[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 988 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 988

     To ensure that local educational agencies and units of local 
  governments are compensated for tax revenues lost when the Federal 
    Government takes land into trust for the benefit of a federally 
            recognized Indian tribe or an individual Indian.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 12, 2011

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To ensure that local educational agencies and units of local 
  governments are compensated for tax revenues lost when the Federal 
    Government takes land into trust for the benefit of a federally 
            recognized Indian tribe or an individual Indian.

    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 ``Land-In-Trust Schools and Local 
Governments Equitable Compensation Act''.

SEC. 2. MANDATORY PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN LAND HELD IN TRUST.

    (a) Agreement.--As soon as practicable after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior (referred to in this section 
as the ``Secretary'') shall attempt to negotiate an agreement among the 
applicable local education agency or unit of local government, the 
Secretary, the appropriate State, and, if appropriate, any federally 
recognized Indian tribe or individual Indian, under which all parties 
agree that the amounts described in subsection (b) shall be--
            (1) waived in whole or in part;
            (2) limited for an agreed upon number of years; or
            (3) otherwise adjusted, including adjusting the timing of 
        any payments.
    (b) Transfer of Amounts.--If an agreement is not entered into under 
subsection (a), for the first fiscal year beginning after the date of 
enactment of this Act and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary of 
the Treasury shall transfer directly to the Secretary of Interior from 
the general fund of the Treasury, without further appropriation, such 
amounts as are necessary, after taking into account any other amounts 
appropriated to make payments under this subsection, to make payments 
from the Secretary to the applicable local educational agency or unit 
of local government in an amount necessary to ensure that the local 
educational agency or unit of local government receives full payment 
for the amount of property tax revenues lost as a result of land under 
the jurisdiction of the local educational agency or unit of local 
government being held in trust by the United States for the benefit of 
a federally recognized Indian tribe or an individual Indian, to be 
calculated in a manner that provides that the taxes (otherwise payable 
but for the status of the land being held in trust) shall be assessed 
and paid annually at the same rate as the taxes would be assessed and 
paid if not in trust.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall apply to all land taken into trust by the United 
States for the benefit of a federally recognized Indian tribe or an 
individual Indian on or after October 1, 2008.
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