[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 703 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 703

      To amend the Long-Term Leasing Act, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 31, 2011

 Mr. Barrasso (for himself, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Thune, Mr. Johnson of South 
    Dakota, Mr. Tester, and Mr. Udall of New Mexico) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                             Indian Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To amend the Long-Term Leasing 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 ``Helping Expedite and Advance 
Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act of 2011'' or the ``HEARTH Act of 
2011''.

SEC. 2. APPROVAL OF, AND PROVISIONS RELATING TO, TRIBAL LEASES.

    (a) Definitions.--Subsection (d) of the first section of the Act of 
August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415(d)) (commonly known as the ``Long-Term 
Leasing Act''), is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``the Navajo Nation'' and 
        inserting ``an applicable Indian tribe'';
            (2) in paragraph (6), by striking ``the Navajo Nation'' and 
        inserting ``an Indian tribe'';
            (3) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' after the 
        semicolon at the end;
            (4) in paragraph (8)--
                    (A) by striking ``the Navajo Nation'';
                    (B) by striking ``with Navajo Nation law'' and 
                inserting ``with applicable tribal law''; and
                    (C) by striking the period at the end and inserting 
                ``; and''; and
            (5) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) the term `Indian tribe' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 102 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe 
        List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a).''.
    (b) Tribal Approval of Leases.--The first section of the Act of 
August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415) (commonly known as the ``Long-Term 
Leasing Act''), is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Tribal Approval of Leases.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2) and at the 
        discretion of any Indian tribe, any lease by the Indian tribe 
        for the purposes authorized under 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 land (including an interest in land) held in trust for 
        an individual Indian.
            ``(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); 
                        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 those impacts before the 
                                        Indian tribe approves the 
                                        lease.
            ``(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.''.
    (c) Land Title Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date on 
        which funds are first made available to carry out this Act, the 
        Bureau of Indian Affairs shall prepare and submit to the 
        Committees on Financial Services and Natural Resources of the 
        House of Representatives and the Committees on Banking, 
        Housing, and Urban Affairs and 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 
        subsection as the ``LTRO'') functions from the Bureau of Indian 
        Affairs.
            (2) Consultation.--In conducting the review under paragraph 
        (1), 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 subsection as the ``managing 
        Indian tribes'').
            (3) Contents.--The review under paragraph (1) shall include 
        an analysis of the following factors:
                    (A) 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.
                    (B) Whether and how tribal management of the LTRO 
                functions has increased home ownership among the 
                population of the managing Indian tribe.
                    (C) What internal preparations and processes were 
                required of the managing Indian tribes prior to 
                assuming management of the LTRO functions.
                    (D) 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.
                    (E) 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.
                                 <all>