[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 211 (Wednesday, November 1, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 64181-64182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18396]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

25 CFR Parts 15, 18, 150, 152, and 179

Office of the Secretary

43 CFR Parts 4 and 30

RIN 1076-AE59


Indian Trust Management Reform

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of the Secretary, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of reopening of comment period for proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: On August 8, 2006, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the 
Office of the Secretary proposed to amend several of their regulations 
related to Indian trust management (see 71 FR 45173). The purpose of 
the amendments is to further fulfill the Secretary's fiduciary 
responsibilities to federally recognized tribes and individual Indians 
and to meet the Indian trust management policies in the

[[Page 64182]]

Indian Land Consolidation Act (ILCA), as amended by the American Indian 
Probate Reform Act of 2004 (AIPRA). These amendments address Indian 
trust management issues in the areas of probate, probate hearings and 
appeals, tribal probate codes, life estates and future interests in 
Indian land, the Indian land title of record, and conveyances of trust 
or restricted land. There is also an ``Application for Consolidation by 
Sale'' form that is associated with one of these amendments.
    This notice reopens the comment period for an additional 60 days to 
January 2, 2007. The BIA and Office of Secretary are reopening the 
comment period for an additional 60 days to ensure that all interested 
parties, including tribes and individual Indians, have the opportunity 
to review the proposed rule and prepare their comments.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published on August 8, 
2006 (71 FR 45173) is extended to January 2, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by the number 1076-AE59, 
by any of the following methods:

--Federal rulemaking portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
--Web site at www.doitrustregs.com.
--E-mail: [email protected]. Include the number 1076-AE59 
in the subject line of the message.
--Fax: (202) 208-5320. Include the number 1076-AE59 in the subject line 
of the message.
--Mail: U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW., Mail Stop 
4141, Washington, DC 20240.
--Hand delivery: Michele Singer, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 
C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240.

    Comments on the information collection burdens, including comments 
on or requests for copies of the ``Application for Consolidation by 
Sale'' form, are separate from those on the substance of the rule. Send 
comments on the information collection burdens to: Interior Desk 
Officer 1076-AE59, Office of Management and Budget, e-mail: [email protected]; or 202/395-6566 (fax). Please also send a copy of 
your comments to BIA at the location specified under the heading 
ADDRESSES.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Singer, Counselor to the 
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, 1849 C 
Street, NW., Mail Stop 4141, Washington, DC 20240, telephone (202) 273-
4680.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In developing the final rule, the Department 
will consider all comments received before January 2, 2007. Therefore, 
if you submitted comments at any time before January 2, 2007, you do 
not need to resubmit them.
    In addition to making plain language revisions, the amendments 
revise the regulations to:
     Incorporate AIPRA changes to probate: AIPRA created a 
uniform probate code to standardize intestate succession rules for 
trust and restricted property. The uniform probate code reinforces 
tribal sovereignty by eliminating the application of state laws in the 
probate of trust and restricted assets while deferring to approved 
tribal probate codes. AIPRA also established new mechanisms for 
consolidating fractionated interests at probate and through sale of 
highly fractionated tracts. The proposed amendments to probate 
regulations would implement AIPRA's provisions by requiring the 
additional information needed to determine heirs and devisees to be 
included in the probate file, and by establishing the procedures for 
directional disclaimers, purchases at probate and consolidation 
agreements. These regulations continue to refer all probate cases to 
OHA. The amendments streamline the OHA process by shortening deadlines 
to more reasonable time periods. Amendments to life estate provisions 
reflect AIPRA's change in the valuation of a life estate to be 
``without regard to waste'' and base the valuation on the four-year 
average Single Life Factor used by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in 
Table S of the 7520 rate schedule, without regard to gender.
     Promote consolidation (reduce fractionation) of interests: 
Allotments owned by Indians have become increasingly fractionated with 
the probate of each generation, resulting in the division of the 
allotment into smaller and smaller interests. These amendments meet the 
policy expressed by Congress to reduce fractionation (i.e., the 
exponential increase in the number of ownership interests in a given 
parcel of land) of tribal and individual Indian interests in trust and 
restricted property through the use of several tools. These tools 
include the opportunities for tribes to establish a tribal land 
consolidation plan; purchase interests in land within their respective 
jurisdictions when offered for negotiated sale, gift, or exchange; make 
a tribal tract purchase (i.e., obtain fractionated interests of non-
consenting trust and restricted owners under certain circumstances); 
and unify ownership and consolidate interests in a tract through 
partition. The amendments allow both tribes and individual Indians to 
obtain highly fractionated interests through a new mechanism, created 
by AIPRA: consolidation by sale (called ``partition of highly 
fractionated lands'' in AIPRA). Additionally, the new AIPRA mechanisms 
being incorporated in probate regulations will offer opportunities to 
reduce fractionation through the distribution of probate property.
     Improve service to beneficiaries: Amendments to the Land 
Titles and Records Office (LTRO) regulations will update and 
standardize LTRO title practices and recordation to ensure the 
Secretary is able to accurately track and record accounting of trust 
and restricted interest owners, allowing the Secretary to better serve 
the beneficiaries. Amendments to the probate process are aimed at 
facilitating the process to reduce the probate backlog and better serve 
beneficiaries. By clarifying the requirements and processes for 
probate, approval of tribal probate codes, obtaining LTRO services and 
products, and conveying trust and restricted property, the Department 
of the Interior improves communication and transparency, allowing 
better service to beneficiaries.

    Authority: Regulatory amendments to these parts are proposed 
under the general authority of the American Indian Trust Fund 
Management Reform Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. 4021 et seq., and the 
Indian Land Consolidation Act of 2000, as amended by the American 
Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004, 25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.

    Dated: October 13, 2006.
Michael D. Olsen,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. E6-18396 Filed 10-31-06; 8:45 am]
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