[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 77 (Thursday, June 15, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5963-S5964]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. McCAIN:
  S. 3526. A bill to amend the Indian Land Consolidation Act to modify 
certain requirements under that Act; to the Committee on Indian 
Affairs.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I am introducing today a bill to amend 
various provisions of the Indian Land Consolidation Act, ILCA. Some of 
these amendments are of a technical or clarifying nature; others have 
the effect of delaying the effective date of certain provisions of the 
Indian Probate Code set forth in ILCA section 207.
  Section 1 of the bill clarifies the meaning of certain defined terms 
used in ILCA--``trust or restricted interest land'' and ``land''--and 
also delays the application of the act's probate code to permanent 
improvements located on Indian trust lands until after July 20, 2007. 
This delay will provide additional time to analyze how the probate code 
should apply to permanent improvements and determine whether further 
amendments are needed. The definition of land is amended to clarify 
that a decedent's interest in such improvements is included in the term 
``land'' only for purposes of intestate succession under ILCA section 
207(a) and even then only when the improvements are located on a parcel 
of trust or restricted land that is itself included in the decedent's 
estate. Thus, ``land'' would not include a decedent's interest in 
permanent improvements located on tribal trust land or for that matter 
on individually owned trust land if the underlying parcel of land is 
not itself part of the decedent's estate.
  Section 2 of the bill also amends the ``single heir rule'' of ILCA 
section 207(a)(2)(D)--which governs the inheritance of interests that 
are less than 5 percent of the total undivided interest in a parcel of 
land--by making it inapplicable to any interest in the estate of a 
decedent who dies during the period beginning on the enactment date of 
the clause and ending on July 20, 2007, and authorizing the Secretary 
of Interior to extend this period for up to 1 year.
  The bill would also delay until July 21, 2007, the application of the 
presumption in ILCA section 207(c) that a devise of a trust interest to 
more than 1 person creates a joint tenancy absent clear language in the 
will to the contrary. It would amend ILCA section

[[Page S5964]]

207(o), which authorizes purchase of interests during probate, in 
various ways, but most significantly limiting nonconsensual purchases 
to the Secretary and the Indian tribe; clarifying that the 5 percent 
threshold applies to the decedent's interest rather than to the 
interest passing to an heir; and holding the rule allowing 
nonconsensual purchase at probate of small interests inapplicable to 
interests in the estate of any decedent who dies on or before July 20, 
2007. This section would also authorize the Secretary to extend this 
period for up to 1 additional year.
  The amendments delaying the application of these provisions will give 
Indian landowners more time to understand how these provisions work and 
plan their estates accordingly. The delays of the single heir rule and 
nonconsensual purchase option at probate will also allow the Department 
more time to have procedures and systems in place to determine whether 
a given interest is above or below the 5 percent threshold that 
triggers the application of the rules.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3526

       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 ``Indian Land Consolidation 
     Act Amendments of 2006''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       Section 202 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 
     2201) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (4)--
       (A) by inserting ``(i)'' after ``(4)'';
       (B) by striking `` `trust or restricted interest in land' 
     or'' and inserting the following:
       ``(ii) `trust or restricted interest in land' or''; and
       (C) in clause (ii) (as designated by subparagraph (B)), by 
     striking ``an interest in land, title to which'' and 
     inserting ``an interest in land, the title to which 
     interest''; and
       (2) by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the following:
       ``(7) the term `land'--
       ``(A) means any real property; and
       ``(B) for purposes of intestate succession only under 
     section 207(a), includes, with respect to any decedent who 
     dies after July 20, 2007, the interest of the decedent in any 
     improvements permanently affixed to a parcel of trust or 
     restricted lands (subject to any valid mortgage or other 
     interest in such an improvement) that was owned in whole or 
     in part by the decedent immediately prior to the death of the 
     decedent;''.

     SEC. 3. DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION.

       Section 207 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 
     2206) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(2)(D)--
       (A) in clause (i), by striking ``clauses (ii) through 
     (iv)'' and inserting ``clauses (ii) through (v)''; and
       (B) by striking clause (v) and inserting the following:
       ``(v) Effect of paragraph; nonapplicability to certain 
     interests.--Nothing in this paragraph--

       ``(I) limits the right of any person to devise any trust or 
     restricted interest pursuant to a valid will in accordance 
     with subsection (b); or
       ``(II) applies to any interest in the estate of a decedent 
     who died during the period beginning on the date of enactment 
     of this subclause and ending on July 20, 2007 (or the last 
     day of any applicable period of extension authorized by the 
     Secretary under clause (vi)).

       ``(vi) Authority to extend period of nonapplicability.--The 
     Secretary may extend the period of nonapplicability under 
     clause (v)(II) for not longer than 1 year if, by not later 
     than July 2, 2007, the Secretary publishes in the Federal 
     Register a notice of the extension.'';
       (2) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ``the date that is'' 
     and all that follows through the period at the end and 
     inserting the following: ``July 21, 2007.''; and
       (3) in subsection (o)--
       (A) in paragraph (3)--
       (i) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses 
     (i) and (ii) and indenting the clauses appropriately;
       (ii) by striking ``(3)'' and all that follows through ``No 
     sale'' and inserting the following:
       ``(3) Request to purchase; consent requirements; multiple 
     requests to purchase.--
       ``(A) In general.--No sale''; and
       (iii) by striking the last sentence and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(B) Multiple requests to purchase.--Except for interests 
     purchased pursuant to paragraph (5), if the Secretary 
     receives a request with respect to an interest from more than 
     1 eligible purchaser under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall 
     sell the interest to the eligible purchaser that is selected 
     by the applicable heir, devisee, or surviving spouse.'';
       (B) in paragraph (4)--
       (i) in subparagraph (A), by adding ``and'' at the end;
       (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``; and'' and 
     inserting a period; and
       (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); and
       (C) in paragraph (5)--
       (i) in subparagraph (A)--

       (I) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking 
     ``auction and'';
       (II) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (III) in clause (ii)--

       (aa) by striking ``auction'' and inserting ``sale'';
       (bb) by striking ``the interest passing to such heir 
     represents'' and inserting ``, at the time of death of the 
     applicable decedent, the interest of the decedent in the land 
     represented''; and
       (cc) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; 
     and''; and

       (IV) by adding at the end the following:

       ``(iii)(I) the Secretary is purchasing the interest as part 
     of the program authorized under section 213(a)(1); or
       ``(II) after receiving a notice under paragraph (4)(B), the 
     Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the interest is proposing 
     to purchase the interest from an heir that is not a member, 
     and is not eligible to become a member, of that Indian 
     tribe.'';
       (ii) in subparagraph (B)--

       (I) by striking ``(B)'' and all that follows through ``such 
     heir'' and inserting the following:

       ``(B) Exception; nonapplicability to certain interests.--
       ``(i) Exception.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the 
     consent of the heir or surviving spouse'';

       (II) in clause (i), by inserting ``or surviving spouse'' 
     before ``was residing''; and
       (III) by adding at the end the following:

       ``(ii) Nonapplicability to certain interests.--Subparagraph 
     (A) shall not apply to any interest in the estate of a 
     decedent who dies on or before July 20, 2007 (or the last day 
     of any applicable period of extension authorized by the 
     Secretary under subparagraph (C)).''; and
       (iii) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(C) Authority to extend period of nonapplicability.--The 
     Secretary may extend the period of nonapplicability under 
     subparagraph (B)(ii) for not longer than 1 year if, by not 
     later than July 2, 2007, the Secretary publishes in the 
     Federal Register a notice of the extension.''.
                                 ______