[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4119 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4119

 To declare that certain public domain lands are held in trust for the 
    Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 23, 1994

 Mr. Kopetski introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To declare that certain public domain lands are held in trust for the 
    Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``Tribe'' means the Confederated Tribes of 
        Siletz Indians of Oregon.
            (2) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Interior.

SEC. 2. ADDITION TO RESERVATION.

    (a) Trust Status.--All right, title, and interest of the United 
States in and to the surface and mineral estates of certain lands 
located in Lincoln County, Oregon, that are public domain lands other 
than--
            (1) National Forest lands,
            (2) the lands of the Oregon and California Railroad, and
            (3) the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area,
are held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe.
    (b) Reservation.--Lands held in trust under subsection (a) shall be 
part of the reservation of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of 
Oregon.
    (c) Legal Description.--The Secretary shall publish in the Federal 
Register a legal description of the lands that are held in trust under 
subsection (a).

SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES.

    (a) General Authorization.--(1) Notwithstanding the Act of 
September 4, 1980 (94 Stat. 1072; 25 U.S.C. 711e note); sections 2116 
and 2118 of the Revised Statutes (25 U.S.C. 177, 180); the Act of 
February 16, 1889 (25 Stat. 673; 25 U.S.C. 196); sections 5, 7, and 8 
of the Act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 857; 25 U.S.C. 202, 407, 406); 
section 6 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 986; 25 U.S.C. 466); or 
any other provision of law, the Tribe is authorized to--
            (A) manage, harvest, remove, sell, or otherwise alienate 
        any timber, any interests in timber, or any other surface or 
        subsurface resources on any lands held by, or in trust for, the 
        Tribe; and
            (B) perform any other activities on such lands incidental 
        to the activities described in subparagraph (A), including 
        forest presale activities and road construction and 
        maintenance.
    (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law--
            (A) the United States shall not be responsible for the care 
        or management of any lands for which the Tribe has assumed 
        responsibility under paragraph (1); and
            (B) the United States shall not be liable for any action or 
        omission of the Tribe that arises in connection with the 
        activities the Tribe is authorized to conduct under paragraph 
        (1).
    (b) Election To Assume Responsibility.--The Tribe may make an 
election to assume responsibility under subsection (a)(1) for the care 
and management of lands held by, or in trust for, the Tribe.
    (c) Oregon Forest Practices Act.--(1) If the ordinances of the 
Tribe do not include an ordinance that is substantially in accord with 
the Oregon Forest Practices Act (Or. Rev. Stat. 527.610, et seq.) and 
the rules promulgated under such Act, as determined by the Secretary in 
consultation with the Oregon State Forester, the Tribe shall enforce 
such Act and rules with respect to lands held by, or in trust for, the 
Tribe as though such Act and rules were ordinances of the Tribe. The 
Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register any ordinance of the 
Tribe that is substantially in accord with such Act and rules and any 
amendments.
    (2)(A) Notwithstanding the sovereign immunity of the Tribe, the 
State of Oregon or any person who is damaged by any action or omission 
of the Tribe that constitutes a violation of--
            (i) an ordinance of the Tribe that is substantially in 
        accord with the Oregon Forest Practices Act and the rules 
        promulgated under such Act, or
            (ii) if such an ordinance is not in effect, the Oregon 
        Forest Practices Act or any rule promulgated under such Act 
        made applicable to the Tribe by paragraph (1),
may bring a civil action in the tribal court of the Tribe to compel 
compliance, to seek compensation for such damages, or to obtain both 
compliance and compensation.
    (B) If the Tribe does not have a tribal court with jurisdiction to 
hear the actions described in subparagraph (A), the State of Oregon or 
any person described in subparagraph (A) may bring a civil action in 
the United States District Court for the District of Oregon to obtain 
the relief described in subparagraph (A), and the United States 
District Court is authorized to provide that relief.
    (C) The Tribe may be held liable for damages in any civil action 
brought under subparagraphs (A) or (B) only to the extent that the 
United States would have been held liable for damages if the Secretary 
were responsible for the action or omission upon which the civil action 
is based.
    (D) The courts of the State of Oregon shall not have jurisdiction 
over any civil action described in subparagraph (A) and shall not have 
the authority to provide the relief described in subparagraph (A).
    (d) Termination of Responsibilities.--(1) If the Tribe assumes 
responsibility under subsection (a)(1) for any of the activities 
described in subsection (a)(1), the Tribe may terminate such 
responsibility by providing written notice of such termination that 
shall take effect on either--
            (A) the date that is one year after the date on which 
        notice of the termination is submitted to the Secretary, or
            (B) a date upon which the Secretary and the Tribe have 
        agreed.
The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register advance notice of 
the date on which such termination is to take effect.
    (2) The termination under paragraph (1) of any responsibility 
assumed under subsection (a)(1) shall not--
            (A) affect the liability of the Tribe arising out of any 
        action or omission of the Tribe that occurred on or before the 
        effective date of the termination;
            (B) transfer any liability to the United States for such 
        actions or omissions;
            (C) obligate the United States to reforest any area, or 
        otherwise remedy any condition, by reason of such actions or 
        omissions; or
            (D) affect the eligibility of the Tribe for any services or 
        assistance that are provided by the Secretary to Indian tribes 
        because of their status as Indian tribes.
    (e) Funds.--(1) For each fiscal year for which the Tribe assumes 
responsibility under subsection (a)(1) for any of the activities 
described in subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall pay to the Tribe, 
out of funds appropriated for such fiscal year under the authority of 
the Act of November 2, 1921 (42 Stat. 208; 25 U.S.C. 13), popularly 
known as the Snyder Act, or under the authority of any other law which 
authorizes funds to be appropriated for tribal timber management, an 
amount that equals or exceeds the amount of funds the Tribe would have 
received for such fiscal years for carrying out such activities under a 
contract entered into with the Secretary for such fiscal year under the 
Indian Self-Determination Act if the Tribe had not assumed 
responsibility for such activities under subsection (a)(1).
    (2) If the Tribe receives funds under paragraph (1) for any fiscal 
year--
            (A) the Tribe shall submit to the Secretary a report which 
        provides an accounting of how the funds were expended, and
            (B) the Comptroller General of the United States is 
        authorized to conduct, at the discretion of the Comptroller 
        General, an audit of the Tribe with respect to the expenditure 
        of such funds.

