[Senate Report 114-205]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 349
114th Congress     }                                     {      Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session        }                                     {     114-205

======================================================================



 
   AN ACT TO ALLOW THE MIAMI TRIBE OF OKLAHOMA TO LEASE OR TRANSFER 
                             CERTAIN LANDS

                                _______
                                

                January 12, 2016.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

      Mr. Barrasso, from the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 487]

    The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the 
bill (H.R. 487) to allow the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma to lease 
or transfer certain lands, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 
bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of H.R. 487 is to allow the transfer of fee 
simple lands owned by the Tribe without further congressional 
approval.

                          NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The bill, H.R. 487, is needed to provide certainty for fee 
simple land transfers owned by the Tribe to third parties.

                               BACKGROUND

    The Non-Intercourse Act (25 U.S.C. Sec.  177) authorizes 
the United States to have the exclusive right to acquire Indian 
lands. The Act prevents the transfer, sale, lease, or other 
conveyance of land owned by an Indian tribe to third parties 
without federal approval.
    Congress has passed legislation clarifying that the Non-
Intercourse Act would not interfere with the lease, sale, or 
transfer of fee land owned by certain tribes.
    In the 113th Congress, a bill similar to H.R. 487 was 
enacted into law, allowing the Fond du Lac Band of Lake 
Superior Chippewa to lease or transfer fee land owned by the 
tribe.\1\ In the 106th Congress, a bill was enacted into law 
with a similar purpose for the Lower Sioux Indian Community in 
Minnesota\2\, and in the 102nd Congress, a similar bill was 
enacted into law for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw 
Indians.\3\
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    \1\Pub. L. 113-88, 128 Stat. 1019.
    \2\Pub. L. 106-217, 114 Stat. 344.
    \3\Pub. L. 102-497, 106 Stat. 3255.
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    This legislation, H.R. 487, would allow the Tribe to have 
more control over fee simple land owned by the Tribe without 
the need for further Congressional approval for certain 
transactions. The bill simply ensures that the Non-Intercourse 
Act does not interfere with the ability to convey fee simple 
land owned by the Tribe. The Tribe has informed the Committee 
that title insurance companies may not issue title assurances 
to lenders or prospective purchasers due to uncertainties 
regarding the Non-Intercourse Act.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    On January 22, 2015, Representative Mullin introduced H.R. 
487. On June 10, 2015, the House Subcommittee on Indian, 
Insular, and Alaska Native Affairs of the Natural Resources 
Committee held a hearing on the bill. Witnesses representing 
the Administration and the Miami Tribe testified in support of 
H.R. 487. The House Committee on Natural Resources held a 
business meeting on July 9, 2015 and ordered the bill reported 
without amendment. The House of Representatives passed the bill 
on September 16, 2015. On September 17, 2015, H.R. 487 was 
referred the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. The Committee 
held a business meeting on October 7, 2015, and by voice vote, 
ordered the bill reported favorably without amendment.

        SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF BILL AS ORDERED REPORTED

Section 1--Approval not required to validate land transactions

    Section 1(a) would allow the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma to 
transfer all or any part of its interests in any real property 
that the Tribe owns in fee without further Congressional 
approval.
    Section 2(b) Nothing in this section would authorize the 
Miami Tribe of Oklahoma to lease, sell, convey, warrant, or 
otherwise transfer all or any part of an interest in any real 
property that is held in trust for the Tribe or affect the 
operation of any law governing the leasing, selling, conveying, 
warranting, or otherwise transferring of any interest in such 
trust land.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

                                                  October 19, 2015.
Hon. John Barrasso,
Chairman, Committee on Indian Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 487, a bill to 
allow the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma to lease or transfer certain 
lands.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Kim Cawley.
            Sincerely,
                                                        Keith Hall.

H.R. 487--A bill to allow the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma to lease or 
        transfer certain lands

    H.R. 487 would authorize the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma to 
lease, sell, warrant, or otherwise transfer any tribal property 
that is not held in trust by the federal government for the 
benefit of the tribe. Based on information provided by the 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, CBO estimates that implementing the 
legislation would have no effect on the federal budget.
    Enacting H.R. 487 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. Any 
receipts from the transfer of the land under the legislation 
would be paid directly to the tribe.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 487 would not increase net 
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2026.
    H.R. 487 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would benefit the tribe.
    On July 22, 2015, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
487, a bill to allow the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma to lease or 
transfer certain lands, as ordered reported by the House 
Committee on Natural Resources on July 9, 2015. The two 
versions of the legislation are identical and CBO's estimate of 
the budgetary effects are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Kim Cawley. The 
estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The Committee has received no communications from the 
Executive Branch regarding H.R. 487.

               REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT

    Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the 
regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in 
carrying out the bill. The Committee believes that H.R. 487 
will have a minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork 
requirements.

                 CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW (CORDON RULE)

    In compliance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, if enacted, H.R. 487, as ordered 
reported, does not make any changes to existing law.

                                  [all]