[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2973 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2973

   To require the Secretary of the Interior to notify units of local 
 government when a Native American group files a petition to become a 
   federally recognized Indian tribe and before the decision on the 
               petition is made, and for other purposes.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 19, 2009

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

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                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Secretary of the Interior to notify units of local 
 government when a Native American group files a petition to become a 
   federally recognized Indian tribe and before the decision on the 
               petition is made, 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. NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) In General.--When a petition requesting that a tribe be 
recognized, acknowledged, or reacknowledged through the Federal 
acknowledgment process as a federally recognized Indian tribe is filed 
with the Department of the Interior, the Secretary of the Interior, 
acting through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, shall notify in writing 
units of local government as follows:
            (1) Notification that a petition was filed and is still 
        pending on the date of the enactment of this Act shall be made 
        not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this 
        Act.
            (2) Notification that a petition has been filed on or after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act shall be made not later 
        than 60 days after the petition is filed.
            (3) Notification of a decision on a petition shall be made 
        not later than 90 days before the decision is announced.
    (b) Units of Local Government.--A unit of local government required 
to be notified under subsection (a)--
            (1) is local city, parish, or county government located 
        within a 25-mile radius of land--
                    (A) over which the Native American group would be 
                given jurisdiction by or pursuant to the petition;
                    (B) that would be taken into trust for the benefit 
                of the Native American group by or pursuant to the 
                petition; and
                    (C) ownership of which would be transferred to the 
                Native American group by or pursuant to the petition; 
                and
            (2) does not include any Indian tribe, school, or private 
        persons or entities.
    (c) Limitation on Trust Land.--The Secretary of the Interior may 
not take land into trust for the benefit of an Indian tribe or any 
member of an Indian tribe, unless an Act enacted after the date of the 
enactment of this Act specifically instructs the Secretary to take such 
land into trust for that Indian tribe or a member of that Indian tribe.

SEC. 2. WAITING PERIOD ON GAMING ACTIVITIES.

    The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 23. WAITING PERIOD ON GAMING ACTIVITIES.

    ``This Act shall not apply to an Indian tribe or to Indian lands of 
an Indian tribe until that Indian tribe has been a federally recognized 
Indian tribe for a period of not less than 25 continuous years. This 
section shall not apply to Indian tribes that were federally recognized 
before the date of the enactment of this section.''.
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