[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4325 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4325

To advance the self-determined management, use, and control of allotted 
     and fractionated trust lands by Indian people; to promote the 
consolidation of fractionated land interests into viable economic units 
 by the removal of regulatory barriers; and to create and enhance the 
           necessary programs and processes for this purpose.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 23, 1998

Mr. Young  of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Ways 
 and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To advance the self-determined management, use, and control of allotted 
     and fractionated trust lands by Indian people; to promote the 
consolidation of fractionated land interests into viable economic units 
 by the removal of regulatory barriers; and to create and enhance the 
           necessary programs and processes for this purpose.

    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 ``Indian Trust Estate Planning and 
Land Title Management Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the United States has a trust relationship with Indian 
        tribes and people that includes a trust responsibility to 
        protect, conserve, and provide for the utilization and 
        management of Indian lands;
            (2) the Federal Government sought to assimilate Indian 
        people into the mainstream and acquire additional lands by 
        allotting tribal lands to individual tribal members, declaring 
        remaining lands surplus, and making tribal land available for 
        homesteading, surplus sale, and other uses in direct violation 
        of treaty agreements;
            (3) during the period in which the United States carried 
        out the activities referred to in paragraph (2), allotments 
        were removed from trust status by forced fee patent, sale by 
        both Indian landowners and the Federal Government, probate 
        proceedings under State inheritance law, foreclosures, and 
        surplus sale of treaty land;
            (4) the activities referred to in paragraph (3) resulted in 
        more than 90,000,000 acres of Indian homelands passing out of 
        Indian ownership;
            (5) as of the date of enactment of this Act, some of the 
        activities referred to in paragraph (3) continue to be carried 
        out by the Federal Government;
            (6) with the passing of each generation, the number of 
        owners increased with respect to a trust allotment described in 
        paragraph (3);
            (7) as a result of the increase referred to in paragraph 
        (6), it is not uncommon to find--
                    (A) numerous allotments on many reservations that 
                have multiple owners; and
                    (B) many Indian landowners that hold interests in 
                land on multiple reservations;
            (8) Indian landowners encounter a maze of Federal 
        regulations;
            (9) the Federal regulations, coupled with the increasing 
        growth of trust interests held in common, make it difficult for 
        many Indian heirs to make practical use of the land involved; 
        and
            (10) archaic Federal Indian land policies and 
        overregulation have helped to perpetuate the paternalistic 
        management of Indian land during the 100-year period preceding 
        the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    It is the policy of the United States and the purpose of this Act 
to--
            (1) fulfill the Federal trust responsibility to tribes and 
        individual Indians that exists under treaties, Executive 
        orders, court decisions, and Acts of Congress related to--
                    (A) maintaining the trust status of the Indian 
                lands; and
                    (B) managing the land for highest and best use 
                purposes;
            (2) facilitate estate planning and real estate transactions 
        that provide for the beneficial use of Indian lands by the 
        Indians who own those lands;
            (3) support tribal communities, in the development of--
                    (A) land ownership databases;
                    (B) fractionated land acquisition lending and grant 
                programs; and
                    (C) tribal inheritance laws which enable the Indian 
                landowner to consolidate fractionated title to create 
                viable economic units of land; and
            (4) preserve the trust status of Indian lands located both 
        within and outside the boundaries of a reservation.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Alaska native.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``Alaska Native'' means 
                an individual who is an Alaskan Indian, Eskimo, or 
