110 HR 3787 IH: Land-In-Trust Public Hearing U.S. House of Representatives 2007-10-09 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3787 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES October 9, 2007 Mr. McHugh (for himself and Mr. Arcuri) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To require that the Secretary of the Interior hold at least one public hearing in the surrounding community where land requested to be taken into trust for an Indian tribe is located in order to ascertain the needs and interests of that surrounding community.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Land-In-Trust Public Hearing Act.

2.

Hearing required

(a)

In general

Not less than 6 months before approving any application to take land into trust for an Indian tribe, the Secretary of the Interior shall hold at least one public hearing (in addition to any hearings held pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969) in the surrounding community where the land requested to be taken into trust is located in order to ascertain the needs and interests of that surrounding community. All interested individuals shall be afforded the opportunity to participate in such hearings. (b)

Comments

The Secretary shall— (1)solicit comments from the public at hearings held under subsection (a); and (2)ensure that any comments received at or related to such hearings are part of the record before the agency. (c)

Transcripts

The Secretary shall, on a timely basis, make transcripts of such hearings available to the public via the Internet or other electronic means. (d)

Waiver

Subsection (a) shall not apply if each county in the relevant surrounding community waives the right to such hearings.