[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 205 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.205
One Hundred Twelfth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twelve
An Act
To amend the Act titled ``An Act to authorize the leasing of restricted
Indian lands for public, religious, educational, recreational,
residential, business, and other purposes requiring the grant of long-
term leases'', approved August 9, 1955, to provide for Indian tribes to
enter into certain leases without prior express approval from the
Secretary of the Interior, 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 ``Helping Expedite and Advance
Responsible Tribal Home Ownership Act of 2012'' or the ``HEARTH Act of
2012''.
SEC. 2. APPROVAL OF, AND REGULATIONS RELATED TO, TRIBAL LEASES.
The first section of the Act titled ``An Act to authorize the
leasing of restricted Indian lands for public, religious, educational,
recreational, residential, business, and other purposes requiring the
grant of long-term leases'', approved August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415),
is amended as follows:
(1) In subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (4), by striking ``the Navajo Nation'' and
inserting ``an applicable Indian tribe'';
(B) in paragraph (6), by striking ``the Navajo Nation'' and
inserting ``an Indian tribe'';
(C) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon at the end;
(D) in paragraph (8)--
(i) by striking ``the Navajo Nation'';
(ii) by striking ``with Navajo Nation law'' and
inserting ``with applicable tribal law''; and
(iii) by striking the period at the end and inserting a
semicolon; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
``(9) the term `Indian tribe' has the meaning given such term
in section 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of
1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a); and
``(10) the term `individually owned allotted land' means a
parcel of land that--
``(A)(i) is located within the jurisdiction of an Indian
tribe; or
``(ii) is held in trust or restricted status by the United
States for the benefit of an Indian tribe or a member of an
Indian tribe; and
``(B) is allotted to a member of an Indian tribe.''.
(2) By adding at the end the following:
``(h) Tribal Approval of Leases.--
``(1) In general.--At the discretion of any Indian tribe, any
lease by the Indian tribe for the purposes authorized under
subsection (a) (including any amendments to subsection (a)), except
a lease for the exploration, development, or extraction of any
mineral resources, shall not require the approval of the Secretary,
if the lease is executed under the tribal regulations approved by
the Secretary under this subsection and the term of the lease does
not exceed--
``(A) in the case of a business or agricultural lease, 25
years, except that any such lease may include an option to
renew for up to 2 additional terms, each of which may not
exceed 25 years; and
``(B) in the case of a lease for public, religious,
educational, recreational, or residential purposes, 75 years,
if such a term is provided for by the regulations issued by the
Indian tribe.
``(2) Allotted land.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any
lease of individually owned Indian allotted land.
``(3) Authority of secretary over tribal regulations.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall have the authority
to approve or disapprove any tribal regulations issued in
accordance with paragraph (1).
``(B) Considerations for approval.--The Secretary shall
approve any tribal regulation issued in accordance with
paragraph (1), if the tribal regulations--
``(i) are consistent with any regulations issued by the
Secretary under subsection (a) (including any amendments to
the subsection or regulations); and
``(ii) provide for an environmental review process that
includes--
``(I) the identification and evaluation of any
significant effects of the proposed action on the
environment; and
``(II) a process for ensuring that--
``(aa) the public is informed of, and has a
reasonable opportunity to comment on, any
significant environmental impacts of the proposed
action identified by the Indian tribe; and
``(bb) the Indian tribe provides responses to
relevant and substantive public comments on any
such impacts before the Indian tribe approves the
lease.
``(C) Technical assistance.--The Secretary may provide
technical assistance, upon request of the Indian tribe, for
development of a regulatory environmental review process under
subparagraph (B)(ii).
``(D) Indian self-determination act.--The technical
assistance to be provided by the Secretary pursuant to
subparagraph (C) may be made available through contracts,
grants, or agreements entered into in accordance with, and made
available to entities eligible for, such contracts, grants, or
agreements under the Indian Self-Determination Act (25 U.S.C.
450 et seq.).
``(4) Review process.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date
on which the tribal regulations described in paragraph (1) are
submitted to the Secretary, the Secretary shall review and
approve or disapprove the regulations.
``(B) Written documentation.--If the Secretary disapproves
the tribal regulations described in paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall include written documentation with the
disapproval notification that describes the basis for the
disapproval.
