[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4734 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4734

 To amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to include a definition of 
     initial reservation and consultation, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 25, 2004

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to include a definition of 
     initial reservation and consultation, 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. DEFINITIONS OF INITIAL RESERVATION AND CONSULTATION.

    Section 4 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(11) The term `initial reservation' means Indian lands 
        within one or more of the following:
                    ``(A) The geographical area designated by the 
                Assistant Secretary where financial assistance and 
                social services programs are provided to that Indian 
                tribe. Such a geographical area may include land on a 
                reservation, near reservation, or any other 
                geographical location.
                    ``(B) The geographical area designated by the 
                Indian tribe during the Federal acknowledgement process 
                as the area in which more than 50 percent of the 
                members of the Indian tribe reside in a group composed 
                exclusively or almost exclusively of members of the 
                Indian tribe.
                    ``(C) The geographical area in which it can be 
                demonstrated that the Indian tribe has historically 
                resided.
            ``(12) The term `consultation' means, at a minimum, the 
        following:
                    ``(A) A procedure whereby State, local, and tribal 
                governments with jurisdiction over land within 50 miles 
                of the land proposed to be taken into trust are 
                provided actual notice of the proposed land acquisition 
                and an opportunity to provide comments on that 
                proposal. Such notice shall include information on the 
                proposed location of the gaming facility, the proposed 
                scope of the gaming activity, the proposed size of the 
                facility, and other relevant information as determined 
                by the Secretary. The notice shall solicit comments 
                from the State, local, and tribal governments on the 
                potential effects of the proposal and include 
                notification that comments are to be received not later 
                than 60 days after the notice, with the possibility of 
                a 60-day extension, upon request. Such comments shall 
                be addressed in writing to the Secretary of the 
                Interior or the appropriate departmental official.
                    ``(B) After expiration of the comment period and 
                prior to the Secretary's determination, the Secretary 
                or the appropriate departmental official must notify 
                the applicant Indian tribe and State, local, and tribal 
                governments with jurisdiction over land within 50 miles 
                of the land proposed to be taken into trust of the 
                status of the application and inform them that they 
                may, within 30 days of receipt of the notice, request 
                that the Secretary or the appropriate departmental 
                official hold a hearing for the purpose of discussing 
                the merits of the application. The hearing record will 
                be available to any participating party and become part 
                of the record considered by the Secretary in reaching a 
                final determination.''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION REGARDING CONDITIONS REQUIRED FOR EXCEPTION TO 
              GAMING RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN LAND.

    Section 20(b)(1)(A) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 
2719(b)(1)(A)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``appropriate State and local officials, 
        including officials of other nearby Indian tribes'' and 
        inserting ``officials of any State or local government or 
        Indian tribe with jurisdiction over land located within 50 
        miles of the land proposed to be taken into trust''; and
            (2) by inserting ``or would not have a negative economic 
        impact on businesses, governments, or Indian tribes within a 50 
        mile radius of the land proposed to be taken into trust'' after 
        ``would not be detrimental to the surrounding community''.
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