I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3911 

To make technical amendments to the Act of December 22, 1974, relating 

to lands of the Navajo Tribe, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 3, 2015 

Mrs. KIRKPATRICK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To make technical amendments to the Act of December 

22, 1974, relating to lands of the Navajo Tribe, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. NAVAJO RESERVATION BOUNDARY CLARIFICA4 TION. 

5 Subsection (b) of section 11 of the Act of December 

6 22, 1974 (25 U.S.C. 640d–10(b)), is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘present boundary of the Navajo 

8 Reservation’’ and inserting ‘‘trust lands of the Nav9 ajo Tribe, including the bands of the Navajo Tribe, 

10 as of January 1, 2015’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘present boundary of the res2 ervation’’ and inserting ‘‘trust lands of the Navajo 

3 Tribe, including the bands of the Navajo Tribe, as 

4 of January 1, 2015’’. 

5 SEC. 2. RESELECTION OF LANDS TO CORRECT SURVEYING 

6 ERROR. 

7 Section 11 of the Act of December 22, 1974 (25 

8 U.S.C. 640d–10), is amended by adding at the end the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(j)(1) The Navajo Tribe may— 

11 ‘‘(A) deselect not more than 757 acres of the 

12 land selected under this section as of January 1, 

13 2014; and 

14 ‘‘(B) reselect, accordance with this section, the 

15 same amount of acres of the land that is deselected 

16 under subparagraph (A). 

17 ‘‘(2) Any lands deselected under paragraph (1)(A) 

18 that were held in trust shall be taken out of trust and 

19 administered by the Bureau of Land Management.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. FAIR RENTAL VALUE PAYMENTS REPORT. 

21 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact22 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit 

23 a report to the Committee on Natural Resources in the 

24 House of Representatives and the Committee on Indian 

25 Affairs in the Senate a report that contains the following: 


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1 (1) The dates that the Secretary rendered ini2 tial rental decisions on annual rents owed by the 

3 Navajo Tribe to the Hopi Tribe pursuant to section 

4 16(a) of the Act of December 22, 1974 (25 U.S.C. 

5 640d–15(a)), for each of years 2001 through 2014, 

6 including an explanation for any delay longer than 

7 12 months after the end of any year during that pe8 riod. 

9 (2) The current status of all rental determina10 tions for each of years 2001 through 2014, and, to 

11 the extent appeals are pending, where these appeals 

12 are pending, and how long such appeals have been 

13 pending at that locale. 

14 (3) To the extent that rental determinations 

15 have been delayed, the role, if any, in the delay that 

16 has been the result of contracts with the Bureau of 

17 Indian Affairs related to a contract under the Indian 

18 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 

19 (25 U.S.C. 450f). 

20 (4) Whether contracts to perform those func21 tions which are otherwise the obligations of the Bu22 reau of Indian Affairs to carry out the requirements 

23 of section 16(a) of the Act of December 22, 1974 

24 (25 U.S.C. 640–15(a)), have been funded at the 


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1 level necessary to ensure that these functions are 

2 properly performed. 

3 (5) What contract provisions, if any, have been 

4 included in any contract under the Indian Self-De5 termination and Education Assistance Act (25 

6 U.S.C. 450f) between the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

7 and any contractor to ensure that the contractor’s 

8 performance of those functions which are otherwise 

9 the obligations of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to 

10 carry out the requirements of section 16(a) of the 

11 Act of December 22, 1974 (25 U.S.C. 640d–15(a)), 

12 is free from conflicts of interest as required by part 

13 900.231 through part .236 of title 25, Code of Fed14 eral Regulations. 

15 (6) The total amount that the Navajo Tribe has 

16 paid as rent and interest pursuant to section 16(a) 

17 of the Act of December 22, 1974 (25 U.S.C. 640d– 

18 15(a)), including the amount of prejudgment inter19 est paid by the Navajo Tribe and the amount of 

20 post-judgment interest paid by the Navajo Tribe. 

21 (7) A plan to bring initial rental determinations 

22 current through the 2015 year as of April 1, 2016. 

