[Senate Report 111-245]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 507
111th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     111-245
======================================================================
 
 TO AMEND THE ACT OF AUGUST 9, 1955, TO AUTHORIZE THE COQUILLE INDIAN 
TRIBE, THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE SILETZ INDIANS, THE CONFEDERATED 
TRIBES OF COOS, LOWER UMPQUA, AND SIUSLAW, THE KLAMATH TRIBES, AND THE 
  BURNS PAIUTE TRIBE TO OBTAIN 99-YEAR LEASE AUTHORITY FOR TRUST LAND

                                _______
                                

                 August 3, 2010.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Dorgan, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1448]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 1448) to amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to authorize 
the Coquille Indian Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the 
Siletz Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower 
Umpqua, and Siuslaw, the Klamath Tribes, and the Burns Paiute 
Tribe to obtain 99-year lease authority for trust land, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon, and recommends 
that the bill do pass.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of S. 1448 is to amend the Act of August 9, 
1955, to authorize the Coquille Indian Tribe, the Confederated 
Tribes of the Siletz Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the 
Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw, the Klamath Tribes, and the 
Burns Paiute Tribe to obtain 99-year lease authority for trust 
land.

                               Background

    Since the enactment of the Act of June 30, 1834, 4 Stat. 
730, codified as 25 U.S.C. Sec. 177, and predecessor statutes, 
land transactions with Indian tribes were prohibited unless 
specifically authorized by Congress. This law is commonly known 
as the Non-intercourse Act.
    Congress enacted the Act of August 9, 1955, codified at 25 
U.S.C. Sec. 415, commonly known as the Long-Term Leasing Act, 
to overcome the prohibition of the Non-intercourse Act. The 
Long-Term Leasing Act permitted some land transactions between 
Indian tribes and nonfederal parties--specifically, the leasing 
of Indian lands. The Act required that leases of Indian lands 
be approved by the Secretary of the Interior and limited lease 
terms to 25 years.
    As business opportunities and economic considerations 
changed over time, leases longer than 25 years were desired. To 
facilitate economic development on trust lands, over the years, 
a number of tribes have obtained amendments to the Long-Term 
Leasing Act so that they could enter into leases for terms 
longer than 25 years. Approximately 50 tribes have obtained 
these amendments and all are listed in the Long-Term Leasing 
Act as having authority to enter into leases for terms as long 
as 99 years.
    S. 1448 would further amend the Long-Term Leasing Act by 
adding five additional tribes to the list. H.R. 1448 adds the 
Coquille Indian Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz 
Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and 
Siuslaw, the Klamath Tribes, and the Burns Paiute Tribe to the 
list of tribes that may enter into 99 years leases.

                          Legislative History

    S. 1448 was introduced on July 14, 2009, by Senator Merkley 
for himself and Senator Wyden. The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Indian Affairs and a business meeting was held on 
June 10, 2010. House companion bills were introduced in the 
111th Congress and both were referred to the House Natural 
Resources Committee. H.R. 4010 was introduced on November 3, 
2009, by Representative Schrader of Oregon and H.R. 4916 was 
introduced on March 3, 2010, by Representative DeFazio of 
Oregon.

           Section-By-Section Analysis of S. 1448 as Amended


Section 1. Leases of restricted land

    This section amends subsection (a) of the first section of 
the Act of August 9, 1955, in the second sentence by inserting 
``land held in trust for the Coquille Indian Tribe, land held 
in trust for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, land 
held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower 
Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians, land held in trust for the Klamath 
Tribes, and land held in trust for the Burns Paiute Tribe'' 
after ``lands held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of the 
Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon,''.

                        Committee Recommendation

    On June 10, 2010, at an open business meeting, the 
Committee approved S. 1448 without amendment by voice vote. The 
Committee ordered the bill reported to the full Senate with the 
recommendation that it do pass.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The following cost estimate, as provided by the 
Congressional Budget Office, dated June 24, 2010, was prepared 
for S. 1448:

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate


S. 1448--A bill to amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to authorize the 
        Coquille Indian Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz 
        Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and 
        Siuslaw, the Klamath Tribes, and the Burns Paiute Tribe to 
        obtain 99-year lease authority for trust land

    S. 1448 would authorize the Coquille Indian Tribe, the 
Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians, the Confederated 
Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw, the Klamath 
Tribes, and the Burns Paiute Tribe to lease lands held in trust 
for up to 99 years. In general, under current law, the tribes 
can lease trust lands to schools, businesses, and public 
entities for 25-year terms, subject to the approval of the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The Burns Paiute Tribe 
currently has the authority to lease its reservation land for 
up to 99 years.
    CBO estimates that implementing S. 1448 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. Any additional 
proceeds from such leases would accrue to the owners of the 
trust land and would have no effect on the federal budget. CBO 
also estimates that implementing the bill would have a 
negligible effect on BIA's workload. Enacting S. 1448 would not 
affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures would not apply.
    S. 1448 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The 
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

               Regulatory and Paperwork Impact Statement

    Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate requires that each report accompanying a bill evaluate 
the regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in 
carrying out the bill. The Committee has concluded that the 
regulatory and paperwork impact of S. 1448 should be de 
minimis.

                        Executive Communications

    The Committee has received no official communication from 
the Administration on the provisions of S. 1448.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
S. 1448, as ordered to be reported, are shown as follows 
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black 
brackets, new language to be added in italic, existing law to 
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

25 U.S.C. 415(a). Authorized purposes; term; approval by 
Secretary.

                         ACT OF AUGUST 9, 1955

    (a) Authorized purposes; term; approval by Secretary
    Any restricted Indian lands, whether tribally, or 
individually owned, may be leased by the Indian owners, with 
the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, for public, 
religious, educational, recreational, residential, or business 
purposes, including the development or utilization of natural 
resources in connection with operations under such leases, for 
grazing purposes, and for those farming purposes which require 
the making of a substantial investment in the improvement of 
the land for the production of specialized crops as determined 
by said Secretary. All leases so granted shall be for a term of 
not to exceed twenty-five years, except leases of land located 
outside the boundaries of Indian reservations in the State of 
New Mexico, leases of land on the Agua Caliente (Palm Springs) 
Reservation, the Dania Reservation, the Pueblo of Santa Ana 
(with the exception of the lands known as the ``Santa Ana 
Pueblo Spanish Grant''), the reservation of the Confederated 
Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, land held in 
trust for the Coquille Indian Tribe, land held in trust for the 
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, land held in trust for 
the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw 
Indians, land held in trust for the Klamath Tribes, and land 
held in trust for the Burns Paiute Tribe, the Moapa Indian 
Reservation, the Swinomish Indian Reservation, .  .  .

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