Theterm‘contiguous’—
31“(A)means 2 parcels of land havinga commonboundary, notwithstanding the
32existence of non-navigablewaters orapublicroador right-of-way; and
33“(B)includesparcelsthattouch at a point.
34“(4)CONTIGUOUSJURISDICTION.—Theterm‘contiguousjurisdiction’meansanycounty,
35countyequivalent, orIndiantribewith authorityand controlover thelandcontiguous to the
36land underconsiderationin an application.
1“(5)COUNTYANDCOUNTYEQUIVALENT.—Theterms‘county’and‘countyequivalent’
2mean the largestterritorialdivision for localgovernment within a Statewith the authorityto
3enterinto enforceablecooperative agreements withIndian tribes or individualIndians,as
4appropriate.
5“(6)DEPARTMENT.—Theterm ‘Department’meansthe Department ofthe Interior.
6“(7)ECONOMIC IMPACT.—Theterm ‘economic ‘impact’meansanyanticipatedcosts
7associatedwith the development ofor activityon the landunderconsideration in an
8application, includingassociatedcosts to a contiguous jurisdiction for utilities, public
9works, public safety,roads, maintenance,and otherpublic service costs, as well as environmental impacts.
10“(8) MITIGATION.—The term ‘mitigation’ means—
37“(A) actions taken to avoid significant impacts where such impacts—
38“(i) are primarily associated with the development of or activity on the land under consideration in an application;
39“(ii) occur outside of the geographic boundaries of the land under consideration in an application and within the geographic boundaries of the county with jurisdiction over the land; and
40“(iii) are within the jurisdiction or responsibility of the county,
41
and shall include but are not limited to actions having an effect on aesthetics, agricultural resources, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, geology and soils, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use, mineral resources, noise, population and housing, public services, recreation,transportation/traffic, utilities, and service systems; and
42 “(B) the provision of payments to a county that fully offset the impacts associated with providing public services both within and outside of the boundaries of the land under consideration in an application as a result of the development of or activity on the land.
91
102“(89)FINAL DECISION.—Theterm ‘final decision’ means adecisionthatis final forthe
113Department, as definedbythe Secretaryof theInterior.
124“(910) INDIANTRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ has themeaninggiven theterm in section 4
135of the IndianSelf-DeterminationandEducationAssistance Act (25U.S.C. 450b).
146“(1011)SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means theSecretaryoftheInterior.
157“(b)Applications.—
168“(1) IN GENERAL.—An Indian tribe orindividualIndian seekingtohaveoff-reservation
179fee orrestricted land taken into trust forthe benefit of thatIndian tribeor individualIndian
1810shall submit anapplication to theSecretaryat such time, in suchmanner, and containing
1911suchinformationas the Secretarymayrequire.
2012“(2)REQUIREMENTS.—TheSecretarymayapproveapplications describedinparagraph
2113(1)on adiscretionarybasis, subject to the conditionthat the application includes—
2214“(A)a writtenrequest forapproval ofatrust acquisition bytheUnited States forthe
2315benefit of theapplicant;
2416“(B) thelegal name ofthe applicant,including, in the case ofanapplicantthat is an
2517Indian tribe, the tribal name ofthe applicantas the nameappears in the listof
2618recognizedIndiantribespublished bythe Secretaryin theFederalRegisterpursuant to
2719section 104 ofthe FederallyRecognizedIndian TribeListAct of 1994(25U.S.C.
28479a–1));
29“(C) alegal descriptionof theland to be acquired;
30“(D)adescription of theneed for acquisition ofthe property;
31“(E) adescription of the purpose forwhich the propertyis to beused;
32“(F) alegal instrument to verifycurrent ownership, suchas adeed;
33“(G) statutoryauthorityfor theproposedacquisition;
34“(H)a businessplan for management ofthe land to be acquired, if the application is
35forbusinesspurposes;and
36“(I) thelocation ofthe land to be acquiredrelativeto State andreservation
37boundaries; and,.
3738(J) a copy of any cooperative agreement(s), if the applicant has entered into such an agreement(s) with a contiguous jurisdiction(s). [jk1]
3839“(3)FINALDECISION.—After consideringan application describedin paragraph(1), and
3940in accordancewithsubsections(c)and (d) and other Federal lawsandregulations, as amendedby
1
this Act, a finaldecisionto approve or denythe applicationshall be issued.
2“(c) StatutoryNotice andComment Requirements.—
3“(1)NOTICEANDCOMMENTREQUIREMENTSFORINITIALAPPLICATIONS.—
4“(A)NOTICE.—
5“(i)IN GENERAL.—Notlaterthan30 days after the date on which theSecretary
6receivesaninitial application, the Secretaryshall makethat application, whether
7complete orincomplete,available to the public onthe website of theDepartment,
8subject to applicableFederal privacylaws.
