[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3810 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3810

 To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 12, 1996

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, 
                        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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Lumbee Recognition Act''.

SEC. 2. PREAMBLE.

    The preamble to the Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254), is 
amended--
            (1) by striking out ``and'' at the end of each of the first 
        three clauses;
            (2) by striking out ``: Now therefore,'' at the end of the 
        last clause and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end thereof the following new clauses:
``Whereas the Lumbee Indians of Robeson and adjoining counties in North Carolina 
        are descendants of coastal North Carolina Indian tribes, principally 
        Cheraw, and have remained a distinct Indian community since the time of 
        contact with white settlers;
``Whereas the Lumbee Indians have been recognized by the State of North Carolina 
        as an Indian tribe since 1885;
``Whereas the Lumbee Indians have sought Federal recognition as an Indian tribe 
        since 1888; and
``Whereas the Lumbee Indians are entitled to Federal recognition of their status 
        as an Indian tribe and the benefits, privileges, and immunities that 
        accompany such status: Now, therefore,''.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

    The Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254), is amended--
            (1) by striking out the last sentence of the first section; 
        and
            (2) by striking out section 2 and inserting in lieu thereof 
        the following:

                 ``federal recognition; acknowledgment

    ``Sec. 2. (a) Federal recognition is hereby extended to the Lumbee 
Tribe of North Carolina. All laws and regulations of the United States 
of general application to Indians and Indian tribes shall apply to the 
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and its members.
    ``(b) Notwithstanding the first section of this Act, any group of 
Indians in Robeson or adjoining counties whose members are not enrolled 
in the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, as determined under section 
(4)(b), may petition under part 83 of title 25 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations for acknowledgement of tribal existence.

                               ``services

    ``Sec. 3. (a) The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and its members 
shall be eligible for all services and benefits provided to Indians 
because of their status as federally recognized Indians, except that 
members of the tribe shall not be entitled to such services until the 
appropriation of funds for these purposes. For the purposes of the 
delivery of such services, those members of the tribe residing in 
Robeson and adjoining counties, North Carolina, shall be deemed to be 
resident on or near an Indian reservation.
    ``(b) Upon verification of a tribal roll under section 4 by the 
Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall develop, in consultation 
with the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, a determination of needs and a 
budget required to provide services to which the members of the tribe 
are eligible. The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services shall each submit a written statement of such needs 
and budget with the first budget request submitted to the Congress 
after the fiscal year in which the tribal roll is verified.
    ``(c)(1) The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is authorized to plan, 
conduct, consolidate, and administer programs, services, and functions 
authorized under the Act of April 16, 1934 (48 Stat. 596; 25 U.S.C. 452 
et seq.), and the Act of November 2, 1921 (42 Stat. 208; 25 U.S.C. 13), 
popularly known as the Snyder Act, pursuant to an annual written 
funding agreement among the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, the 
Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, which shall specify--
            ``(A) the services to be provided, the functions to be 
        performed, and the procedures to be used to reallocate funds or 
        modify budget allocations, within any fiscal year; and
            ``(B) the responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior 
        for, and the procedure to be used in, auditing the expenditures 
        of the tribe.
    ``(2) The authority provided under this subsection shall be in lieu 
of the authority provided under the Indian Self-Determination and 
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.).
    ``(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as affecting, 
modifying, diminishing, or otherwise impairing the sovereign immunity 
from lawsuit enjoyed by the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina or 
authorizing or requiring the termination of any trust responsibility of 
the United States with respect to the tribe.

