[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 288 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 288

     To encourage contracting by Indians and Indian tribes for the 
          management of Federal land, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 4, 2003

 Mr. Campbell introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To encourage contracting by Indians and Indian tribes for the 
          management of Federal land, 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 ``Indian Contracting and Federal Land 
Management Demonstration Project Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to expand the provisions of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et 
        seq.) to increase Indian employment and income through greater 
        contracting opportunities with the Federal Government;
            (2) to encourage contracting by Indians and Indian tribes 
        with respect to management of Federal land--
                    (A) to realize the benefit of Indian knowledge and 
                expertise with respect to the land; and
                    (B) to promote innovative management strategies on 
                Federal land that will result in greater sensitivity 
                toward, and respect for, religious beliefs and sacred 
                sites of Indians and Indian tribes;
            (3) to better accommodate access to and ceremonial use of 
        Indian sacred land by Indian religious practitioners; and
            (4) to prevent significant damage to Indian sacred land.

SEC. 3. TRIBAL PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING AND RESERVATION DEVELOPMENT.

    Section 7 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 450e) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Tribal Procurement Contracting and Reservation Development.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), on request by 
        and application of an Indian tribe to provide certain services 
        or deliverables that the Secretary of the Interior would 
        otherwise procure from a private-sector entity (referred to in 
        this subsection as an `applicant tribe'), and absent a request 
        made by 1 or more Indian tribes that would receive a direct 
        benefit from those services or deliverables to enter into 
        contracts for those services or deliverables in accordance with 
        section 102 (referred to in this subsection as a `beneficiary 
        tribe'), the Secretary of the Interior shall enter into 
        contracts for those services or deliverables with the applicant 
        tribe in accordance with section 102.
            ``(2) Assurances.--An applicant tribe shall provide the 
        Secretary of the Interior with assurances that the principal 
        beneficiary tribes that receive the services and deliverables 
        for which the applicant tribe has entered into a contract with 
        the Secretary of the Interior remain the Indian tribes 
        originally intended to benefit from the services or 
        deliverables.
            ``(3) Rights and privileges.--For the purpose of this 
        subsection, an applicant tribe shall enjoy, at a minimum, the 
        same rights and privileges under this Act as would a 
        beneficiary tribe if the beneficiary tribe exercised rights to 
        enter into a contract relating to services or deliverables in 
        accordance with section 102.
            ``(4) Notice of desire to contract.--If a beneficiary tribe 
        seeks to enter into a contract with the Secretary of the 
        Interior for services or deliverables being provided by an 
        applicant tribe--
                    ``(A) the beneficiary tribe shall immediately 
                provide notice of the desire to enter into a contract 
                for those services and deliverables to the applicant 
                tribe and the Secretary; and
                    ``(B) not later than the date that is 180 days 
                after the date on which the applicant tribe and the 
                Secretary of the Interior receive the notice, the 
                contract between the applicant tribe and the Secretary 
                of the Interior for the services or deliverables shall 
                terminate.''.

