[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2803 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2803

 To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to allow shareholder 
 common stock to be transferred to adopted Alaska Native children and 
               their descendants, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 5, 1999

 Mr. Young of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                     to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to allow shareholder 
 common stock to be transferred to adopted Alaska Native children and 
               their descendants, 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; REFERENCE.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Alaska Native 
Claims Technical Amendments Act of 1999''.
    (b) Reference.--Whenever in this Act a section or other provision 
is amended or repealed, such amendment or repeal shall be considered to 
be made to that section or other provision of the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601, et seq.).

SEC. 2. COMMON STOCK TO ADOPTED-OUT DESCENDANTS.

    Section 7(h)(1)(C)(iii) of the Act (43 U.S.C. 1606(h)(1)(C)(iii)) 
is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following: ``, 
notwithstanding an adoption, relinquishment, or termination of parental 
rights that may have altered or severed the legal relationship between 
the gift donor and recipient''.

SEC. 3. RELATION TO CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.

    Section 29(g) of the Act (43 U.S.C. 1626(g)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``sole proprietorships,'' after ``joint 
        ventures,''; and
            (2) by inserting ``, or with which the Native Corporation 
        or affiliate engages in 1 or more commercial transactions that 
        exceed a total of $20,000 in the calendar year, within the 
        course and scope of such commercial transaction,'' after 
        ``equity''.

SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF SETTLEMENT TRUST.

    Section 3(t)(2) of the Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(t)(2)) is amended by 
striking ``sole'' and all that follows through ``Stock'' and inserting 
``benefit of shareholders, Natives, and descendants of Natives,''.

SEC. 5. ALASKA NATIVE VETERANS.

    Section 41 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1629g) is amended as follows:
            (1) In subsection (a)(1), insert ``or within 18 months of 
        the date of the enactment of the Alaska Native Claims Technical 
        Amendments Act of 1999, whichever is later,'' after 
        ``subsection (e),''.
            (2) In subsection (a)(1), strike ``subsection (b)'' and 
        insert ``subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2)'';
            (3) In subsection (a)(1), insert ``, as amended'' after 
        ``34 Stat. 197'';
            (4) Strike subsection (a)(2) and insert the following:
            ``(2) Allotments may be selected only from the following:
                    ``(A) Lands that were vacant, unappropriated, and 
                unreserved on the date when the person eligible for the 
                allotment first used and occupied those lands.
                    ``(B) Lands in the National Petroleum Reserve-
                Alaska which the person eligible for the allotment used 
                and occupied.
                    ``(C) Lands that were not vacant, unappropriated, 
                and unreserved on the date when the person eligible for 
                the allotment first used and occupied those lands, but 
                which later became vacant, unappropriated, and 
                unreserved during the time that the person eligible for 
                the allotment used and occupied those lands.''.
            (5) In subsection (a)(3)(E), insert ``Federal'' after 
        ``acquired''.
            (6) In subsection (a)(3)(I), strike ``, including but not 
        limited to the following'' and all that follows through 
        ``Cemetery sites''.
            (7) In subsection (a)(4), insert ``described in subsection 
        (b)(1) or (b)(2)'' after ``A person''.
            (8) In subsection (a)(4)(B), strike ''Park; and'' and 
        insert ``Park; or''.
            (9) In subsection (b)(1), strike ``A person'' and insert 
        ``Except as provided in paragraph (3), a person''.
            (10) In subsection (b)(1)(B), strike ``January 1, 1969 and 
        December 31, 1971'' and all that follows through ``December 3, 
        1971'', and insert ``August 5, 1964, and May 7, 1975''.
            (11) In subsection (b)(2), insert ``(as defined pursuant to 
        State law)'' after ``estate of a decedent''.
            (12) In subsection (b)(2), strike ``who was'' and insert 
        ``which decedent would have been''.
            (13) In subsection (b)(2), strike ``subsection (b)(1)'' and 
        insert ``paragraph (1),''.
            (14) In subsection (b)(2), strike ``if, during'' and all 
        that follows through ``prisoner of war.'' and insert ``under 
        this section.''.
            (15) In subsection (b)(3)--
                    (A) insert ``previously applied for the same 
                allotment,'' after ``No person who received an 
                allotment,''; and
                    (B) insert before the period ``, unless that person 
                is the personal representative of an estate selecting 
                an allotment pursuant to paragraph (2)''.
            (16) Add at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(f) Approval of Allotments.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to valid existing rights, and 
        except as otherwise provided in this subsection, within 1 year 
        after the Secretary receives an allotment application made 
        pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall approve said 
        application and interim convey the selected lands, pursuant to 
        section 22(j) of this Act (43 U.S.C. 1621(j)(1)).
            ``(2) Notification.--Upon receipt of an allotment 
        application, the Secretary shall immediately notify the State 
        and all interested parties of the land description, and any 
        such party shall have 90 days following notification in which 
        to file with the Secretary a protest as provided in paragraph 
        (3).
            ``(3) Effect of protest.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply and 
        the Native allotment application shall be adjudicated pursuant 
        to the requirements of the Act of May 17, 1906 (Chapter 2469; 
        34 Stat. 197, as amended), this Act, and other applicable law, 
        if, pursuant to paragraph (2)--
                    ``(A) a Native Corporation files a protest with the 
                Secretary stating that the applicant is not entitled to 
                the land described in the allotment application, and 
                said land is withdrawn for selection by or has been 
                conveyed to the Native Corporation pursuant to this 
                Act;
                    ``(B) the State files a protest with the Secretary 
                stating that the land described in the allotment 
                application is necessary for access to lands owned by 
                the United States, the State of Alaska, or a political 
                subdivision of the State of Alaska, to resources 
                located thereon, or to a public body of water regularly 
                employed for transportation purposes, and the protest 
                states with specificity the facts upon which the 
                conclusions concerning access are based and that no 
                reasonable alternative for access exists; or
                    ``(C) a person or entity files a protest with the 
                Secretary stating that the applicant is not entitled to 
                the land described in the allotment application and 
                that said land is the situs of improvements claimed by 
                the person or entity.
            ``(4) Approval procedure.--Upon expiration of the 90-day 
        period following notification pursuant to paragraph (2), the 
        Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) if no protest is timely filed, approve the 
                application pursuant to paragraph (1); or
                    ``(B) if a protest is timely filed, adjudicate the 
                legal sufficiency of any such protest, and--
                            ``(i) if the protest is legally 
                        insufficient, approve the application; or
                            ``(ii) if the protest is valid, issue a 
                        decision that closes the application and that 
                        is final for the Secretary.''.

SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY OF NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE RESTRICTIONS.

    Section 22(g) of the Act is amended by striking ``Notwithstanding'' 
and all that follows through ``of such Refuge.''.

SEC. 7. PARTIAL SECTION SELECTIONS AUTHORIZED.

    Section 22 of the Act is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection:
    ``(m) Selections made under this Act after December 18, 1974, may 
be in partial sections, but each selection shall be not less than 160 
contiguous acres.''.

SEC. 8. ELIM NATIVE CORPORATION LAND RESTORATION.

    The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:

               ``elim native corporation land restoration

    ``Sec. 42. (a) Findings.-- The Congress finds that--
            ``(1) approximately 350,000 acres of land were withdrawn by 
        Executive Orders in 1917 for the use of the United States 
        Bureau of Education and of the Natives of Indigenous Alaskan 
        race;
            ``(2) these lands comprised the Norton Bay Reservation 
        (later referred to as Norton Bay Native Reserve) and were set 
        aside for the benefit of the Native inhabitants of the Eskimo 
        Village of Elim, Alaska;
            ``(3) in 1929, an Executive Order deleted 50,000 acres of 
        land from the Norton Bay Reservation, without the informed 
        consent of the Native residents living on the Reservation, and 
        the people of Elim believe this deletion violated the Act of 
        March 3, 1927 (44 Stat. 1347);
            ``(4) there appears to have been only minimal consultation 
        conducted by the United States Government with the inhabitants 
        of Elim prior to this deletion of lands;
            ``(5) the lands were deleted from the Reservation for the 
        benefit of others;
            ``(6) the deleted lands were not offered to be restored to 
        the original Reservation when lands comprising the Reservation 
        were made available to the Native inhabitants of Elim under 
        section 19(b) of this Act at the time of passage of this Act;
            ``(7) the failure to replace these lands has been and 
        continues to be a source of deep concern to the indigenous 
        people of Elim;
            ``(8) until this matter is dealt with equitably, it will 
        continue to be a source of great frustration and sense of loss 
        among the shareholders of the Elim Native Corporation and their 
        descendants; and
            ``(9) in light of the above, to replace the lands deleted 
        in 1929 from the Norton Bay Reservation, which was established 
        for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Village of Elim, 
        50,000 acres of land should be conveyed to the Elim Native 
        Corporation.
    ``(b) Withdrawal and Availability for Selection.--The lands 
described in subsection (c) are withdrawn, subject to valid existing 
rights, from all forms of appropriation or disposition under the public 
land laws, including the mining and mineral leasing laws, for a period 
of 2 years from the date of enactment of this section, for selection by 
the Elim Native Corporation.
    ``(c) Lands Described.--The lands described in this section are 
within the boundary of a parcel of land in the vicinity of Elim, 
Alaska, more particularly depicted on the map dated August 1, 1999, and 
entitled Land Withdrawal Elim Native Corporation Land Restoration.
    ``(d) Authorization To Select and Receive Title to Lands; 
Reservation of Easement.--The Elim Native Corporation is authorized to 
select and receive title to 50,000 acres of lands within the boundary 
of the lands described in subsection (c) to replace the lands deleted 
from the original Norton Bay Reservation. The Secretary is authorized 
to receive, adjudicate, and convey the surface and subsurface estate in 
the selected lands to the Elim Native Corporation subject to--
            ``(1) valid existing rights;
            ``(2) an easement reserved to the United States for the 
        benefit of the public pursuant to section 17(b) of this Act; 
        and
            ``(3) an easement reserved for the Iditarod National 
        Historic Trail.
    ``(e) Finality of Selections.--(1) Selection by the Elim Native 
Corporation of lands under subsection (d) and final conveyance of those 
lands to Elim Native Corporation shall constitute full satisfaction of 
any claim of entitlement of the Elim Native Corporation--
            ``(A) with respect to its land entitlements under section 
        19(b); and
            ``(B) with respect to the extinguishment of the Norton Bay 
        Reservation (as withdrawn by Executive Order No. 2508, dated 
        January 3, 1917, as amended by Executive Order No. 2525, dated 
        February 6, 1917).
    ``(2) The Elim Native Corporation shall prioritize its selections 
made pursuant to this section at the time such selections are filed.''.

SEC. 9. CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONTAMINATION.

    The Act is further amended by adding after the section added by 
section 8 of this Act, the following new section:

             ``clarification of liability for contamination

    ``Sec. 43. Notwithstanding section 107 of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, or any 
other provision of law, no person acquiring any interest in land under 
this Act shall be liable for the costs of removal or remedial action, 
any damages, or any third party liability arising out of or as a result 
of any contamination on that land at the time that such land was 
acquired under this Act unless such person was directly responsible for 
such contamination.''.
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