                Aleut, or any combination thereof, who are indigenous 
                to Alaska.
                    (B) Certain individuals who are children of alaska 
                natives.--The term includes an individual who is 
                regarded as an Alaska Native by the Alaska Native 
                village or group with respect to which--
                            (i) that individual claims to be a member; 
                        and
                            (ii) a parent of that individual (whether 
                        living or deceased) is regarded as being, (or 
                        if deceased having been) an Alaska Native by 
                        the Alaska Native village or group.
                    (C) Certain adopted individuals.--The term includes 
                any individual who meets the definition under 
                subparagraph (A) who is a child of 1 or more adoptive 
                parents who are not Alaska Natives.
            (2) Indian.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``Indian'' means any 
                individual who is a member, or a descendant of a 
                member, of a North American tribe, band, pueblo, or 
                other organized group of native people who are 
                indigenous to the continental United States, or who 
                otherwise has a special relationship with the United 
                States through a treaty, agreement, or other form of 
                recognition.
                    (B) Alaska natives.--The term includes an Alaska 
                Native.
            (3) Fractionation.--The term ``fractionation'' means, with 
        respect to interests in land, the dividing or breaking up of 
        those interests into undivided interests.
            (4) Fractionated land consolidation plan.--The term 
        ``fractionated land consolidation plan'' means a plan developed 
        through a documented community-based planning process and 
        enacted by a tribal government that--
                    (A) defines fractionated land consolidation goals; 
                and
                    (B) provides for a means of reducing fractionation 
                through gift deed, sale, purchase, and exchange among 
                owners or other Indians or tribes.
            (5) Grantor.--The term ``grantor'' means a person who has 
        control or authority over real property (including the right to 
        give, confer, consent, allow, surrender, or transfer that 
        property with or without compensation).
            (6) Indian landowner.--The term ``Indian landowner'' means 
        an individual Indian owner of an interest in trust or 
        restricted land.
            (7) Landowners agreement.--The term ``landowners 
        agreement'' means a management agreement among landowners.
            (8) Lease council.--The term ``lease council'' means the 
        entity authorized to act for the landowners who are subject to 
        a landowners agreement.
            (9) Lineal descendant.--The term ``lineal descendant'' 
        means an individual whose descent is by a direct line of 
        succession in ancestry, including an adopted child who is an 
        Indian.
            (10) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (11) Tribal corporate entity.--The term ``tribal corporate 
        entity'' means an entity that is recognized by a tribe as a 
        tribal corporate entity.
            (12) Tribe.--The term ``tribe''--
                    (A) means any Indian tribe, band, nation, pueblo, 
                or other organized group or community, including any 
                Alaska Native village or regional corporation as 
                defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native 
                Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) or as 
                listed in the Federal Register of February 16, 1995, as 
                eligible for special programs and services provided by 
                the United States to Indians because of their unique 
                status as Indians.
            (13) Trust or restricted land.--The term ``trust or 
        restricted land'' means a tract of land--
                    (A) all or a portion of the title to which, is 
                owned by 1 or more individual Indians or a tribe; and
                    (B) that is--
                            (i) held in trust for the individual 
                        Indians or tribe referred to in subparagraph 
                        (A) by the United States; or
                            (ii) subject to Federal restrictions on 
                        alienation.
            (14) Undivided interest.--The term ``undivided interest'' 
        means the portion or rights in property owned by tenants in 
        common or joint tenants with respect to which each tenant has 
        an equal right to make use of and enjoy the entire property.