SEC. 4. PROCEEDS FROM RESOURCES.

    (a) Payable to Tribe.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
the proceeds from the sale of timber on, or the sale of any other 
surface or subsurface resource of, lands held by, or in trust for, the 
Tribe that occur after the date of enactment of this Act (including 
sales occurring after such date under a contract that was entered into 
by the United States prior to the date of enactment of this Act) shall 
be paid to the Tribe.
    (b) Treatment.--None of the proceeds described in subsection (a) 
that are paid to the Tribe shall be subject to Federal or State income 
taxes or be considered as income or resources of the members of the 
Tribe in determining eligibility for, or the amount of assistance 
under, the Social Security Act or any other program assisted by the 
Federal Government.

SEC. 5. PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES.

    In order to offset the loss of revenue caused by the other 
provisions of this Act, the Tribe shall pay the County of Lincoln, 
Oregon, for the 25-year period beginning on the date of enactment of 
this Act, 1.5 percent of the net revenues from timber harvested from 
the lands that are declared to be held in trust for the Tribe under 
section 2(a).

SEC. 6. CONSTRUCTION OF THIS ACT.

    Nothing in this Act, and no actions taken by reason of this Act 
shall--
            (1) affect any rights any person (other than the United 
        States) has on the day before the date of enactment of this Act 
        in the lands that are declared to be held in trust for the 
        Tribe under section 2(a);
            (2) be construed to authorize the taxation of timber on 
        such lands or of any interest in, or resources located on, such 
        lands;
            (3) be construed to authorize the alienation of any such 
        interest of the Tribe in any real property other than timber or 
        other surface or subsurface resources or such lands;
            (4) affect the responsibility of the United States to 
        protect the lands held in trust for the benefit of the Tribe, 
        and lands otherwise subject to restrictions imposed by the 
        United States on alienation, from taxation and from alienation 
        of any interest in such lands, other than in the timber, 
        surface resources, or subsurface resources on such lands;
            (5) preclude the Secretary from approving under part 151 of 
        title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations applications for 
        trust status for any additional lands acquired by the Tribe;
            (6) except as provided in section 3(b) and paragraph (7), 
        affect the regulatory authority of the Tribe over lands held 
        by, or in trust for the Tribe;
            (7) grant or restore any hunting, fishing, or trapping 
        rights of any nature, including any indirect or procedural 
        right or advantage to the Tribe or any member of the Tribe; or
            (8) diminish any hunting, fishing, or trapping rights that 
        existed before the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. PUBLIC ACCESS.

    The Tribe may restrict access to the lands that are declared to be 
held in trust for the Tribe under section 2(a) to the extent that the 
Secretary is allowed to impose or enforce restrictions on access to 
public domain lands under Federal law.

SEC. 8. PRODUCTION OF WOOD PRODUCTS IN UNITED STATES.

    (a) Mandatory Offering of 50 Percent of Annual Sales.--The Tribe 
shall offer not less than 50 percent of the total sales volume for each 
year of timber harvested from the lands declared to be held in trust 
for the Tribe under section 2(a) for sale to United States entities 
that agree to use the timber purchased for production in the United 
States of wood products.
    (b) Application of Section.--Nothing in this Act may be construed 
to impose any restrictions on the export of timber harvested from, or 
other surface or subsurface resources removed from, any lands held by, 
or in trust for, the Tribe other than the lands declared to be held in 
trust for the Tribe under section 2(a).

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