[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 244 (Monday, December 21, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79355-79356]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31891]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

[167 A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900]


Notice of Deadline for Submitting Completed Applications To Begin 
Participation in the Tribal Self-Governance Program in Fiscal Year 2017 
or Calendar Year 2017

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In this notice, the Office of Self-Governance (OSG) 
establishes a deadline of March 1, 2016, for Indian tribes/consortia to 
submit completed applications to begin participation in the tribal 
self-governance program in Fiscal Year 2017 or Calendar Year 2017.

DATES: Completed application packages must be received by the Director, 
Office of Self-Governance, by March 1, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Application packages for inclusion in the applicant pool 
should be sent to Ms. Sharee M. Freeman, Director, Office of Self-
Governance, Department of the Interior, Mail Stop 355-G-SIB, 1951 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Kenneth D. Reinfeld, Office of 
Self-Governance, telephone (703) 390-6551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994 
(Pub. L. 103-413), as amended by the

[[Page 79356]]

Fiscal Year 1997 Omnibus Appropriations Bill (Pub. L. 104-208), the 
Director, Office of Self-Governance may select up to 50 additional 
participating tribes/consortia per year for the tribal self-governance 
program, and negotiate and enter into a written funding agreement with 
each participating tribe. The Act mandates that the Secretary submit 
copies of the funding agreements at least 90 days before the proposed 
effective date to the appropriate committees of the Congress and to 
each tribe that is served by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) agency 
that is serving the tribe that is a party to the funding agreement. 
Initial negotiations with a tribe/consortium located in a region and/or 
agency which has not previously been involved with self-governance 
negotiations, will take approximately two months from start to finish. 
Agreements for an October 1 to September 30 funding year need to be 
signed and submitted by July 1. Agreements for a January 1 to December 
31 funding year need to be signed and submitted by October 1.

Purpose of Notice

    The regulations at 25 CFRs 1000.10 to 1000.31 will be used to 
govern the application and selection process for tribes/consortia to 
begin their participation in the tribal self-governance program in 
Fiscal Year 2017 and Calendar Year 2017. Applicants should be guided by 
the requirements in these subparts in preparing their applications. 
Copies of these subparts may be obtained from the information contact 
person identified in this notice.
    Tribes/consortia wishing to be considered for participation in the 
tribal self-governance program for fiscal year 2017 or calendar year 
2017 must respond to this notice, except for those tribes/consortia 
which are: (1) Currently involved in negotiations with the Department; 
or (2) one of the 115 tribal entities with signed agreements.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), as implemented by 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 5 CFR 1320, a person is 
not required to respond to a collection of information by a Federal 
Agency unless the collection displays a valid OMB control number. The 
application and reporting requirements related to this program are 
considered to be a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the PRA. These submissions are required to obtain and/
or retain a benefit. The OMB has approved the information collections 
related to this program and has assigned control number 1076-0143, 
Tribal Self-Governance Program, which expires January 31, 2016. We 
estimate the annual burden associated with this collection to average 
55 hours per respondent. This includes the time for reviewing 
instructions and gathering and submitting the information to the 
Department. Comments regarding this collection may be directed to: 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Office of Regulatory Affairs 
& Collaborative Action--Indian Affairs, 1849 C Street NW., MS-3642-MIB, 
Washington, DC 20240.

    Dated: December 14, 2015.
Kevin K. Washburn,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2015-31891 Filed 12-18-15; 8:45 am]
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