                        TITLE I--ESTATE PLANNING

SEC. 101. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this title is to require the establishment and 
maintenance of an estate planning program to--
            (1) dramatically increase the use of wills and other 
        methods of devise among landowners;
            (2) substantially reduce the quantity and complexity of 
        Indian estates that pass intestate through the probate process, 
        while protecting the rights and interests of Indian landowners; 
        and
            (3) require the provision of adequate services to achieve 
        the purposes specified in paragraphs (1) and (2).

SEC. 102. ESTATE PLANNING.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish and carry out an 
estate planning program to inform, advise, and assist Indian 
landowners, to facilitate the transfer of lands to specific heirs.
    (b) Conduct of Activities.--The activities conducted under this 
title shall be conducted in accordance with the guidelines of any 
applicable--
            (1) tribal probate law; or
            (2) fractionated land consolidation plan.
    (c) Regional Estate Planning Workshops.--As part of the program 
under this section, the Secretary shall conduct or provide for regional 
estate planning workshops for tribes and landowners not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 180 days 
thereafter.

SEC. 103. NOTIFICATION TO LANDOWNERS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Notification.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide to each 
        Indian landowner, a report that lists, with respect to each 
        tract of trust or restricted land in which the Indian landowner 
        has an interest--
                    (A) the tract of land involved;
                    (B) each other co-owner; and
                    (C) the percentage of ownership of each owner of an 
                interest in the tract.
            (2) Statutory construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
        shall preclude any individual Indian from obtaining from the 
        Secretary, upon the request of that individual, any information 
        specified in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) before the 
        expiration of the 2-year period specified in paragraph (1).
    (b) Requirements for Notification.--Each notification made under 
subsection (a) shall include information concerning estate planning 
options under Federal and tribal law that are available for 
consolidation or disposal of the interests, including information 
concerning--
            (1) the preparation and execution of a will;
            (2) joint tenancy with right of survivorship;
            (3) negotiated sales;
            (4) gift deeds;
            (5) exchanges;
            (6) living trusts; and
            (7) life estates.
    (c) Prohibition.--No individual Indian may be denied access to 
information relating to land in which that individual has an interest 
described in this section on the basis of section 552a of title 5, 
United States Code (commonly referred to as the ``Privacy Act'').

SEC. 104. PROVISION OF ADEQUATE SERVICES.

    (a) In General.--To carry out this Act, including this title, the 
Secretary shall provide for estate planners, outreach workers, 
appraisers, realty staff, credit staff, and certified surveyors.
    (b) Arrangements.--To carry out subsection (a), the Secretary may 
enter into 1 or more contracts, grants, or compacts with tribes or 
lease councils to provide for all or a portion of the services 
involved.

SEC. 105. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    The Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report on the 
implementation of this title, immediately before the President submits 
to Congress an annual budget request under section 1105(a) of title 31, 
United States Code.

                TITLE II--TRUST LAND RECORDS MANAGEMENT

SEC. 201. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this title is to improve land records administration 
in order to facilitate the consolidation of fractionated land title 
with respect to probate and real estate transactions.

SEC. 202. LAND RECORDS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.

    The Secretary shall promote the formation and maintenance of a 
computerized land ownership records and payment dispersal system at the 
local level to enable tribes and individual Indians, through the 
governing body of the Indian tribe involved, to--
            (1) evaluate and implement plans to consolidate 
        fractionated titles;
            (2) certify title status reports for mortgages, probates, 
        appraisals, and other land transactions;
            (3) provide an accounting of the land held by Indian 
        landowners (including the income derived from that land and the 
        allotment from which the land is derived) to assist in land 
consolidation and estate planning initiatives; and
            (4) reduce the number of ownership records.

SEC. 203. STAFFING AND RESOURCES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall provide for the necessary 
staff and resources for the design and administration of local land 
records systems by making funds available to an appropriate, tribally 
approved agency or organization.
    (b) Land Records System.--Under a local land records system 
described in subsection (a)--
            (1) an appropriate, tribally approved agency or 
        organization shall serve as the archives for land records of a 
        tribe; and
            (2) the daily use, maintenance, and control of those land 
        records shall be carried out at the local level.
    (c) Land Records System Standards.--Under the land records system 
described in subsection (a), standards that are consistent with 
applicable law relating to fiduciary duties shall apply. Those 
standards shall provide that land records for lands of individual 
Indians and tribal lands of tribes are accurate and subject to audits 
conducted in a manner consistent with the American Indian Trust Fund 
Management Reform Act of 1994 (25 u.s.c. 4001 et seq).

SEC. 204. AID TO TRIBES AND LEASE COUNCIL.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall make grants to tribes, 
landowner associations, and lease councils to aid in the development 
and implementation of programs for the creation and maintenance of 
accurate and accessible land ownership databases.
    (b) Databases.--A database referred to in subsection (a) shall 
include, information concerning, with respect to the lands involved--
            (1) land ownership;
            (2) mapping and the location of tracts of land;
            (3) yields and income;
            (4) zoning;
            (5) lease contracts and permits;
            (6) current and potential uses; and
            (7) rights-of-way, and legal descriptions.

                  TITLE III--REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS

SEC. 301. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this title is to remove the regulatory and 
administrative barriers which obstruct consolidation of fractionated 
land title.

SEC. 302. FRACTIONATED LAND CONSOLIDATION PLAN.

