[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3548 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3548

 To provide for uniform recognition of Indian tribes by the Bureau of 
                Indian Affairs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 19, 2001

  Mr. Simmons (for himself, Mrs. Johnson of Connecticut, Mr. Green of 
 Wisconsin, Mr. Maloney of Connecticut, and Mr. Shays) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for uniform recognition of Indian tribes by the Bureau of 
                Indian Affairs, 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. NOTICE OF APPLICATION BY INDIAN TRIBE FOR FEDERAL STATUS.

    (a) Letter of Intent.--To seek acknowledgment or recognition as an 
Indian tribe under Federal law, the petitioner must first submit to the 
Secretary of the Interior a letter of intent to seek such status.
    (b) Notice to States.--Not later than 30 days after receiving a 
letter of intent, the Secretary shall notify the Governor and attorney 
general of each State in which the petitioner states that it is located 
of the following:
            (1) That the letter of intent has been filed.
            (2) The name and contact information for the Indian tribe.
    (c) Notice to Municipalities.--Not later than 60 days after 
receiving a letter of intent under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 
consult with the Governor and attorney general of the affected State or 
States to identify municipalities that are located within the vicinity 
of the place that the petitioner states on the application that it is 
located. The Secretary shall provide the notice required under 
subsection (b) to such municipalities within 30 days of the completion 
of the consultation process.

SEC. 2. INTERESTED PARTY STATUS.

    The Governor, attorney general, and each municipality identified 
pursuant to section 1 shall be interested parties in the review of each 
corresponding acknowledgement petition. The petitioner shall serve each 
interested party with all documents submitted as part of its petition.

SEC. 3. COMPLETION OF PETITION.

    In consultation with the petitioner, the Secretary shall determine 
when the petition is complete and ready for acknowledgment review. 
Interested parties shall be notified of such determination within 30 
days. No additional documents shall be submitted by the petitioner 
after this determination until issuance of a proposed finding under 
part 83 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations.

SEC. 4. ACTIVE REVIEW.

    The Secretary shall notify the petitioner and all interested 
parties, and publish notice in the Federal Register, of the date that a 
petition comes under active review under part 83 of title 25, Code of 
Federal Regulations. Such notice shall be provided within 7 days of the 
date the petition comes under active review.

SEC. 5. PUBLIC COMMENT ON APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STATUS.

    The Secretary shall provide a reasonable period for comment by 
interested parties and the public on each petition for Federal 
acknowledgment or recognition. Such comment period shall commence upon 
filing of a letter of intent and end no sooner than 120 days before the 
deadline for issuance of a proposed finding under part 83 of title 25, 
Code of Federal Regulations. Interested parties shall serve their 
comments on the petitioner and any other interested parties. The 
Secretary shall provide all public comments to the petitioner and 
interested parties. Such comments shall be given full consideration 
when deciding to grant or deny the petition. Any petition under review 
on the date of the enactment of this Act not subject to such comment 
shall be reconsidered by the Secretary to provide a comment period in 
accordance with this section.

SEC. 6. REGULATORY CRITERIA.

    The Director may not grant Federal acknowledgment or recognition to 
any Indian tribe unless such petitioner has met all of the criteria 
listed in part 83 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations. When 
issuing proposed findings and final determinations on Federal 
acknowledgment or recognition, the Secretary shall publish in the 
Federal Register detailed findings on each of those criteria. Such 
findings shall be accompanied by a report under part 83 of title 25, 
Code of Federal Regulations. Any findings for petitions under review on 
the date of the enactment of this Act for which such findings and 
report have not been issued shall be reconsidered by the Secretary in 
accordance with this section.

SEC. 7. FUNDING FOR BRANCH OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND RESEARCH.

    There is authorized to be appropriated for the Branch of 
Acknowledgment and Research of the Bureau of Indian Affairs $1,800,000 
each fiscal year.

SEC. 8. GRANT PROGRAM FOR PARTICIPATION IN DECISIONMAKING PROCESSES.

    (a) In General.--To the extent funds are made available by 
appropriations and acceptable requests are submitted, the Secretary 
shall provide grants to local governments to assist those local 
governments in participating in the decisionmaking process related to 
actions described in subsection (b), if the Secretary determines that 
such actions are likely to significantly affect the people represented 
by the local governments and to reimburse local governments for the 
costs of such participation that were incurred after the date of the 
enactment of this Act. Grants may also be made under this section to 
reimburse local governments for activities that were undertaken before 
the date of the enactment of this Act, but which otherwise meet the 
requirements for a grant under this section.
    (b) Actions for Which Grants May Be Available.--The Secretary may 
make grants under this section for participation assistance related to 
the following actions:
            (1) Acknowledgment.--An Indian group is seeking Federal 
        acknowledgment or recognition and the Secretary determines that 
        the Indian group seeking such acknowledgment or recognition (or 
        reacknowledgment or rerecognition) is located within or 
        adjacent to the boundaries of the area under the jurisdiction 
        of the local government, or has asserted or is likely to seek 
        trust status with respect to land within boundaries of the area 
        over which the local government has jurisdiction.
            (2) Trust land.--An acknowledged Indian tribe is requesting 
        that land within, or adjacent to, the boundaries of the area 
        over which the local government has jurisdiction be put into 
        trust status for that tribe.
            (3) Land claims.--An Indian group or an acknowledged Indian 
        tribe is claiming, or is expected to claim, interest in land 
        based upon a treaty or a law specifically applicable to 
        transfers of land or natural resources from, by, or on behalf 
        of any Indian, Indian nation, or group, tribe, or band of 
        Indians (including the Acts commonly known as the Trade and 
        Intercourse Acts (1 Stat. 137; 2 Stat. 139; and 4 Stat. 729)).
            (4) Other actions.--Any other action or proposed action 
        relating to an Indian group or acknowledged Indian tribe if the 
        Secretary determines that the action or proposed action is 
        likely to significantly affect the people represented by that 
        local government.
    (c) Amount of Grants.--Grants awarded under this section to a local 
government for any one action may not exceed $500,000 in any fiscal 
year.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $8,000,000 for each fiscal year.

SEC. 9. GRANT PROGRAM FOR IMPACT AID.

    (a) In General.--To the extent funds are made available by 
appropriations and acceptable requests are submitted, the Secretary 
shall provide grants to local governments to assist those local 
governments with activities related to infrastructure, public safety, 
or social services, if the Secretary determines that such activities 
are made necessary or prudent as a result of the activities of a 
federally recognized Indian tribe.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each fiscal 
year.

SEC. 10. REPEAL OF REVOLVING DOOR EXEMPTION.

    Section 104(j) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450i(j)) is repealed.

SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Acknowledged indian tribe.--The term ``acknowledged 
        Indian tribe'' means any Indian tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or 
        other organized group or community which is recognized as 
        eligible for the special programs and services provided by the 
        United States to Indians because of their status as Indians.
            (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
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