9“(ii)ADDITIONALNOTICEREQUIREMENT.—Notlaterthan30days afterthedate
10on which the Secretaryreceives aninitial application, the Secretaryshall provide
11bycertified mail noticeof theapplication to contiguous jurisdictions and the State.
12“(B)COMMENT.—EachState and contiguous jurisdiction notifiedunder subparagraph (A)(ii)
13shallhave not fewerthan30 60 days, beginningon the datethat theState and contiguous
14jurisdictionreceives thenotice, to comment on that initial application.
15“(2)NOTICEREQUIREMENTFORANYAPPLICATIONUPDATE,MODIFICATION,OR
16WITHDRAWAL.—
17“(A)IN GENERAL.—Ifatanytime anapplication is updated, modified,orwithdrawn,
18the Secretaryshall make that informationavailable to thepublicon the websiteof the
19Department, subject to anyapplicableFederal privacylaws.
20“(B)INCLUSION.—If anapplication has been updatedor modified inanyway,the
21notice described in subparagraph(A) shall includea description of the changes
22between the initial application and the updated or modifiedapplication availableon the
23website of theDepartment, subject to anyapplicableFederal privacylaws.
24“(3)NOTICEANDCOMMENTREQUIREMENTSFORCOMPLETEDAPPLICATIONS.—
25“(A)NOTICE.—
26“(i)IN GENERAL.—Notlaterthan30 days after the date on which theSecretary
27receives a completedapplication, the Secretaryshall makethat application
28available to the public onthe website of theDepartment,subject to anyapplicable
29Federal privacylaws.
30“(ii)ADDITIONALNOTICEREQUIREMENTS.—Notlaterthan30daysafterthedate
31on which the Secretaryreceives a completedapplication, the Secretaryshall
32providebycertified mail noticeof theapplication to contiguous jurisdictions and the State.
33“(iii)PUBLICATION IN FEDERALREGISTER.—Notlaterthan5days afterthedate
34on which the Secretaryreceives a completedapplication, the Secretaryshall
35publish in the FederalRegister noticeof thecompleted application.
36“(B)COMMENT.—The State and cContiguousjurisdictions shall havenot fewer than 3060days,
37beginningon the date onwhich the contiguous jurisdiction receives noticeunder
38subparagraph(A)(ii), to comment on thatcompletedapplication.
1“(C)NOTICEOFDECISION.—
“(i)IN GENERAL.—Notlaterthan5 days after afinal decision to approveor
2denyanapplication is issued, theSecretaryshallmakea notice ofdecision
3available to the public onthe website of theDepartment.
4“(ii)PUBLICATION IN FEDERALREGISTER.—Notlaterthan5days afterafinal
5decision to approveanapplication is issued, the Secretaryshall publish inthe
6FederalRegister thenoticeof decisiondescribed in clause (i).
7“(d)Encouraging LocalCooperation.—
8“(1) INGENERAL.—TheSecretaryshall encourageapplicantstoenterinto cooperative
9agreements with contiguous jurisdictions.
10“(2)COOPERATIVEAGREEMENTS.—
11“(A)IN GENERAL.—TheSecretaryshall givedue weightand preferencetoan
12applicant who enters into a cooperative agreementdescribed in paragraph (1).
13“(B)TERMSOFAGREEMENT.—Acooperativeagreementdescribedinparagraph(1)
14mayinclude, but not be limited to, termsrelatingto mitigation,changesin land use, dispute resolution,fees,
15and otherterms determined bythe parties to beappropriate.
16“(C)SUBMISSIONOFCOOPERATIVEAGREEMENT.—
17“(i) INGENERAL.—If anapplicant submitstotheSecretaryacooperative
18agreementor multiple cooperative agreements executedbetween the applicant
19andcontiguous jurisdictions, the terms of which provide for the mitigation of all anticipated impacts, theSecretaryshall issuea final decision to approve
20or denyanapplication not laterthan—
21“(I) 60 daysafter thedateof completion ofthe review processunder the
22NationalEnvironmentalPolicyAct of 1969(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)
23described in clause(ii); or
24“(II)if thatreview process is not applicable, 30 daysafter thedate on
25which a completeapplication is submitted.
26“(ii)TIMELINE.—Completion ofthe reviewprocess under theNational
27Environmental PolicyAct of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) described in clause(i)
28mayrefer to—
29“(I) theissuanceof acategorical exclusion determination in accordance
30with section 6.204 oftitle40, Codeof Federal Regulations (orsuccessor
31regulations);
32“(II)an environmental assessment findingof no significantimpact in
33accordance with section6.206 oftitle40, Codeof FederalRegulations (or
34successorregulations); or
35“(III)the issuanceofa recordofdecision in accordancewith section 6.208
36of title 40, Code ofFederalRegulations (or successor regulations).