    (a) In General.--Any tribe may adopt a fractionated land 
consolidation plan that addresses fractionation by providing for the 
sale and exchange of interests in trust or restricted lands for the 
purpose of consolidating fractionated title.
    (b) Consultation With Owners.--If a tribe elects to develop a 
fractionated land consolidation plan under this section, the tribe 
shall develop the plan in consultation with the owners of the interests 
in trust or restricted land who will be affected by the plan. 
Subsection (a) shall not apply to a parcel of trust or restricted land 
if the owners of at least 50 percent of the legal or beneficial 
interest in that land file with the Secretary a written objection to 
the application of all or any part of the fractionated consolidation 
plan applicable to the land.
    (c) Applicability of Plan.--Requirements under a fractionated land 
consolidation plan may be more restrictive than the otherwise 
applicable requirements of this title with respect to the requirements 
that apply to real estate transactions concerning trust or restricted 
land.
    (d) Applicability of Title.--The requirements of this title 
relating to real estate transactions shall apply to trust and 
restricted lands.

SEC. 303. APPRAISALS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Appraisal defined.--For purposes of this title, the 
        term ``appraisal'' means an opinion or estimate of value of 
        trust or restricted land supported by facts.
            (2) Requirements.--An appraisal shall include land use 
        designations, as determined by--
                    (A) tribal ordinance; or
                    (B) Indian landowner use, in any case in which a 
                tribal ordinance is not in effect.
    (b) Requirement.--For purposes of any land transaction covered 
under this title, an appraisal shall be required, unless the person or 
entity who transfers an interest in trust of restricted land waives 
that requirement in writing.
    (c) Standards.--
            (1) In general.--An appraisal prepared for the Bureau of 
        Indian Affairs, tribe, or Indian landowner, shall comply with 
        the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice issued 
        by the Appraisal Foundation (which is located in Washington, 
        D.C.).
            (2) Licensing requirement.--Each appraiser commissioned by 
        the Bureau of Indian Affairs, tribe, or Indian landowner to 
        prepare an appraisal shall be licensed or certified within the 
        State in which the Indian land is located.
            (3) Database.--
                    (A) In general.--The Bureau of Indian Affairs or 
                tribe, as the case may be, shall--
                            (i) maintain a database on real estate 
                        transactions involving trust tribes; and
                            (ii) make the database referred to in 
                        clause (i) available to appraisers, tribes, and 
                        landowners to assist them in determining the 
                        fair market value of interests in trust or 
                        restricted land and other land valuations.
                    (B) History of income.--A database under this 
                paragraph shall include a history of income derived 
                from the subject lands for the previous 5 years.

SEC. 304. TRUST AND RESTRICTED LAND TRANSACTIONS.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Amounts for sales or exchanges.--Notwithstanding any 
        other provision of law, the sale or exchange for an interest in 
        trust or restricted land may be for an amount or exchange value 
        less than fair market value of that interest.
            (2) Status of lands.--Any trust or restricted land sold or 
        exchanged under this section shall, upon completion of the sale 
        or exchange, remain trust or restricted land.
    (b) Sale of Interest.--An individual may sell or exchange an 
interest referred to in subsection (a) to a lineal descendant of the 
original allottee of the tract of land involved, a co-owner of the 
tract of land, a tribal member of the tribe of that individual, or the 
tribe, as follows:
            (1) The first right of purchase and exchange with respect 
        to the interest shall be given to lineal descendants of the 
        original allottee of the tract of land involved.
            (2) A co-owner of the tract referred to in paragraph (1) 
        who is not a lineal descendant described in that paragraph 
        shall have a right of purchase or exchange with respect to the 
        interest that is subordinate to the right of the lineal 
        descendants.
            (3) A tribal member shall have a right of purchase or 
        exchange with respect to the interest that is subordinate to 
        the right of persons or entities described in paragraphs (1) 
        and (2).
            (4) The tribe shall have a right of purchase or exchange 
        with respect to the interest that is subordinate to the right 
        of purchase or exchange of persons or entities described in 
        paragraphs (1) through (3).
    (c) Notice.--
            (1) In general.--An individual who intends to sell or 
        exchange an interest referred to in subsection (a) shall 
        provide notice to each person or entity described in paragraphs 
        (1), (2), and (4) of subsection (b).
            (2) Requirements.--The notice required under paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    (A) be published--
                            (i) in a tribal newspaper; and
                            (ii) if there is no local tribal newspaper, 
                        in a local nontribal newspaper that is 
                        accessible to the members of the tribe on whose 
                        reservation the land is located; and
                    (B) include the allotment number and a list of all 
                interest holders, that the Secretary shall provide.
    (d) Time Period for Exercising First Right of Purchase or 
Exchange.--A lineal descendant referred to in subsection (b)(1) may 
exercise a first right of purchase described in that subsection during 
the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the individual 
receives notice under subsection (c).
    (e) Gift Deeds; Reservation of Rights.--
            (1) In general.--An Indian landowner may gift deed an 
        interest in trust or restricted land to the tribe of that 
        Indian landowner or another Indian.
            (2) Special rule.--With respect to a gift deed, the 
        Secretary shall not require an appraisal, or that the grantee 
        be a lineal ancestor or descendant of the grantor as a 
        prerequisite to that transfer.

