[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 161 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.Con.Res.161
                                     Agreed to December 14, 2000        

                       One Hundred Sixth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
             the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand


                          Concurrent Resolution

    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That the Clerk of the House of Representatives, in the enrollment of 
the bill (H.R. 5528) to authorize the construction of a Wakpa Sica 
Reconciliation Place in Fort Pierre, South Dakota, and for other 
purposes, shall make the following correction:
        (1) Strike title XII and insert the following:

              TITLE XII--NAVAJO NATION TRUST LAND LEASING

SEC. 1201. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``Navajo Nation Trust Land Leasing 
Act of 2000''.

SEC. 1202. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Recognizing the special relationship between the 
United States and the Navajo Nation and its members, and the Federal 
responsibility to the Navajo people, Congress finds that--
        (1) the third clause of section 8, Article I of the United 
    States Constitution provides that ``The Congress shall have Power . 
    . . to regulate Commerce . . . with Indian tribes'', and, through 
    this and other constitutional authority, Congress has plenary power 
    over Indian affairs;
        (2) Congress, through statutes, treaties, and the general 
    course of dealing with Indian tribes, has assumed the 
    responsibility for the protection and preservation of Indian tribes 
    and their resources;
        (3) the United States has a trust obligation to guard and 
    preserve the sovereignty of Indian tribes in order to foster strong 
    tribal governments, Indian self-determination, and economic self-
    sufficiency;
        (4) pursuant to the first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 
    (25 U.S.C. 415), Congress conferred upon the Secretary of the 
    Interior the power to promulgate regulations governing tribal 
    leases and to approve tribal leases for tribes according to 
    regulations promulgated by the Secretary;
        (5) the Secretary of the Interior has promulgated the 
    regulations described in paragraph (4) at part 162 of title 25, 
    Code of Federal Regulations;
        (6) the requirement that the Secretary approve leases for the 
    development of Navajo trust lands has added a level of review and 
    regulation that does not apply to the development of non-Indian 
    land; and
        (7) in the global economy of the 21st Century, it is crucial 
    that individual leases of Navajo trust lands not be subject to 
    Secretarial approval and that the Navajo Nation be able to make 
    immediate decisions over the use of Navajo trust lands.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this title are as follows:
        (1) To establish a streamlined process for the Navajo Nation to 
    lease trust lands without having to obtain the approval of the 
    Secretary of the Interior for individual leases, except leases for 
    exploration, development, or extraction of any mineral resources.
        (2) To authorize the Navajo Nation, pursuant to tribal 
    regulations, which must be approved by the Secretary, to lease 
    Navajo trust lands without the approval of the Secretary of the 
    Interior for the individual leases, except leases for exploration, 
    development, or extraction of any mineral resources.
        (3) To revitalize the distressed Navajo Reservation by 
    promoting political self-determination, and encouraging economic 
    self-sufficiency, including economic development that increases 
    productivity and the standard of living for members of the Navajo 
    Nation.
        (4) To maintain, strengthen, and protect the Navajo Nation's 
    leasing power over Navajo trust lands.
        (5) To ensure that the United States is faithfully executing 
    its trust obligation to the Navajo Nation by maintaining Federal 
    supervision through oversight of and record keeping related to 
    leases of Navajo Nation tribal trust lands.

SEC. 1203. LEASE OF RESTRICTED LANDS FOR THE NAVAJO NATION.