                     ``constitution and membership

    ``Sec. 4. (a) After the Secretary has completed his review and 
verification of the tribal roll, but in no case earlier than 24 months 
after the effective date of this Act, the Lumbee Tribe of North 
Carolina shall adopt a constitution and bylaws. Any constitution, 
bylaws, or amendments to the constitution or bylaws that are adopted by 
the tribe must be consistent with the terms of this Act and shall take 
effect only after such documents are filed with the Secretary of the 
Interior. The Secretary shall assist the tribe in the drafting of a 
constitution and bylaws, the conduct of an election in accordance with 
the procedures set forth in part 81 of title 25 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations with respect to such constitution, and the reorganization 
of the government of the tribe under any such constitution and bylaws. 
In addition to the requirements of this Act and part 81 of title 25 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations, only adult enrolled members of the 
Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina shall be eligible to vote on the 
constitution.
    ``(b)(1) Until the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina adopts a 
constitution and except as provided in paragraph (2), the membership of 
the tribe shall, subject to review by the Secretary, consist of every 
individual who is named in the tribal membership roll that is in effect 
on the date of enactment of this Act.
    ``(2)(A) Within 60 days after the effective date of this Act, the 
roll of the tribe shall be open for a 180-day period to allow the 
enrollment of any individual previously enrolled in another Indian 
group or tribe in Robeson or adjoining counties, North Carolina, who 
demonstrates that--
            ``(i) the individual is eligible for enrollment in the 
        Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina; and
            ``(ii) the individual has abandoned membership in any other 
        Indian group or tribe.
    ``(B) The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina shall advertise in 
newspapers of general distribution in Robeson and adjoining counties, 
North Carolina, the opening of the tribal roll for the purposes of 
subparagraph (A). The advertisement shall specify the enrollment 
criteria and the deadline for enrollment.
    ``(3) The review of the tribal roll of the Lumbee Tribe of North 
Carolina shall be limited to verification of compliance with the 
membership criteria of the tribe as stated in the Lumbee Petition for 
Federal Acknowledgment filed with the Secretary by the tribe on 
December 17, 1987. The Secretary shall complete his review and 
verification of the tribal roll within the 12-month period beginning on 
the date on which the tribal roll is closed under paragraph (2).

                          ``interim government

    ``Sec. 5. (a) Until the tribe has adopted a constitution pursuant 
to the terms of this Act, the Board of Directors of the Lumbee Regional 
Development Association (hereafter in this section referred to as 
`LRDA') is recognized as the sole provisional and transitional 
governing body of the tribe. Until an election of tribal officers under 
the new constitution, the LRDA shall--
            ``(1) represent the tribe and its members in the 
        implementation of this Act; and
            ``(2) during such period--
                    ``(A) have full authority to enter into contracts, 
                grant agreements, and other arrangements with any 
                Federal department or agency; and
                    ``(B) have full authority to administer or operate 
                any program under such contracts or agreements.
    ``(b) Until the initial election of tribal officers under a new 
constitution and bylaws, the LRDA shall--
            ``(1) oversee and implement the drafting and proposal to 
        the tribe of a new constitution and conduct such meetings or 
        hearings as it deems necessary;
            ``(2) oversee the opening of the tribal roll and 
        advertising of the opening as provided for in section 4; and
            ``(3) oversee the election to adopt the constitution.

                             ``jurisdiction

    ``Sec. 6. (a)(1) The State of North Carolina shall exercise 
jurisdiction over--
            ``(A) all criminal offenses that are committed on, and
            ``(B) all civil actions that arise on,
lands located within the State of North Carolina that are owned by, or 
held in trust by the United States for, the Lumbee Tribe of North 
Carolina, any member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, or any 
dependent Indian community of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
    ``(2) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to accept on 
behalf of the United States, after consulting with the Attorney General 
of the United States, any transfer by the State of North Carolina to 
the United States of any portion of the jurisdiction of the State of 
North Carolina described in paragraph (1) pursuant to an agreement 
between the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and the State of North 
Carolina. Such transfer of jurisdiction may not take effect until 2 
years after the effective date of such agreement.
    ``(3) The provisions of this subsection shall not affect the 
application of section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 
U.S.C. 1919).
    ``(b) Section 5 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (chapter 576; 25 U.S.C. 
465), and the Act of April 11, 1970 (84 Stat. 120; 25 U.S.C. 488 et 
seq.), shall apply to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina with respect 
to lands within the exterior boundaries of Robeson and adjoining 
counties, North Carolina.

                   ``authorization of appropriations

    ``Sec. 7. (a) There are authorized to be appropriated such funds as 
may be necessary to carry out this Act.
    ``(b) In the first fiscal year in which funds are appropriated 
under this Act, the tribe's proposals for expenditures of such funds 
shall be submitted to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and 
the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives 60 calendar 
days prior to any expenditure of such funds by the tribe.''.
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