SEC. 305. PRESERVATION OF TRUST OR RESTRICTED STATUS.

    (a) Notification.--
            (1) Local medium.--The term ``local medium'' includes a 
        newspaper of general circulation in the area in which a tract 
        of land that is the subject of a notification under this 
        subsection is located.
            (2) Notification.--Not later than 30 days before filing a 
        petition to obtain a patent in fee under subsection (b), a 
        person who intends to file such a petition shall provide notice 
        in a local medium of the intent of that person to file that 
        petition.
    (b) Petition.--
            (1) In general.--If a petition is filed with the Secretary 
        for a patent in fee for trust or restricted land or an interest 
        in that land, and that land or interest is subsequently offered 
        for sale, each of the co-owners (if applicable), other members 
        of the Indian tribe involved, and the tribe may acquire the 
        interest in the land during the 180-day period beginning on the 
        date on which that petition is filed.
            (2) Funding.--Funds made available by appropriations 
        pursuant to title IV may be used for purchases made under this 
        subsection.
    (c) Default.--
            (1) In general.--
                    (A) Leaseback and buyback rights.--In any case in 
                which a default under a lending program that has been 
                approved by an appropriate official of the Federal 
                Government on a loan secured by trust or restricted 
                land or an interest in trust or restricted land occurs, 
                as part of the foreclosure procedure, leaseback and 
                buyback rights shall be offered to persons or entities 
                described in paragraph (2) in the order described in 
                subparagraph (B).
                    (B) Order of offers.--The persons described in 
                subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) shall be offered the 
                leaseback and buyback rights first and the persons and 
                entities described in subparagraph (C) of that 
                paragraph shall be offered those rights after the 
persons and entities described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of that 
paragraph have been offered those rights.
            (2) Persons and entities.--The persons and entities 
        described in this paragraph are as follows:
                    (A) Each Indian landowner of the land or interest 
                in land involved.
                    (B) The spouse and children of any owner who is a 
                former member of the Indian tribe involved.
                    (C)(i) Any member of the Indian tribe that has 
                jurisdiction in the area in which the property is 
                located.
                    (ii) A tribally chartered corporate entity.
                    (iii) The tribe that has jurisdiction in the area 
                in which the property is located.
            (3) Transfers to secretary.--If the land or interest 
        described in paragraph (1) is not leased or purchased by any of 
        the persons or entities specified in subparagraphs (A) through 
        (C) of paragraph (2), and all related appeals have concluded, 
        the land or interest shall be transferred to the Secretary and 
        held until such time as one of the eligible persons or entities 
        is able to purchase or lease the land or interest.

SEC. 306. INDIAN LANDOWNER AGREEMENTS.

    An Indian landowner may enter into an agreement for the purpose of 
managing and administering a lease in multiple ownership. A lease 
council elected by the landowners may act in their behalf in all 
matters related to the lease (as determined under applicable tribal 
ordinances and Federal law).

