[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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