[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 784 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 784

 To provide for the recognition of certain Native communities and the 
settlement of certain claims under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
                      Act, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 2, 2009

 Ms. Murkowski introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the recognition of certain Native communities and the 
settlement of certain claims under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
                      Act, 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 ``Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native 
Communities Recognition and Compensation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) in 1971, Congress enacted the Alaska Native Claims 
        Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) to recognize and settle 
        the aboriginal claims of Alaska Natives to the land Alaska 
        Natives had used for traditional purposes;
            (2) that Act awarded approximately $1,000,000,000 and 
        44,000,000 acres of land to Alaska Natives and provided for the 
        establishment of Native Corporations to receive and manage the 
        funds and land;
            (3) pursuant to that Act, Alaska Natives have been enrolled 
        in 1 of 13 Regional Corporations;
            (4) most Alaska Natives reside in communities that are 
        eligible under that Act to form a Village or Urban Corporation 
        within the geographical area of a Regional Corporation;
            (5) Village or Urban Corporations established under that 
        Act received cash and surface rights to the settlement land 
        described in paragraph (2) and the corresponding Regional 
        Corporation received cash and land that includes the subsurface 
        rights to the land of the Village or Urban Corporation;
            (6) the southeastern Alaska communities of Haines, 
        Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell are not listed 
        under that Act as communities eligible to form Village or Urban 
        Corporations, even though the population of those villages 
        comprises greater than 20 percent of the shareholders of the 
        Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska and display historic, 
        cultural, and traditional qualities of Alaska Natives;
            (7) the communities described in paragraph (6) have sought 
        full eligibility for land and benefits under that Act for more 
        than 3 decades;
            (8) in 1993, Congress directed the Secretary of the 
        Interior to prepare a report examining the reasons why the 
        communities listed in paragraph (6) had been denied eligibility 
        to form Village or Urban Corporations and receive land and 
        benefits pursuant to that Act;
            (9) the report described in paragraph (8), published in 
        February, 1994, indicates that--
                    (A) the communities listed in paragraph (6) do not 
                differ significantly from the Southeast Alaska 
                communities that were permitted to form Village or 
                Urban Corporations under that Act;
                    (B) the communities are similar to other 
                communities that are eligible to form Village or Urban 
                Corporations under that Act and receive land and 
                benefits under that Act--
                            (i) in actual number and percentage of 
                        Native Alaskan population; and
                            (ii) with respect to the historic use and 
                        occupation of land;
                    (C) each such community was involved in advocating 
                the settlement of the aboriginal claims of the 
                community; and
                    (D) some of the communities appeared on early 
                versions of lists of Native Villages prepared before 
                the date of the enactment of that Act, but were not 
                included as Native Villages under that Act;
            (10) the omissions described in paragraph (9) are not 
        clearly explained in any provision of that Act or the 
        legislative history of that Act; and
            (11) on the basis of the findings described in paragraphs 
        (1) through (10), Alaska Natives who were enrolled in the 5 
        unlisted communities and the heirs of the Alaska Natives have 
        been inadvertently and wrongly denied the cultural and 
        financial benefits of enrollment in Village or Urban 
        Corporations established pursuant to that Act.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to redress the omission of 
the communities described in subsection (a)(6) from eligibility by 
authorizing the Native people enrolled in the communities--
            (1) to form Urban Corporations for the communities of 
        Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell under the 
        Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.); 
        and
            (2) to receive certain settlement land and other 
        compensation pursuant to that Act.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADDITIONAL NATIVE CORPORATIONS.

    Section 16 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1615) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, 
and Wrangell, Alaska.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Native residents of each of the 
        Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and 
        Wrangell, Alaska, may organize as Urban Corporations.
            ``(2) Effect on entitlement to land.--Nothing in this 
        subsection affects any entitlement to land of any Native 
        Corporation established before the date of enactment of this 
        subsection pursuant to this Act or any other provision of 
        law.''.

SEC. 4. SHAREHOLDER ELIGIBILITY.