23 (8) A plan to ensure that, beginning on April 

24 1, 2017, all annual rental determinations are comVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:12 Nov 05, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3911.IH H3911

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1 pleted and delivered to the Navajo Tribe and the 

2 Hopi Tribe on or before April 1 of each year. 

3 SEC. 4. NAVAJO TRIBE SOVEREIGNTY EMPOWERMENT 

4 DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

5 (a) NAVAJO SOVEREIGNTY EMPOWERMENT

6 ZONES.—The Navajo Tribe shall have the authority to 

7 designate up to 150,000 acres within one or more of the 

8 following, which shall be designated as Navajo Sovereignty 

9 Empowerment Zones: 

10 (1) Lands selected by the Navajo Tribe pursu11 ant to section 11 of the Act of December 22, 1974 

12 (25 U.S.C. 640d–10). 

13 (2) Lands within that portion of the Navajo 

14 Reservation lying west of the Executive Order Res15 ervation of 1882 and bounded on the north and 

16 south by westerly extensions, to the reservation line, 

17 of the northern and southern boundaries of said Ex18 ecutive Order Reservation (formerly known as the 

19 ‘‘Bennett Freeze’’ area). 

20 (3) Lands partitioned to the Navajo Tribe pur21 suant to sections 3 and 4 of the Act of December 

22 22, 1974 (25 U.S.C. 640d–2 and 640d–3). 

23 (b) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN LAWS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to approval by the 

25 appropriate regulatory bodies under Navajo law, 


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1 such as the Navajo Nation Environmental Protec2 tion Agency, the Navajo Nation Historic Preserva3 tion Department, and the Navajo Nation Depart4 ment of Fish and Wildlife, within the Navajo Sov5 ereignty Empowerment Zones, the Navajo Tribe 

6 may choose to waive any or all of the laws in para7 graph (2) with regard to renewable energy develop8 ment, housing development, public and community 

9 facilities, infrastructure development (including 

10 water and wastewater development, roads, trans11 mission lines, gas lines, and rights-of-way), and re12 lated economic development. 

13 (2) LAW ELIGIBLE FOR WAIVER.—The laws re14 ferred to in paragraph (1) are the following: 

15 (A) The Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 

16 et seq.). 

17 (B) The National Environmental Policy 

18 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

19 (C) The Endangered Species Act of 1973 

20 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

21 (D) The Federal Land Policy and Manage22 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

23 (E) The National Wildlife Refuge System 

24 Administration Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd 

25 et seq.). 


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1 (F) The Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 

2 U.S.C. 742a et seq.). 

3 (G) The Fish and Wildlife Coordination 

4 Act (16 U.S.C. 661 et seq.). 

5 (H) Subchapter II of chapter 5, and chap6 ter 7, of title 5, United States Code (commonly 

7 known as the ‘‘Administrative Procedure Act’’). 

8 (I) The provisions of title 54, United 

9 States Code, derived from the Act of August 

10 25, 1916 (commonly known as the ‘‘National 

11 Park Service Organic Act’’), Public Law 86– 

12 523, and Public Law 91–383. 

13 (J) Sections 401(7), 403, and 404 of the 

14 National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 

15 (Public Law 95–625). 

16 (K) The Arizona Desert Wilderness Act of 

17 1990 (Public Law 101–628). 

18 (L) Division A of subtitle III of title 54, 

19 United States Code. 

20 (3) GRAND CANYON EXCEPTION.—Subsection 

21 (a) shall not apply to projects within the rim of the 

22 natural formation commonly referred to as the 

23 Grand Canyon. 

24 (c) TRANSFER OF SAVINGS TO THE NAVAJO

25 TRIBE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Federal agencies responsible 

2 for implementation of the laws listed in subsection 

3 (b)(2) shall— 

4 (A) consult in good faith with the Navajo 

5 Tribe to determine the cost that the Federal 

6 agency would have otherwise expended on im7 plementation of the laws or regulations de8 scribed in subsection (b) in the Navajo Em9 powerment Zones, and this amount shall not be 

10 less than the agency would have otherwise pro11 vided for the operation of programs or portions 

12 thereof, without regard to any organizational 

13 level within the agency at which the program, 

14 function, service, or activity or portion thereof, 

15 including supportive administrative functions 

16 and including indirect costs that are provided in 

17 support of the operation of the program, func18 tion, service or activity or portion thereof, is op19 erated; and 

20 (B) not later the 90 days after the begin21 ning of each applicable fiscal year, transfer to 

22 the Navajo Tribe the amount of funds identified 

23 under subparagraph (A). 