SEC. 4. INDIAN AND FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

    Section 403 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 458cc) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(m) Indian and Federal Land Management Demonstration Project.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Federal land.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The term `Federal land' 
                        means any land or interest in or to land owned 
                        by the United States.
                            ``(ii) Inclusion.--The term `Federal land' 
                        includes a leasehold interest held by the 
                        United States.
                            ``(iii) Exclusion.--The term `Federal land' 
                        does not include land held in trust by the 
                        United States for the benefit of an Indian 
                        tribe.
                    ``(B) Project.--The term `project' means the Indian 
                and Federal Land Management Demonstration Project 
                established under paragraph (2).
                    ``(C) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the 
                Secretary of the Interior.
            ``(2) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a 
        demonstration project, to be known as the `Indian and Federal 
        Land Management Demonstration Project', to enter into contracts 
        with Indian tribes or tribal organizations under which the 
        Indian tribes or tribal organizations shall carry out 
        activities relating to Federal land management, including--
                    ``(A) archaeological, anthropological, and cultural 
                surveys and analyses; and
                    ``(B) activities relating to the identification, 
                maintenance, or protection of land considered to have 
                religious, ceremonial, or cultural significance to the 
                Indian tribe or tribal organization.
            ``(3) Participation.--During each of the 2 fiscal years 
        after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary 
        shall select not less than 12 eligible Indian tribes or tribal 
        organizations to participate in the project.
            ``(4) Eligibility.--To be eligible to participate in the 
        project, an Indian tribe or tribal organization, shall--
                    ``(A) request participation by resolution or other 
                official action of the governing body of the Indian 
                tribe or tribal organization;
                    ``(B) with respect to the 3 fiscal years 
                immediately preceding the fiscal year for which 
                participation is requested, demonstrate financial 
                stability and financial management capability by 
                showing that there were no unresolved significant and 
                material audit exceptions in the required annual audit 
                of the self-determination contracts of the Indian tribe 
                or tribal organization;
                    ``(C) demonstrate significant use of or dependency 
                on the relevant conservation system unit or other 
                public land unit for which programs, functions, 
                services, and activities are requested to be placed 
                under contract with respect to the project; and
                    ``(D) before entering into any contract described 
                in paragraph (6), complete a planning phase described 
                in paragraph (5).
            ``(5) Planning phase.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
        on which the Secretary selects an Indian tribe or tribal 
        organization to participate in the project, the Indian tribe or 
        tribal organization shall complete, to the satisfaction of the 
        Indian tribe or tribal organization, a planning phase that 
        includes--
                    ``(A) legal and budgetary research; and
                    ``(B) internal tribal planning and organizational 
                preparation.
            ``(6) Contracts.--
                    ``(A) In general.--On request by an Indian tribe or 
                tribal organization that meets the eligibility criteria 
                specified in paragraph (4), the Secretary shall 
                negotiate and enter into a contract with the Indian 
                tribe or tribal organization under which the Indian 
                tribe or tribal organization shall plan, conduct, and 
                administer programs, services, functions, and 
                activities (or portions of programs, services, 
                functions, and activities) requested by the Indian 
                tribe or tribal organization that relate to--
                            ``(i) archaeological, anthropological, and 
                        cultural surveys and analyses; and
                            ``(ii) the identification, maintenance, or 
                        protection of land considered to have 
                        religious, ceremonial, or cultural significance 
                        to the Indian tribe or tribal organization.
                    ``(B) Time limitation for negotiation of 
                contracts.--Not later than 90 days after a 
                participating Indian tribe or tribal organization 
                notifies the Secretary of completion by the Indian 
                tribe or tribal organization of the planning phase 
                described in paragraph (5), the Secretary shall 
                initiate and conclude negotiations with respect to a 
                contract described in subparagraph (A) (unless an 
                alternative negotiation and implementation schedule is 
                agreed to by the Secretary and the Indian tribe or 
                tribal organization).
                    ``(C) Implementation.--An Indian tribe or tribal 
                organization that enters into a contract under this 
                paragraph shall begin implementation of the contract--
                            ``(i) not later than October 1 of the 
                        fiscal year following the fiscal year in which 
                        the Indian tribe or tribal organization 
                        completes the planning phase under paragraph 
                        (5); or
                            ``(ii) in accordance with an alternative 
                        implementation schedule agreed to under 