    Section 8 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1607) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, 
and Wrangell.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall enroll to each of 
        the Urban Corporations for Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, 
        Tenakee, or Wrangell those individual Natives who enrolled 
        under this Act to the Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, 
        Petersburg, Tenakee, or Wrangell, respectively.
            ``(2) Number of shares.--Each Native who is enrolled to an 
        Urban Corporation for Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, 
        or Wrangell pursuant to paragraph (1) and who was enrolled as a 
        shareholders of the Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska 
        on or before March 30, 1973, shall receive 100 shares of 
        Settlement Common Stock in the respective Urban Corporation.
            ``(3) Natives receiving shares through inheritance.--If a 
        Native received shares of stock in the Regional Corporation for 
        Southeast Alaska through inheritance from a decedent Native who 
        originally enrolled to the Native Village of Haines, Ketchikan, 
        Petersburg, Tenakee, or Wrangell and the decedent Native was 
        not a shareholder in a Village or Urban Corporation, the Native 
        shall receive the identical number of shares of Settlement 
        Common Stock in the Urban Corporation for Haines, Ketchikan, 
        Petersburg, Tenakee, or Wrangell as the number of shares 
        inherited by that Native from the decedent Native who would 
        have been eligible to be enrolled to the respective Urban 
        Corporation.
            ``(4) Effect on entitlement to land.--Nothing in this 
        subsection affects entitlement to land of any Regional 
        Corporation pursuant to section 12(b) or 14(h)(8).''.

SEC. 5. DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS.

    Section 7 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
1606) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (j)--
                    (A) by striking ``(j) During'' and inserting the 
                following:
    ``(j) Distribution of Corporate Funds and Other Net Income.--
            ``(1) In general.--During'';
                    (B) by striking ``Not less'' and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(2) Minimum allocation.--Not less'';
                    (C) by striking ``In the case'' and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(3) Thirteenth regional corporation.--In the case''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Native villages of haines, ketchikan, petersburg, 
        tenakee, and wrangell.--Native members of the Native Villages 
        of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell who 
        become shareholders in an Urban Corporation for such a Native 
        Village shall continue to be eligible to receive distributions 
        under this subsection as at-large shareholders of the Regional 
        Corporation for Southeast Alaska.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(s) Effect of Amendatory Act.--The Unrecognized Southeast Alaska 
Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act and the amendments 
made by that Act shall not affect--
            ``(1) the ratio for determination of revenue distribution 
        among Native Corporations under this section; or
            ``(2) the settlement agreement among Regional Corporation 
        or Village Corporations or other provisions of subsection (i) 
        or (j).''.

SEC. 6. COMPENSATION.

    The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 43. URBAN CORPORATIONS FOR HAINES, KETCHIKAN, PETERSBURG, 
              TENAKEE, AND WRANGELL.