24 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—The Navajo Tribe shall 

25 use all monies that it receives under this subsection 


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1 to implement tribal law in the Navajo Sovereignty 

2 Empowerment Zones. 

3 (3) FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—Federal agency 

4 decisions made pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall 

5 be final agency action for the purposes of appeal to 

6 the appropriate Federal district court pursuant to 

7 chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. 

8 (d) CIVIL JURISDICTION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

10 provision of law, all individuals and entities oper11 ating within a Navajo Sovereignty Empowerment 

12 Zone shall be subject to the full civil and regulatory 

13 jurisdiction of the Navajo Tribe. 

14 (2) FULL FAITH AND CREDIT.—Any judgment 

15 issued by the Navajo Tribe consistent with this sec16 tion shall be accorded full faith and credit by the 

17 court of another State, Indian tribe, or territory and 

18 by Federal district courts. 

19 (e) TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY.—Nothing in this section 

20 supersedes, replaces, negates, or diminishes— 

21 (1) the laws and regulations of the Navajo Na22 tion, which shall remain in full force and effect with23 in the Navajo Sovereignty Empowerment Zones; or 

24 (2) the treaties or other agreements between 

25 the United States and the Navajo Tribe. 


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1 (d) NAVAJO-HOPI DISPUTE SETTLEMENT ACT.— 

2 Nothing in this section waives the provisions of the Nav3 ajo-Hopi Dispute Settlement Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 640d 

4 note). 

5 (e) FUNDING AND GRANTS.—Nothing in this section 

6 negates or diminishes the eligibility of the Navajo Tribe 

7 to receive or continue to receive funding and grants under 

8 the Navajo-Hopi Dispute Settlement Act of 1996 or any 

9 other laws of the United States. 

10 SEC. 5. RELINQUISHMENT OF ACCOMMODATION AGREE11 MENT AND ELIGIBILITY FOR RELOCATION 

12 BENEFITS. 

13 The Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Settlement Act of 

14 1996 (25 U.S.C. 640d note) is amended by adding at the 

15 end the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 13. RELINQUISHMENT OF ACCOMMODATION AGREE17 MENT AND ELIGIBILITY FOR RELOCATION 

18 BENEFITS. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro20 vision of this Act, the Settlement Agreement, or the Ac21 commodation Agreement, any Navajo head of household, 

22 or the successor thereto if such person is no longer the 

23 head of household, who has entered into an Accommoda24 tion Agreement shall have the following rights: 


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1 ‘‘(1) To relinquish that Agreement for up to 

2 two years after the effective date of this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) After a relinquishment under paragraph 

4 (1), to receive the full relocation benefits to which 

5 the Navajo head of household would otherwise have 

6 been entitled had the head of household not signed 

7 the Accommodation Agreement, including relocation 

8 housing, counseling, and other services. In the event 

9 that the Navajo head of household is no longer the 

10 head of household, the successor thereto shall be en11 titled to receive the full relocation benefits. 

12 ‘‘(b) TIMING.—A relinquishment under subsection 

13 (a) shall not go into effect until the Office of Navajo and 

14 Hopi Indian Relocation provides the full relocation bene15 fits to the Navajo head of household, or successor there16 to.’’. 

17 SEC. 6. NAVAJO REHABILITATION TRUST FUND. 

18 Section 32 of Public Law 93–531 (25 U.S.C. 640d– 

19 30) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (d)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe23 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

24 (C) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) at the discretion of the Navajo Tribe, to 

2 use for development in the Navajo Sovereignty Em3 powerment Zones established pursuant to section 

4 104.’’; 

5 (2) in the first sentence of subsection (f), by 

6 striking ‘‘and the United States has been reimbursed 

7 for funds appropriated under subsection (f) of this 

8 section’’; and 

9 (3) in subsection (g)— 

10 (A) in the first sentence, by striking 

11 ‘‘1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994’’ and all 

12 that follows through the final period and insert13 ing ‘‘2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.’’; and 

14 (B) by striking the second sentence. 

Æ 


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