[Senate Report 111-246]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 508
111th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     111-246
======================================================================
 
 TO AMEND THE ACT OF AUGUST 9, 1955, TO MODIFY A PROVISION RELATING TO 
                 LEASES INVOLVING CERTAIN INDIAN TRIBES

                                _______
                                

                 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. 2906]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 2906) to modify a provision relating to leases 
involving certain Indian tribes, orders the bill be reported to 
the full Senate and recommends that the bill, as amended, do 
pass.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of S. 2906 is to amend the Act of August 9, 
1955, to modify a provision relating to leases involving 
certain Indian tribes.

                               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. 2906 would further amend the Long-Term Leasing Act by 
adding two additional tribes to the list. H.R. 2906 adds two 
Washington State tribes, the Kalispel Tribe of Indians and the 
Puyallup Tribe of Indians to the list of tribes that may enter 
into 99 years leases. S. 2906 also authorizes the Puyallup 
Tribe of Indians, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, and 
the Kalispel Tribe of Indians to enter into business and 
residential surface leases without approval by the Secretary of 
the Interior, provided the term of the lease meets certain 
restrictions.

                          Legislative History

    S. 2906 was introduced on December 18, 2009, by Senator 
Cantwell for herself and Senator Murray and referred to the 
Committee on Indian Affairs. A companion bill, H.R. 4401, was 
introduced on December 16, 2009, by Congressman Adam Smith for 
himself and Congressman Norman Dicks and referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources.

                        Summary of the Amendment

    Senator Cantwell introduced an amendment at a business 
meeting on June 10, 2009, adding the Puyallup Tribe of Indians 
to the list of tribes with the authority to enter into 99-year 
leases and other technical amendments. The amendment was 
accepted by voice vote.

               Section-by-Section of S. 1448, as Amended


Section I. Leases involving certain Indian tribes

    This section amends subsection (a) of the first section of 
the Act of August 9, 1955, in the second sentence by inserting 
``and land held in trust for the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, the 
Puyallup Tribe of Indians,'' after ``the Kalispel Indian 
Reservation''.
    This section also amends subsection (b) of the first 
section by inserting ``the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, the 
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, or the Kalispel Tribe of 
Indians'' after ``Tulalip Tribes.'' This would allow these 
tribal communities to be able to enter into leases, except a 
lease for the exploitation of any natural resource, without 
approval by the Secretary of the Interior provided the term of 
the lease does not exceed fifteen years with no option to 
renew; thirty years with no option to renew if the lease is 
executed pursuant to tribal regulations previously approved by 
the Secretary of the Interior; or seventy-five years (including 
options to renew, and the lease is executed under tribal 
regulations approved by the Secretary of the Interior under 
clause (3) of section (b).

                        Committee Recommendation

    On June 10, 2010, the Committee on Indian Affairs held a 
business meeting to consider S. 2906 and other measures. 
Senator Cantwell introduced an amendment which was accepted by 
voice vote. S. 2906, as amended, passed by voice vote. The 
Committee ordered the bill, as amended, 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. 2906:

S. 2906--A bill to amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to modify a 
        provision relating to leases involving certain Indian tribes

    S. 2906 would authorize the Kalispel Tribe of Indians and 
the Puyallup Tribe of Indians 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 Kalispel Tribe currently has the 
authority to lease its reservation land for up to 99 years. The 
bill also would allow the Kalispel Tribe, the Puyallup Tribe, 
and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community to lease lands held 
in trust for up to 15 years without prior approval from the 
Secretary of the Interior as long as no natural resources are 
extracted from the leased lands.
    CBO estimates that implementing S. 2906 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. 2906 would not 
affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures would not apply.
    S. 2906 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 Sam Papenfuss, Unit Chief for Income 
Security and Education Cost Estimates Unit, Budget Analysis 
Division.

               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. 2906 should be de 
minimis.

                        Executive Communications

    The Committee has received no official communication from 
the Administration on the provisions of S. 2906.

                        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. 2906, 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

                         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, the Moapa 
Indian Reservation, the Swinomish Indian Reservation, the 
Southern Ute Reservation, the Fort Mojave Reservation, the 
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the 
Burns Paiute Reservation, the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation, 
the Kalispel Indian Reservation, and land held in trust for the 
Kalispel Tribe of Indians, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, the 
pueblo of Cochiti, the pueblo of Pojoaque, ....

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

    (b) Leases involving Tulalip Tribes
    Any lease by the Tulalip Tribes, the Puyallup Tribe of 
Indians, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, or the Kalispel 
Tribe of Indians under subsection (a) of this section, except a 
lease for the exploitation of any natural resource, shall not 
require the approval of the Secretary of the Interior (1) if 
the term of the lease does not exceed fifteen years, with no 
option to renew, (2) if the term of the lease does not exceed 
thirty years, with no option to renew, and the lease is 
executed pursuant to tribal regulations previously approved by 
the Secretary of the Interior, or (3) if the term does not 
exceed seventy-five years (including options to renew), and the 
lease is executed under tribal regulations approved by the 
Secretary under this clause (3).

                                  