    ``(a) Offer of Compensation.--
            ``(1) In general.--On incorporation of the Urban 
        Corporations for Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and 
        Wrangell, the Secretary, in consultation and coordination with 
        the Secretary of Commerce, and in consultation with 
        representatives of each such Urban Corporation and the Regional 
        Corporation for Southeast Alaska, shall offer as compensation, 
        pursuant to this Act, 1 township of land (23,040 acres) to each 
        of the Urban Corporations for Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, 
        Tenakee, and Wrangell, and other appropriate compensation in 
        accordance with this subsection.
            ``(2) Local areas of historical, cultural, traditional, and 
        economic importance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall offer as 
                compensation under this subsection local areas of 
                historical, cultural, traditional, and economic 
                importance to Alaska Natives from the Villages of 
                Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, or Wrangell.
                    ``(B) Selection of land.--In selecting the land to 
                be withdrawn and conveyed pursuant to this section, the 
                Secretary--
                            ``(i) shall give preference to land with 
                        commercial purposes; and
                            ``(ii) may include subsistence and cultural 
                        sites, aquaculture sites, hydroelectric sites, 
                        tideland, surplus Federal property and eco-
                        tourism sites.
                    ``(C) Contiguous, compact sites.--The land selected 
                pursuant to this section shall be contiguous and 
                reasonably compact tracts if practicable.
                    ``(D) Valid existing rights.--The land selected 
                pursuant to this section shall be subject to all valid 
                existing rights and all other provisions of section 
                14(g), including any lease, contract, permit, right-of-
                way, or easement (including a lease issued under 
                section 6(g) of the Act of July 7, 1958 (commonly known 
                as the `Alaska Statehood Act') (48 U.S.C. note prec. 
                21; Public Law 85-508)).
            ``(3) Capital expenses.--The Secretary shall offer as 
        compensation under this subsection $650,000 for capital 
        expenses associated with corporate organization and 
        development, including expenses for--
                    ``(A) the identification of forest and land parcels 
                for selection and withdrawal;
                    ``(B) making conveyance requests, receiving title, 
                preparing resource inventories, land and resource use, 
                and development planning;
                    ``(C) land and property valuations;
                    ``(D) corporation incorporation and start-up;
                    ``(E) advising and enrolling shareholders;
                    ``(F) issuing stock; and
                    ``(G) seed capital for resource development.
            ``(4) Additional compensation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall offer as 
                compensation under this subsection such additional 
                forms of compensation as the Secretary considers 
                appropriate, including grants and loan guarantees to be 
                used for planning, development and other purposes for 
                which Native Corporations are organized under this Act 
                and any additional financial compensation.
                    ``(B) Allocation.--Any additional compensation 
                offered under this paragraph shall be allocated among 
                the 5 Urban Corporations on a pro rata basis based on 
                the number of shareholders in each Urban Corporation.
    ``(b) Acceptance or Rejection of Offer.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the offer of compensation from the Secretary under subsection 
        (a), the each of the Urban Corporations for Haines, Ketchikan, 
        Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell shall accept or reject the 
        offer.
            ``(2) Resolution.--To accept or reject the offer, each such 
        Urban Corporation shall provide to the Secretary a properly 
        executed and certified corporate resolution that states that 
        the offer proposed by the Secretary was voted on, and either 
        approved or rejected, by a majority of the shareholders of the 
        Urban Corporation.
            ``(3) Rejection of offer.--If the offer is rejected--
                    ``(A) the Secretary, in consultation with 
                representatives of the Urban Corporation that rejected 
                the offer and the Regional Corporation for Southeast 
                Alaska, shall revise the offer; and
                    ``(B) the Urban Corporation shall have an 
                additional 180 days within which to accept or reject 
                the revised offer.
    ``(c) Withdrawal and Conveyance of Land and Title.--Not later than 
180 days after receipt of a corporate resolution of an Urban 
Corporation approving an offer of the Secretary under subsection 
(b)(1), the Secretary shall (as appropriate)--
            ``(1) withdraw the land;
            ``(2) convey to the Urban Corporation title to the surface 
        estate of the land; and
            ``(3) convey to the Regional Corporation for Southeast 
        Alaska title the subsurface estate for the land.
    ``(d) Conveyance of Roads, Trails, Log Transfer Facilities, Leases, 
and Appurtenances.--The Secretary shall, without consideration of 
compensation, convey to the Urban Corporations of Haines, Ketchikan, 
Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell, by quitclaim deed or patent, all 
right, title, and interest of the United States in all roads, trails, 
log transfer facilities, leases, and appurtenances on or related to the 
land conveyed to the Corporations pursuant to subsection (c).
    ``(e) Settlement Trust.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Urban Corporations of Haines, 
        Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell may establish a 
        settlement trust in accordance with section 39 for the purposes 
        of promoting the health, education, and welfare of the trust 
        beneficiaries, and preserving the Native heritage and culture, 
        of the communities of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, 
        and Wrangell, respectively.
            ``(2) Proceeds and income.--The proceeds and income from 
        the principal of a trust established under paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    ``(A) first be applied to the support of those 
                enrollees, and the descendants of the enrollees, who 
                are elders or minor children; and
                    ``(B) then to the support of all other 
                enrollees.''.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
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