SEC. 307. REPEAL AND AMENDMENT OF PROVISIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 
et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by striking sections 201 and 202;
            (2) in section 204, by striking subsections (a) and (b);
            (3) by striking section 205;
            (4) by striking sections 207 through 212;
            (5) by redesignating section 202 as section 201;
            (6) by redesignating sections 203 and 204 as sections 202 
        and 203, respectively;
            (7) in section 203(c), as redesignated by paragraph (6) of 
        this subsection, by striking ``(c)''; and
            (8) by redesignating section 206 as section 204.
    (b) References.--Section 3(a) of the Act entitled ``An Act to make 
miscellaneous amendments to Indian law, and for other purposes'', 
approved May 24, 1990 (Public Law 101-301) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
        ``section 2 and 17'' and inserting ``sections 2, 5, and 17''; 
        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following flush material:
``Nothing in this subsection is intended to supersede any other 
provision of Federal law that authorizes, prohibits, or restricts the 
acquisition of land or the creation of reservations for Indians with 
respect to any specific tribe, reservation, or State.''.

                     TITLE IV--FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

SEC. 401. PURPOSE; APPLICABILITY.

    (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this title is to provide financing to 
tribes and individual Indian landowners for consolidation of 
fractionated interests.
    (b) Applicability.--This title applies to Indian individuals and to 
those tribes that have in effect a fractionated land consolidation 
plan.

SEC. 402. LOANS FOR ACQUISITION.

    (a) In General.--Funds shall be made available from a Land 
Acquisition Fund (referred to in this section as the ``Fund'') that 
shall consist of funds appropriated under the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
economic development line item, named and placed in a separate account, 
specifically targeted for acquisition of fractionated interests by 
Indian individuals and tribes. Such funds shall be available to 
individuals directly or through a tribal lending program for 
acquisition purposes as described in this title.
    (b) Loans.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may make loans to tribes for 
        use in making loans to individual Indians for the acquisition 
        and consolidation of interests in fractionated trust or 
        restricted lands.
            (2) Requirements for loans.--As a condition to receiving a 
        loan under this section, a tribe shall deposit the loan funds 
        in a federally insured financial institution that the tribe may 
        choose.
            (3) Use of amounts collected.--Amounts collected by a tribe 
        as a repayment of loans and as interest or other charges, may 
        be used by that tribe--
                    (A) to pay interest and principal to the Secretary 
                on loans made to the tribe under this subsection; and
                    (B) to make additional loans.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated the sum of $20,000,000 for the land acquisition and 
consolidation purposes as described in this title.

SEC. 403. GRANTS FOR ACQUISITION.

    Funds appropriated from within the Economic Development line item 
for the Bureau of Indian Affairs will be used by the Secretary of the 
Interior to make grants to tribes and individual Indians for the 
acquisition and consolidation of interests in fractionated trust or 
restricted lands.

                            TITLE V--PROBATE

SEC. 501. APPLICABILITY.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Applicability to trust or restricted lands.--Except as 
        provided in paragraph (2), this title shall apply to all trust 
        or restricted lands administered by the United States.
            (2) Election.--A tribe may elect to be exempt from the 
        requirements of this title by issuing a final resolution and 
        filing that resolution with the Secretary.
    (b) Notification.--Upon receipt of a formal resolution under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall immediately notify agencies of the 
Department of the Interior and tribes of that resolution.
    (c) List.--The Secretary shall publish a list of tribes, with date 
of action, that have filed with the Secretary a formal resolution under 
subsection (b).
    (d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in section 504 is intended to 
supersede any tribal interstate succession law that became effective 
before the date of enactment of this Act.
    (e) Other Law.--Except as provided in subsection (c), the trust 
preservation limitations set forth in section 502 shall not preclude 
the application of any other Federal law relating to Indian 
inheritance. Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude the 
application of a more restrictive requirement under the laws of the 
tribe.
    (f) Special Laws.--A tribe may enact tribal laws relating to 
inheritance to apply to that tribe in lieu of the requirements of this 
title. If the Secretary approves those laws, the laws shall supersede 
this title with respect to that tribe.
    (g) Compilation.--The Secretary shall maintain a compilation of the 
tribal laws that the Secretary approves under subsection (f). The 
compilation shall indicate the date of approval of each such law. Upon 
the approval of each such law, the Secretary shall notify each agency 
of the Department of the Interior and each tribe that performs probate 
functions.