    The first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415) is 
amended--
        (1) in subsection (d)--
            (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and inserting 
        a semicolon; and
            (C) by adding at the end the following:
        ``(3) the term `individually owned Navajo Indian allotted land' 
    means a single parcel of land that--
            ``(A) is located within the jurisdiction of the Navajo 
        Nation;
            ``(B) is held in trust or restricted status by the United 
        States for the benefit of Navajo Indians or members of another 
        Indian tribe; and
            ``(C) was--
                ``(i) allotted to a Navajo Indian; or
                ``(ii) taken into trust or restricted status by the 
            United States for an individual Indian;
        ``(4) the term `interested party' means an Indian or non-Indian 
    individual or corporation, or tribal or non-tribal government whose 
    interests could be adversely affected by a tribal trust land 
    leasing decision made by the Navajo Nation;
        ``(5) the term `Navajo Nation' means the Navajo Nation 
    government that is in existence on the date of enactment of this 
    Act or its successor;
        ``(6) the term `petition' means a written request submitted to 
    the Secretary for the review of an action (or inaction) of the 
    Navajo Nation that is claimed to be in violation of the approved 
    tribal leasing regulations;
        ``(7) the term `Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior; 
    and
        ``(8) the term `tribal regulations' means the Navajo Nation 
    regulations enacted in accordance with Navajo Nation law and 
    approved by the Secretary.''; and
        (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e)(1) Any leases by the Navajo Nation for purposes authorized 
under subsection (a), and any amendments thereto, except a lease for 
the exploration, development, or extraction of any mineral resources, 
shall not require the approval of the Secretary if the lease is 
executed under the tribal regulations approved by the Secretary under 
this subsection and the term of the lease does not exceed--
        ``(A) in the case of a business or agricultural lease, 25 
    years, except that any such lease may include an option to renew 
    for up to 2 additional terms, each of which may not exceed 25 
    years; and
        ``(B) in the case of a lease for public, religious, 
    educational, recreational, or residential purposes, 75 years if 
    such a term is provided for by the Navajo Nation through the 
    promulgation of regulations.
    ``(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to individually owned Navajo 
Indian allotted land.
    ``(3) The Secretary shall have the authority to approve or 
disapprove tribal regulations referred to under paragraph (1). The 
Secretary shall approve such tribal regulations if such regulations are 
consistent with the regulations of the Secretary under subsection (a), 
and any amendments thereto, and provide for an environmental review 
process. The Secretary shall review and approve or disapprove the 
regulations of the Navajo Nation within 120 days of the submission of 
such regulations to the Secretary. Any disapproval of such regulations 
by the Secretary shall be accompanied by written documentation that 
sets forth the basis for the disapproval. Such 120-day period may be 
extended by the Secretary after consultation with the Navajo Nation.
    ``(4) If the Navajo Nation has executed a lease pursuant to tribal 
regulations under paragraph (1), the Navajo Nation shall provide the 
Secretary with--
        ``(A) a copy of the lease and all amendments and renewals 
    thereto; and
        ``(B) in the case of regulations or a lease that permits 
    payment to be made directly to the Navajo Nation, documentation of 
    the lease payments sufficient to enable the Secretary to discharge 
    the trust responsibility of the United States under paragraph (5).
    ``(5) The United States shall not be liable for losses sustained by 
any party to a lease executed pursuant to tribal regulations under 
paragraph (1), including the Navajo Nation. Nothing in this paragraph 
shall be construed to diminish the authority of the Secretary to take 
appropriate actions, including the cancellation of a lease, in 
furtherance of the trust obligation of the United States to the Navajo 
Nation.
    ``(6)(A) An interested party may, after exhaustion of tribal 
remedies, submit, in a timely manner, a petition to the Secretary to 
review the compliance of the Navajo Nation with any regulations 
approved under this subsection. If upon such review the Secretary 
determines that the regulations were violated, the Secretary may take 
such action as may be necessary to remedy the violation, including 
rescinding the approval of the tribal regulations and reassuming 
responsibility for the approval of leases for Navajo Nation tribal 
trust lands.
    ``(B) If the Secretary seeks to remedy a violation described in 
subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall--
        ``(i) make a written determination with respect to the 
    regulations that have been violated;
        ``(ii) provide the Navajo Nation with a written notice of the 
    alleged violation together with such written determination; and
        ``(iii) prior to the exercise of any remedy or the rescission 
    of the approval of the regulation involved and the reassumption of 
    the lease approval responsibility, provide the Navajo Nation with a 
    hearing on the record and a reasonable opportunity to cure the 
    alleged violation.''.
  Attest:

                                               Secretary of the Senate.

  Attest:

                                 Clerk of the House of Representatives.