[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3885 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3885

  To amend Public Law 98-513 to provide for the inheritance of small 
   fractional interests within the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 11, 2006

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend Public Law 98-513 to provide for the inheritance of small 
   fractional interests within the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation.

    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 ``Lake Traverse Reservation Act 
Amendments of 2006''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO LAKE TRAVERSE HEIRSHIP ACT.

    Public Law 98-513 is amended by striking section 5 (98 Stat. 2413) 
and inserting the following:

``SEC. 5. INHERITANCE OF SMALL FRACTIONAL INTEREST.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Escheatment.--The term `escheatment' means an 
        escheatment to the Tribe of an interest in land pursuant to 
        this section.
            ``(2) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            ``(3) Small fractional interest.--The term `small 
        fractional interest' means an undivided trust or restricted 
        interest in a parcel of land within the reservation that--
                    ``(A) represents less than 5 percent of the entire 
                undivided ownership of the parcel of land (as reflected 
                in the decedent's estate inventory as of the date on 
                which the decisionmaker enters the final decision 
                determining heirs); and
                    ``(B) does not exceed the equivalent of 2\1/2\ 
                acres if the interest were to be expressed in terms of 
                its proportionate share of the total acreage of the 
                parcel of land of which the parcel is a part.
    ``(b) Intestate Inheritance in General.--Notwithstanding section 3, 
no small fractional interest shall pass by intestate succession under 
this Act or any other provision of law except as provided in subsection 
(c).
    ``(c) Inheritance by Tribe.--If a person dies possessed of a small 
fractional interest that has not been devised in accordance with 
subsection (d) to 1 or more eligible devisees described in that 
subsection, the small fractional interest shall pass to the Tribe, with 
title to the interest to be held by the United States in trust for the 
Tribe.
    ``(d) Inheritance by Testamentary Devise.--
            ``(1) Eligible devisees.--Notwithstanding any other 
        provision of this Act, and subject to paragraph (2), a small 
        fractional interest may be devised only to the following 
        eligible devisees:
                    ``(A) The tribe.
                    ``(B) Any person who--
                            ``(i) is a member of the Tribe; or
                            ``(ii) is eligible to be a member of the 
                        Tribe, on the condition that, not later than 
                        180 days after the date of receipt of notice of 
                        the probate hearing, the person provides proof 
                        of enrollment in the Tribe in accordance with 
                        the enrollment procedures of the Tribe.
            ``(2) Requirements.--No devise of a small fractional 
        interest shall be valid as to a devisee unless--
                    ``(A) the devisee is eligible to receive the 
                interest by devise under paragraph (1);
                    ``(B) the devisee is expressly identified in the 
                devise by name; and
                    ``(C) the devise is made in a will that has been 
                approved by the Secretary in accordance with section 2 
                of the Act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 856, chapter 
                431).
            ``(3) Holding in trust.--Any small fractional interest 
        devised in accordance with this subsection shall pass to the 
        devisee or devisees on the death of the testator, with title to 
        be held by the United States in trust for the devisee or 
        devisees.
    ``(e) Notice.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of the Lake Traverse Reservation Act Amendments of 2006, the Secretary 
shall provide notice of the requirements of this section to owners of 
trust and restricted interests in land within the Lake Traverse Indian 
Reservation by--
            ``(1) posting written notice of the amendment at the 
        administrative headquarters of the Tribe and at the Agency of 
        the Bureau of Indian Affairs located in Agency Village, South 
        Dakota;
            ``(2) publishing the notice not fewer than 4 times in 
        newspapers of general circulation in all counties in which any 
        part of the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation is located; and
            ``(3) sending the notice by first class mail to the last 
        known addresses of Indians with interests in trust or 
        restricted land within the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation.
    ``(f) Certification.--After providing notice under subsection (e), 
the Secretary shall--
            ``(1) certify that notice has been given in accordance with 
        that subsection; and
            ``(2) publish notice of the certification in the Federal 
        Register.
    ``(g) Escheatments.--
            ``(1) Purposes.--The purposes of this subsection are--
                    ``(A) to establish a process for providing 
                compensation for escheatments; and
                    ``(B) to ratify the escheatments.
            ``(2) Ratification of escheatments.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subject to the requirements of 