                        subparagraph (B).
                    ``(D) Term.--A contract entered into under this 
                paragraph may have a term of not to exceed 5 fiscal 
                years, beginning with the fiscal year in which the 
                contract is entered into.
                    ``(E) Declination and appeals provisions.--The 
                provisions of this Act relating to declination and 
                appeals of contracts, including section 110, shall 
                apply to a contract negotiated under this paragraph.
            ``(7) Administration of contracts.--
                    ``(A) Inclusion of certain terms.--
                            ``(i) In general.--At the request of an 
                        Indian tribe or tribal organization, the 
                        benefits, privileges, terms, and conditions of 
                        agreements entered into in accordance with this 
                        Act, and such other terms and conditions as are 
                        mutually agreed to and not otherwise contrary 
                        to law, may be included in a contract entered 
                        into under paragraph (6).
                            ``(ii) Force and effect.--If any provision 
                        of this Act is incorporated in a contract under 
                        clause (i), the provision shall--
                                    ``(I) have the same force and 
                                effect as under this Act; and
                                    ``(II) apply notwithstanding any 
                                other provision of law.
                    ``(B) Audit.--A contract entered into under 
                paragraph (6) shall provide for a single-agency audit 
                report to be filed in accordance with chapter 75 of 
                title 31, United States Code.
                    ``(C) Transfer of employees.--
                            ``(i) In general.--A Federal employee 
                        employed at the time of transfer of 
                        administrative responsibility for a program, 
                        service, function, or activity to an Indian 
                        tribe or tribal organization under this 
subsection shall not be separated from Federal service by reason of the 
transfer.
                            ``(ii) Intergovernmental actions.--An 
                        intergovernmental personnel action may be used 
                        to transfer supervision of a Federal employee 
                        described in clause (i) to an Indian tribe or 
                        tribal organization.
                            ``(iii) Treatment of transferred 
                        employees.--Notwithstanding any priority 
                        reemployment list, directive, rule, regulation, 
                        or other order from the Department of the 
                        Interior, the Office of Management and Budget, 
                        or any other Federal agency, a Federal employee 
                        described in clause (i) shall be given priority 
                        placement for any available position within the 
                        respective agency of the employee.
            ``(8) Funding and payments.--A contract entered into under 
        paragraph (6) shall provide that, with respect to the transfer 
        of administrative responsibility for each program, service, 
        function, and activity covered by the contract--
                    ``(A) for each fiscal year during which the 
                contract is in effect, the Secretary shall provide to 
                the Indian tribe or tribal organization that is a party 
                to the contract funds in an amount that is at least 
                equal to the amount that the Secretary would have 
                otherwise expended in carrying out the program, 
                service, function, or activity for the fiscal year; and
                    ``(B) funds provided to an Indian tribe or tribal 
                organization under subparagraph (A) shall be paid by 
                the Secretary by such date before the beginning of the 
                applicable fiscal year as the Secretary and the Indian 
                tribe or tribal organization may jointly determine, in 
                the form of annual or semiannual installments.
            ``(9) Planning grants.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to the availability of 
                appropriations, on application by an Indian tribe or 
                tribal organization that is a participant in the 
                project, the Secretary shall provide to the Indian 
                tribe or tribal organization a grant in the amount of 
                $100,000 to assist the Indian tribe or tribal 
                organization in--
                            ``(i) completing the planning phase 
                        described in paragraph (5); and
                            ``(ii) planning for the contracting of 
                        programs, functions, services, and activities 
                        in accordance with a contract entered into 
                        under paragraph (6).
                    ``(B) No requirement of grant.--An Indian tribe or 
                tribal organization may carry out responsibilities of 
                the Indian tribe or tribal organization described in 
                subparagraph (A) without applying for a grant under 
                this paragraph.
                    ``(C) Limitation on grants.--No Indian tribe or 
                tribal organization may receive more than 1 grant under 
                this paragraph.
                    ``(D) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
                authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
                paragraph such sums as are necessary for each of the 2 
                fiscal years following the fiscal year in which this 
                subsection is enacted.
            ``(10) Report.--Not later than 90 days after each of 
        December 31, 2003, and December 31, 2006, the Secretary shall 
        submit to Congress a detailed report on the project, 
        including--
                    ``(A) a description of the project;
                    ``(B) findings with respect to the project; and
                    ``(C) an analysis of the costs and benefits of the 
                project.''.
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