[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2425 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2425

  To provide for the use and distribution of the funds awarded to the 
Quinault Indian Nation under United States Claims Court Dockets 772-71, 
          773-71, 774-71, and 775-71, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 11, 2003

  Mr. Dicks introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for the use and distribution of the funds awarded to the 
Quinault Indian Nation under United States Claims Court Dockets 772-71, 
          773-71, 774-71, and 775-71, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Quinault Permanent Fisheries Fund 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DISTRIBUTION OF JUDGMENT FUNDS.

    (a) Funds To Be Deposited Into Separate Accounts.-- Subject to 
section 3(c), the funds appropriated on September 19, 1989, in 
satisfaction of an award granted to the Quinault Indian Nation under 
Dockets 772-71, 773-71, 774-71, and 775-71 before the United States 
Claims Court, less attorney fees and litigation expenses, and including 
all interest accrued to the date of disbursement, shall be disbursed by 
the Secretary of the Interior and deposited into 3 separate accounts to 
be established and maintained by the Quinault Indian Nation 
(hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ``Tribe'') as follows:
            (1) An account for the principal amount of the judgment 
        funds. Such funds shall be used to create a Permanent Fisheries 
        Fund. The principal funds may not be expended by the Tribe and 
        shall be invested by the Tribe in accordance with the Tribe's 
        investment policy.
            (2) An account for the investment income earned on the 
        Permanent Fisheries Fund from the date that the funds are 
        disbursed under this section. These funds shall be available 
        for fisheries enhancement projects and the costs associated 
        with administering the Permanent Fisheries Fund. The specific 
        fisheries enhancement projects for which such funds are used 
        shall be specified in the Tribe's approved annual budget.
            (3) An account for the investment income earned on the 
        judgment funds from September 19, 1989, to the date of the 
        disbursement of the funds to the Tribe under this section. 
        These funds shall be available to the Tribe for tribal 
        government activities. The specific tribal government 
        activities shall be specified in the Tribe's approved annual 
        budget.
    (b) Determination of Amount of Funds Available.--The Quinault 
Business Committee, as the governing body of the Tribe, has the 
discretion to determine the amount of funds available for expenditure 
under paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (a) provided that the 
amounts are specified in the Tribe's approved annual budget.
    (c) Annual Audit.--The records and investment activities of the 3 
accounts specified in subsection (a) shall be maintained separately by 
the Tribe and shall be subject to an annual audit.
    (d) Reporting of Investment Activities and Expenditures.--Not later 
than 120 days after the close of the Tribe's fiscal year, a full 
accounting of the previous fiscal year's investment activities and 
expenditures from all funds subject to this Act, which may be in the 
form of the annual audit, shall be made available to the tribal 
membership.

SEC. 3. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

    (a) Deadline for Disbursement of Funds.--Not later than 30 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, all funds subject to this 
Act shall be disbursed to the Tribe.
    (b) United States Liability.--Upon disbursement to the Tribe of the 
funds pursuant to this Act, the United States shall no longer have any 
trust responsibility or liability for the investment, supervision, 
administration, or expenditure of the judgment funds.
    (c) Application of Other Law.--All funds distributed under this Act 
are subject to the provisions of section 7 of the Indian Tribal 
Judgment Funds Use or Distribution Act (25 U.S.C. 1407), relating to 
the use or distribution of certain judgment funds awarded by the Indian 
Claims Commission or the Court of Claims.
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