                this subsection, each escheatment is ratified.
                    ``(B) Holding in trust.--The title to each interest 
                subject to an escheatment shall be held by the United 
                States in trust for the Tribe.
            ``(3) Actions barred.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
        of law, except as provided in subsection (4)(C)(ii), no court 
        shall have jurisdiction over a claim challenging--
                    ``(A) an escheatment of any property interest 
                pursuant to this section; or
                    ``(B) the compensation provided for an escheatment.
            ``(4) Compensation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall provide 
                compensation in an amount described in subparagraph (B) 
                to any individual that, absent an escheatment, would 
                have inherited land or an interest in land.
                    ``(B) Amount.--
                            ``(i) In general.--In determining the 
                        amount of compensation to be provided under 
                        subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall take into 
                        consideration--
                                    ``(I) any appraisal report prepared 
                                incident to the probate of the estate 
                                of the Indian decedent who last owned 
                                the applicable interest immediately 
                                prior to its escheat to the Tribe; or
                                    ``(II) if an appraisal report 
                                described in subclause (I) is not 
                                available, the appraised value of the 
                                land or interest in land as of the date 
                                of probate of the land or interest.
                            ``(ii) Interest.--The amount of 
                        compensation provided under this subsection 
                        shall include interest calculated from the date 
                        of probate of the applicable land or interest 
                        in land in accordance with section 3116 of 
                        title 40, United States Code.
                    ``(C) Review of determinations.--
                            ``(i) Administrative review.--A 
                        determination by the Secretary of the amount of 
                        compensation provided under this subsection 
                        shall be subject to administrative review in 
                        accordance with regulations of the Secretary 
                        contained in part 2 of title 25, Code of 
                        Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).
                            ``(ii) Judicial review.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--No court shall 
                                have jurisdiction to review a 
                                determination by the Secretary of the 
                                amount of compensation provided under 
                                this subsection until the date on which 
                                a final decision is made with respect 
                                to the administrative review of the 
                                determination.
                                    ``(II) Deadline.--
                                            ``(aa) In general.--An 
                                        action seeking judicial review 
                                        of a determination by the 
                                        Secretary under this subsection 
                                        shall be filed by not later 
                                        than 1 year after the date 
                                        described in subclause (I).
                                            ``(bb) Failure to meet 
                                        deadline.--If the deadline 
                                        described in item (aa) is not 
                                        met with respect to a 
                                        determination of the Secretary, 
                                        the determination shall not be 
                                        subject to judicial review.
                    ``(D) Exclusive remedy.--Compensation provided 
                under this subsection with respect to an escheatment 
                shall be the exclusive remedy for the escheatment.
            ``(5) Regulations.--The Secretary may promulgate such 
        regulations as the Secretary determines to be necessary to 
        carry out this subsection.
            ``(6) Applicability.--
                    ``(A) In general.--This section shall apply to 
                escheatments only if--
                            ``(i) a provision contained in any 
                        subsections (a) through (d) is determined to be 
                        invalid for any reason by a court of competent 
                        jurisdiction; and
                            ``(ii) all appeals of such a determination 
                        are exhausted.
                    ``(B) Effect of subsection.--Nothing in this 
                subsection invalidates any provision contained in any 
                subsections (a) through (d).
    ``(h) Effect on Interests and Wills.--Nothing in this section shall 
affect any interest in the estate of a person who dies, or the validity 
or effect of any will executed, before the date that is 1 year after 
the date on which the Secretary publishes notice of the certification 
under subsection (f).''.
                                 <all>