1.This Act may be cited as the
Crow Tribe Land Restoration
Act
.
2.The purpose of this Act is to authorize the
Secretary of the Interior—
(1)to develop a program to acquire land and
interests in land from eligible individuals within the Crow Reservation in the
State of Montana;
(2)to hold in trust the land, and interests in
land, described in paragraph (1) for the benefit of the Crow Tribe of the State
of Montana;
(3)to allow the Tribe to assume management of
the land and interests in land; and
(4)to end the continuing fractionation of land
on the Reservation.
3.In this Act:
(1)The
term cost means the cost of a direct loan, within the meaning of
section 502(5)(B) of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C.
661a(5)(B)).
(2)The term
eligible individual means an individual that owns land, or an
interest in land, within the Reservation.
(3)The
term loan has the meaning given the term direct loan
in section 502 of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a).
(4)The term loan obligation has the meaning
given the term direct loan obligation in section 502 of the
Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661a).
(5)The term Reservation means the
Crow Reservation in the State of Montana.
(6)The term Secretary means the
Secretary of the Interior.
(7)The term Tribe means the Crow
Tribe of the State of Montana.
4.Acquisition of land
within Reservation
(a)
(1)As soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a loan program to assist
the Tribe in purchasing from eligible individuals land, and interests in land,
within the Reservation.
(2)
(A)A sale of land to the
Tribe under the purchasing program shall be voluntary.
(B)Reasonable
purchase priceTo receive
funds under the purchasing program, the Tribe shall offer to an eligible
individual in consideration for land, or an interest in land, within the
Reservation an amount equal to the reasonable purchase price of the land, or
interest in land, of the eligible individual, as determined in accordance with
subsection (b).
(3)Notification to
eligible individuals
(A)As soon as
practicable after the date on which the purchasing program is established, the
Tribe shall provide to each eligible individual a notification with respect to
the program, including any guidelines issued by the Secretary relating to the
program.
(B)Contact with
eligible individualsNotwithstanding any other provision of law,
an eligible individual may be contacted directly with respect to the purchasing
program by—
(i)the Tribe, or a representative of the
Tribe; or
(ii)the Secretary, or a representative of the
Secretary.
(b)Reasonable
purchase price
(1)As soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish guidelines under which the
reasonable purchase price of land, or an interest in land, of an eligible
individual shall be determined.
(2)In establishing guidelines under paragraph
(1), the Secretary may take into consideration—
(A)current average annual earnings obtained
from the land, and the extent of fractionated ownership interests in land, of
eligible individuals; and
(B)any other factor the Secretary considers to
be appropriate.
(c)On acceptance by an
eligible individual of an offer of the Tribe under this section—
(1)the Tribe shall pay to the eligible
individual the reasonable purchase price of the land, or interest in land, of
the eligible individual, as determined in accordance with subsection (b);
and
(2)title to the land, or interest in land,
acquired from the eligible individual shall be conveyed to the United States,
to be held in trust by the Secretary for the benefit of the Tribe.
(d)The terms and amount
of any offer of the Tribe to purchase land, or an interest in land, of an
eligible individual under this section shall not be subject to judicial
review.
5.Purchasing program
funding
(a)Loan
obligations by Secretary
(1)
(A)To the extent
approved in annual appropriations Acts, the Secretary may enter into 1 or more
loan obligations with the Tribe as the Secretary determines to be necessary to
fund the purchasing program established under section 4(a)(1).
(B)Any loan issued under subparagraph (A)
shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines to be
appropriate.
(C)The
Secretary shall establish terms and conditions of loans under this paragraph
that will result in a budget cost of zero for each loan, to the maximum extent
practicable.
(2)A loan issued under paragraph (1) shall be
repaid not later than 40 years after the date of issuance of the loan.
(3)A loan issued under paragraph (1) shall
bear interest at a rate to be determined by the Secretary, in consultation with
the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration current market yields
on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of comparable
maturities.
(4)
(A)On any date, the total
amount of obligations issued under paragraph (1) shall not exceed
$380,000,000.
(B)The
Secretary shall not issue any loan under this section after September 30,
2012.
(b)
(1)The Tribe shall use
the revenues from any land purchased by the Tribe under this Act to repay the
Secretary the amount of any obligation, including interest on such an
obligation, issued under subsection (a).
(2)Reasonable
prospect of repaymentThe
Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that projected
revenues described in paragraph (1) provide reasonable prospect of repayment of
the amount of obligations issued under subsection (a).
6.
(a)Subject to subsection
(b), the Secretary may accept from any eligible individual a donation of land
or an interest in land within the Reservation.
(b)
(1)The Secretary shall
hold in trust for the benefit of the Tribe the title to any land or interest in
land acquired by the Secretary under subsection (a).
(2)Designation of
place of honorThe Tribe
shall designate on the Reservation a place of honor, as the Tribe determines to
be appropriate, at which the name of any eligible individual that donates land
to the Secretary under subsection (a) shall be displayed in perpetuity, in
recognition of the donation.
7.
(a)Land, and
interests in land, held in trust by the Secretary for the benefit of the Tribe
under this Act shall be managed by the Tribe in accordance with a land
management program to be developed and implemented by the Tribe to achieve
repayment of each applicable loan obligation under section 5.
(b)Limitation of
trust responsibilityThe
trust responsibility of the Secretary with respect to land and interests in
land described in subsection (a) shall be limited to—
(1)ensuring that the land and interests in
land are not subject to alienation; and
(2)enabling the Tribe to exercise jurisdiction
over the land and interests in land.
(c)Authorization
of appropriationsThere is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for fiscal
year 2009 and each fiscal year thereafter, to remain available until
expended.
8.
(a)Nothing in this
Act—
(1)materially affects the management or
operation of Bighorn Lake or Yellowtail Dam; or
(2)affects any
legally protected right to water in the Bighorn River in the State of Wyoming
in existence on the date of enactment of this Act.
(b)No purchase of land or an interest in land by the Tribe
pursuant to the program established under section 4(a)(1) materially
affects—
(1)the management or
operation of Bighorn Lake or Yellowtail Dam; or
(2)any legally
protected right described in subsection (a)(2).