[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 161 Engrossed in Senate (ES)]

  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 161

_______________________________________________________________________

                         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.''.

            Passed the Senate December 11 (legislative day, September 
      22), 2000.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
106th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                            S. CON. RES. 161

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

                To correct the enrollment of H.R. 5528.