37“(iii)EFFECTOFFAILURETO ISSUETIMELYFINALDECISION.—IftheSecretary
38fails to issue afinal decision bythe date describedin clause (i), theapplication
39shallbe—
1“(I)deemedapproved onanautomatic basis; and
“(II)treatedas afinal decision bythe Secretaryto take land into trust for
2allpurposes.
3[jk2]“(D)COOPERATIVEAGREEMENTNOTSUBMITTED.—
4“(i)IN GENERAL.—If anapplicant doesnotsubmittotheSecretarya
5cooperativeagreement executed between theapplicant and contiguous
6jurisdictions, the terms of which provide for the mitigation of all anticipated impacts, the Secretaryshall issueawrittendetermination of mitigationbythe
7datethat is not laterthan3090daysaftera completeapplication is submitted,which
8shall—
9“(I) describe whetherany all anticipated economic impacts on contiguous jurisdictions
10have been mitigated to theextent practicable;and
11“(II)explain the basis of thatdetermination.
12“(ii)DETERMINATIONOFMITIGATION.—The Secretary shall consider a
1312determination of mitigation inPrior to making issuing afinal decision to approve or deny an
14application,the Secretary shall make a determination but that determination shall not halt or unduly delay the regular
1513processing of an applicationthat all impacts have been mitigated to the extent practicable.
1614“(iii)CONSIDERATIONS.—Inmakingadeterminationofmitigationdescribedin
1715clause(i), the Secretaryshall takeinto consideration—
1816“(I) the anticipatedeconomic impact of approving anapplication on
1917contiguous jurisdictions; and
2018“(II)whether the absenceof acooperativeagreement is attributable to the
2119failureof anycontiguousjurisdiction or Indian tribe to work in good faith to reachan
2220agreement with the applicant.
2321“(iv)NOTICE.—TheSecretaryshall providebycertified maila copyof the
2422determination of mitigationdescribed in clause(i)to the applicant, the State, and contiguous
2523jurisdictions not less than5 daysafteradetermination of mitigation is issued.
2624“(3)GOOD FAITHPROTECTION.—Failuretosubmitacooperativeagreementshallnot
2725prejudice anapplication if theSecretarydetermines that the absence of a cooperative
2826agreement is attributableto the failureof anycontiguous jurisdiction to work in good faith
2927to reachanagreement.
3028“(4)RECIPROCALNOTICEANDCOMMENT.—TheSecretaryshallalsoencourage
3129contiguous jurisdictions to engage in local cooperation throughreciprocal noticeand
30commentprocedures, particularlywith regard tochanges in landuse.
31
“(5) MATERIAL CHANGE IN USE.—A material change in use of existing tribal trust land that significantly increases impacts shall—
“(A) require approval of the Secretary under this section;
“(B) be subject to the notice and comment requirements of subsection (c); and,
“(C) satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq., and, if applicable, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq.
3332“(e)Implementation.—Notlaterthan 60 daysafterthe date ofenactment ofthis section, the
3433Secretaryshall, in consultation withIndiantribes, States, and county governments[jk3],through arulemakingunder section 553 oftitle
35345, United States Code, modifyexistingregulations,guidance,rules,and policystatements, as
35necessaryto carryout this section.
36NOTE: S. 1879, as introduced, includes additional language that would require the Secretary to issue a summary of the consultation process. Of additional note, a rulemaking undertaken pursuant to Section 553 of Title 5 would the Secretary to give interested parties, including counties, an opportunity to participate in the rule making through submission of views and comments.
37“(f) Judicial Review.—
38“(1) IN GENERAL.—An applicant or contiguous jurisdiction mayseekreviewofafinal
39decisionbythe Secretaryto approve or denyanapplication.
1“(2)ADMINISTRATIVEREVIEW.—Anapplicantorcontiguousjurisdictionmayseekreview
in a UnitedStates district court onlyafter exhaustingallavailableadministrative remedies.”.
2SEC.4. EFFECT.
3(a)OtherLand Determinations.—Nothingin this Act (or anamendment madebythis Act)
4impacts anyotherFederalIndianland determination.
5(b)Effect on OtherLaws.—Nothingin this Act (or theamendments made bythis Act)
6affects—
7(1)the application or effect of anyFederallaw other than the Act of June18, 1934 (25
8U.S.C. 461 etseq.); or
9(2)anylimitation on theauthorityof theSecretaryof the Interior under anyFederallaw
or regulationotherthan the Act of June18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 etseq.).
[jk1]Note: this language was accepted and included in S. 1879 as introduced...
[jk2]It makes sense that Tribes should be provided assurances that an application - supported by a cooperative agreement - will not be allowed to languish indefinitely. My pause is that a potentially flawed application - or an application supported by an inferior or incomplete cooperative agreement - could be deemed automatically approved under this section...which would be problematic.
[jk3]SCIA staff is concerned about creating a precedent if local governments are included in the consultation process.