``(C) Extension.--The deadline described in subparagraph
(A) may be extended by the Secretary, after consultation with
the Indian tribe.
``(5) Federal environmental review.--Notwithstanding paragraphs
(3) and (4), if an Indian tribe carries out a project or activity
funded by a Federal agency, the Indian tribe shall have the
authority to rely on the environmental review process of the
applicable Federal agency rather than any tribal environmental
review process under this subsection.
``(6) Documentation.--If an Indian tribe executes a lease
pursuant to tribal regulations under paragraph (1), the Indian
tribe shall provide the Secretary with--
``(A) a copy of the lease, including any amendments or
renewals to the lease; and
``(B) in the case of tribal regulations or a lease that
allows for lease payments to be made directly to the Indian
tribe, documentation of the lease payments that are sufficient
to enable the Secretary to discharge the trust responsibility
of the United States under paragraph (7).
``(7) Trust responsibility.--
``(A) In general.--The United States shall not be liable
for losses sustained by any party to a lease executed pursuant
to tribal regulations under paragraph (1).
``(B) Authority of secretary.--Pursuant to the authority of
the Secretary to fulfill the trust obligation of the United
States to the applicable Indian tribe under Federal law
(including regulations), the Secretary may, upon reasonable
notice from the applicable Indian tribe and at the discretion
of the Secretary, enforce the provisions of, or cancel, any
lease executed by the Indian tribe under paragraph (1).
``(8) Compliance.--
``(A) In general.--An interested party, after exhausting of
any applicable tribal remedies, may submit a petition to the
Secretary, at such time and in such form as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate, to review the compliance of the
applicable Indian tribe with any tribal regulations approved by
the Secretary under this subsection.
``(B) Violations.--If, after carrying out a review under
subparagraph (A), the Secretary determines that the tribal
regulations were violated, the Secretary may take any action
the Secretary determines to be necessary to remedy the
violation, including rescinding the approval of the tribal
regulations and reassuming responsibility for the approval of
leases of tribal trust lands.
``(C) Documentation.--If the Secretary determines that a
violation of the tribal regulations has occurred and a remedy
is necessary, the Secretary shall--
``(i) make a written determination with respect to the
regulations that have been violated;
``(ii) provide the applicable Indian tribe with a
written notice of the alleged violation together with such
written determination; and
``(iii) prior to the exercise of any remedy, the
rescission of the approval of the regulation involved, or
the reassumption of lease approval responsibilities,
provide the applicable Indian tribe with--
``(I) a hearing that is on the record; and
``(II) a reasonable opportunity to cure the alleged
violation.
``(9) Savings clause.--Nothing in this subsection shall affect
subsection (e) or any tribal regulations issued under that
subsection.''.
SEC. 3. LAND TITLE REPORTS.
(a) In General.--The Bureau of Indian Affairs shall prepare and
submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate a
report regarding the history and experience of Indian tribes that have
chosen to assume responsibility for operating the Indian Land Title and
Records Office (referred to in this section as the ``LTRO'') functions
from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
(b) Consultation.--In conducting the review under subsection (a),
the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall consult with the Department of
Housing and Urban Development Office of Native American Programs and
the Indian tribes that are managing LTRO functions (referred to in this
section as the ``managing Indian tribes'').
(c) Contents.--The review under subsection (a) shall include an
analysis of the following factors:
(1) Whether and how tribal management of the LTRO functions has
expedited the processing and issuance of Indian land title
certifications as compared to the period during which the Bureau of
Indian Affairs managed the programs.
(2) Whether and how tribal management of the LTRO functions has
increased home ownership among the population of the managing
Indian tribe.
(3) What internal preparations and processes were required of
the managing Indian tribes prior to assuming management of the LTRO
functions.
(4) Whether tribal management of the LTRO functions resulted in
a transfer of financial resources and manpower from the Bureau of
Indian Affairs to the managing Indian tribes and, if so, what
transfers were undertaken.
(5) Whether, in appropriate circumstances and with the approval
of geographically proximate Indian tribes, the LTRO functions may
be performed by a single Indian tribe or a tribal consortium in a
cost effective manner.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.