SEC. 502. PRESERVATION OF TRUST STATUS.

    With respect to the inheritance of trust or restricted lands--
            (1) inheritance by non-Indians shall be limited to receipt 
        of a life estate, with remainder over to the next Indian heirs 
        in line of inheritance;
            (2) non-Indian heirs-at-law shall receive a life estate to 
        the extent of the intestate share determined in accordance with 
        applicable law; and
            (3) eligible non-Indian devisees (as determined in 
        accordance with applicable law) shall receive a life estate in 
        the full share devised to those devisees by will.

SEC. 503. ELIGIBLE WILL DEVISEES.

    (a) In General.--No person shall be entitled to receive trust or 
restricted lands by devise other than--
            (1) the decedent's heirs-at-law relatives within the first 
        and second degree;
            (2) members of the tribe with jurisdiction over the lands 
        devised; or
            (3) the tribe with jurisdiction over the devised lands.
    (b) Special Rule.--A decedent that does not have a family member 
who meets the description under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of 
subsection (a) may devise that decedent's estate or particular assets 
thereof to any devisee related to the decedent by blood.
    (c) Joint Tenancies.--Devises to multiple beneficiaries shall be 
construed as joint tenancies subject to right of survivorship.

SEC. 504. INTESTATE SUCCESSION.

    (a) In General.--Subject to the limitations under section 502, in 
any case in which an Indian dies in possession of any interest in trust 
or restricted land and did not execute a will disposing of that 
interest, the surviving spouse of that decedent shall have a life 
estate in \1/3\ of that interest.
    (b) Succession Upon Death of Surviving Spouse.--Upon the death of a 
surviving spouse described in subsection (a), the interest the trust or 
restricted land referred to in that subsection shall be passed--
            (1) to the decedent's children in equal shares by right of 
        representation;
            (2) if the decedent is not survived by children or the 
        issue of children, to the parents of the decedent in equal 
        shares or to the surviving parent if one parent is deceased;
            (3) if the decedent is not survived by children, or issue 
        of the children, or parents, to the brothers and sisters of the 
        decedent without right of representation; or
            (4) if the decedent has no heirs under paragraphs (1) 
        through (3)--
                    (A) to the tribe with jurisdiction over the 
                interest in the trust or restricted land; or
                    (B) with respect to any interest in trust or 
                restricted land that is not located on a reservation, 
                to the Secretary to be maintained and administered in 
                trust, in a land pool designated to hold allotted land 
                interests that are not eligible for inheritance under 
                this subsection.

SEC. 505. PRETERMISSION.

    With respect to an Indian testator who dies without having made a 
will to include afterborn children, and the omission is the product of 
inadvertence rather than an intentional omission, afterborn children 
shall be given a life estate in all trust or restricted assets of the 
estate in the amount of the child's intestate share.

SEC. 506. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act is intended to invalidate any law enacted by a 
tribe under section 207 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (as in 
effect before the date of enactment of this Act).

SEC. 507. RECOGNIZING CUSTOMARY ADOPTIONS FOR ALASKA NATIVES.

    Any Alaska Native individual who considers himself to be 
customarily adopted to a decedent and who has not previously had a 
reason for legal recognition of the adoptive relationship may present 
an affidavit claiming his adoptive relationship to the decedent. If any 
affected heirs-at-law do not dispute the relationship, or if the weight 
of the evidence supports the individual's affidavit, the individual may 
inherit the same share as he would inherit if he were legally adopted 
in court proceedings.

                      TITLE VI--GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 601. TAX EXEMPTION.

    All lands or interests in land acquired for an Indian or Indian 
tribe under authority of this Act shall be exempt from Federal, State, 
and county taxation.

SEC. 602. AUTHORITY OF TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed as vesting the governing 
body of an Indian tribe with any authority that is not authorized by 
the constitution and bylaws or other organizational document of that 
tribe.

SEC. 603. WAIVERS.

    The Secretary shall waive any regulation under title 25, Code of 
Federal Regulations, or any subsequent similar regulation, that 
restricts the implementation of a tribal fractionated land 
consolidation plan.
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