[Senate Report 111-371]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 701
111th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     111-371

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AUTHORIZING LEASES OF UP TO 99 YEARS FOR LANDS HELD IN TRUST FOR OHKAY 
                             OWINGEH PUEBLO

                                _______
                                

               December 16, 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. 3903]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (S. 3903), a bill to authorize leases of up to 99 years 
for lands held in trust for Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of S. 3903 is to amend the Act of August 9, 
1955, to authorize the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo to obtain 99-year 
lease authority for land held in trust for the Pueblo.

                               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 later 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 prohibitions of the Non-Intercourse Act. 
The Long-Term Leasing Act requires that surface leases of 
Indian lands be approved by the Secretary of the Interior and 
limited to lease terms of up 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 exceptions to the Long-Term 
Leasing Act in order to enter into leases for terms longer than 
25 years. Since 1955, over 40 tribes have obtained these 
exceptions to the Long-Term Leasing Act and have authority to 
enter into surface leases for terms as long as 99 years.
    S. 3903 would further amend the Long-Term Leasing Act by 
adding the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo to the list of tribes 
authorized to enter into long-term leases of up to 99 years.

                          Legislative History

    S. 3903 was introduced on September 29, 2010, by Senator 
Udall of New Mexico for himself and Senator Bingaman. The bill 
was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs and a business 
meeting was held on November 18, 2010. A House companion bill, 
H.R. 4276 was introduced on December 10, 2009, by 
Representative Lujan for himself and Representative Heinrich. 
H.R. 4276 was referred to the House Committee on Natural 
Resources.
    On November 18, 2010, the Committee on Indian Affairs held 
a Business Meeting at which S. 3903 was considered. An 
amendment was offered by Senator Dorgan on behalf of Senator 
Udall of New Mexico. The amendment was accepted and the bill 
was ordered to be reported.

                          Summary of Amendment

    The amendment was technical amendment filed by Senator 
Udall of New Mexico to remove subsection (b) which applied the 
newly authorized 99-year lease authority to any existing 
surface leases entered into or renewed after the date of 
enactment. This language was removed since this authority would 
be granted upon enactment of the bill.

           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 
``and lands held in trust for Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo'' after ``of 
land on the Devils Lake Sioux Reservation''.

                        Committee Recommendation

    On November 18, 2010, at an open business meeting, the 
Committee approved S. 3903, with amendment, by voice vote. The 
Committee ordered the bill reported to the full Senate with the 
recommendation that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The following cost estimate, as provided by the 
Congressional Budget Office, dated December 1, 2010, was 
prepared for S. 3903:

S. 3903--A bill to authorize leases of up to 99 years for lands held in 
        trust for Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo

    S. 3903 would authorize the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo to lease 
lands held in trust for up to 99 years. Under current law, the 
Pueblo 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).
    CBO estimates that implementing S. 3903 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. 3903 would not 
affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures do not apply.
    S. 3903 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. 3903 should be de 
minimis.

                        Executive Communications

    The Committee has received no official communication from 
the Administration on the provisions of S. 3903.

                        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. 3903, 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''), . . . and leases to the Devils Lake 
        Sioux Tribe, or any organization of such tribe, of land 
        on the Devils Lake Sioux Reservation, land held in 
        trust for the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, which may be for a 
        term of not to exceed ninety-nine years, and except 
        leases of land for grazing purposes which may be for a 
        term of not to exceed ten years.

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