[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1322 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1322
To amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to modify the authorized purposes
and term period of tribal leases, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 26, 2023
Mr. Schatz (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to modify the authorized purposes
and term period of tribal leases, 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 ``Unlocking Native Lands and
Opportunities for Commerce and Key Economic Developments Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF TRIBAL LEASES AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY ACROSS INDIAN
LAND.
(a) Extension of Tribal Lease Period.--The first section of the Act
of August 9, 1955 (69 Stat. 539, chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 415) (commonly
known as the ``Long-Term Leasing Act''), is amended--
(1) by striking ``That (a)'' and all that follows through
the end of subsection (a) and inserting the following:
``SECTION 1. LEASES OF RESTRICTED LAND.
``(a) Authorized Purposes; Term; Approval by Secretary.--
``(1) In general.--Any restricted Indian lands, regardless
of whether that land is tribally or individually owned, may be
leased by the Indian owner of the land, with the approval of
the Secretary, for--
``(A) a public, religious, educational,
recreational, residential, business, or grazing
purposes; or
``(B) a farming purpose that requires the making of
a substantial investment in the improvement of the land
for the production of 1 or more specialized crops as
determined by the Secretary.
``(2) Inclusions.--A lease under paragraph (1) may include
the development or use of natural resources in connection with
operations under that lease.
``(3) Term.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), a lease under paragraph (1) shall be
for a term of not more than 99 years, including any
renewals.
``(B) Exception for grazing purposes.--A lease
under paragraph (1) for grazing purposes may be for a
term of not more than 10 years, including any renewals.
``(4) Requirement.--Each lease and renewal under this
subsection shall be made in accordance with such terms and
regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary.
``(5) Conditions for approval.--Before the approval of any
lease or renewal of an existing lease pursuant to this
subsection, the Secretary shall determine that adequate
consideration has been given to--
``(A) relationship between the use of the leased
lands and the use of neighboring land;
``(B) the height, quality, and safety of any
structures or other facilities to be constructed on the
leased land;
``(C) the availability of police and fire
protection and other services on the leased land;
``(D) the availability of judicial forums for all
criminal and civil causes of action arising on the
leased land; and
``(E) the effects on the environment of the uses to
which the leased lands will be subject.'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking ``(b) Any lease'' and inserting the
following:
``(b) Exception for Secretary Approval.--Any lease'';
(B) by striking ``of the Interior'' each place it
appears; and
(C) by striking ``clause (3)'' and inserting
``paragraph'';
(3) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) as
subsections (b), (c), (d), and (a), respectively, and moving
the subsections so as to appear in alphabetical order; and
(4) by striking ``subsection (a)'' each place it appears
and inserting ``subsection (b)''.
(b) Technical Correction.--Section 2 of the Act of August 9, 1955
(69 Stat. 539, chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 415a) (commonly known as the
``Long-Term Leasing Act''), is amended by inserting ``of the Interior''
after ``Secretary'' each place it appears.
(c) Modification of Rights-of-Way Across Indian Land.--The first
section of the Act of February 5, 1948 (62 Stat. 17, chapter 45; 25
U.S.C. 323), is amended--
(1) by striking ``That the Secretary of the Interior be,
and he is empowered to'' and inserting the following:
``SECTION 1. RIGHTS-OF-WAY FOR ALL PURPOSES ACROSS INDIAN LAND.
``(a) Rights-of-Way.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the
Secretary of the Interior may''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Exception.--A right-of-way granted by an Indian tribe for the
purposes authorized under this section shall not require the approval
of the Secretary of the Interior, subject to the condition that--
``(1) the right-of-way approval process by the Indian tribe
substantially complies with subsection (h) of the first section
of the Act of August 9, 1955 (69 Stat. 539, chapter 615; 25
U.S.C. 415(h)); or
``(2) the Indian tribe has tribal regulations approved by
the Secretary of the Interior under that subsection.''.
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