[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.