II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1481 

To amend the Indian Land Consolidation Act to provide for probate reform. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 26, 2005 

Mr. MCCAIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice, considered, 

read the third time, and passed 

A BILL 

To amend the Indian Land Consolidation Act to provide 

for probate reform. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Indian Land Probate 

5 Reform Technical Corrections Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PARTITION OF HIGHLY FRACTIONATED INDIAN 

7 LAND. 

8 Section 205 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act 

9 (25 U.S.C. 2204) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

11 following: 
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1 ‘‘(a) PURCHASE OF LAND.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), 

3 any Indian tribe may purchase, at not less than fair 

4 market value and with the consent of the owners of 

5 the interests, part or all of the interests in— 

6 ‘‘(A) any tract of trust or restricted land 

7 within the boundaries of the reservation of the 

8 tribe; or 

9 ‘‘(B) land that is otherwise subject to the 

10 jurisdiction of the tribe. 

11 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED CONSENT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Indian tribe may 

13 purchase all interests in a tract described in 

14 paragraph (1) with the consent of the owners of 

15 undivided interests equal to at least 50 percent 

16 of the undivided interest in the tract. 

17 ‘‘(B) INTEREST OWNED BY TRIBE.—Inter18 ests owned by an Indian tribe in a tract may 

19 be included in the computation of the percent20 age of ownership of the undivided interests in 

21 that tract for purposes of determining whether 

22 the consent requirement under subparagraph 

23 (A) has been met.’’; 

24 (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub25 section (c); and 
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1 (3) in subsection (c) (as redesignated by para2 graph (2))— 

3 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

4 (i) in subparagraph (G)(ii)(I), by 

5 striking ‘‘a higher valuation of the land’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘a value of the land that is 

7 equal to or greater than that of the earlier 

8 appraisal’’; and 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (I)(iii)— 

10 (I) in subclause (III), by insert11 ing ‘‘(if any)’’ after ‘‘this section’’; 

12 and 

13 (II) in subclause (IV)— 

14 (aa) in item (aa), by striking 

15 ‘‘less’’ and inserting ‘‘more’’; and 

16 (bb) in item (bb), by strik17 ing ‘‘to implement this section’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘under paragraph 

19 (5)’’; and 

20 (B) in paragraph (5), in the second sen21 tence, by striking ‘‘shall’’ and inserting ‘‘may’’. 

22 SEC. 3. TRIBAL PROBATE CODES. 

23 Section 206 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act 

24 (25 U.S.C. 2205) is amended— 
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1 (1) in subsection (b)(3), by striking subpara2 graph (A) and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) the date that is 1 year after the date 

4 on which the Secretary makes the certification 

5 required under section 8(a)(4) of the American 

6 Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 

7 2201 note; Public Law 108–374); or’’; and 

8 (2) in subsection (c)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘sec10 tion’’ and all that follows through ‘‘the Indian 

11 tribe’’ and inserting ‘‘section 207(b)(2)(A)(ii), 

12 the Indian tribe’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (2)(A)(i)(II)(bb), by in14 serting ‘‘in writing’’ after ‘‘agrees’’. 

15 SEC. 4. DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 207 of the Indian Land 

17 Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating subsections (h) through (p) 

19 as subsections (g) through (o), respectively; 

20 (2) in subsection (g) (as redesignated by para21 graph (1))— 

22 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (i) by inserting ‘‘specifically’’ after 

24 ‘‘pertains’’; and 
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1 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 

2 inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(B) the allotted land (or any interest re4 lating to such land) of 1 or more specific Indian 

5 tribes expressly identified in Federal law, in6 cluding any of the Federal laws governing the 

7 probate or determination of heirs associated 

8 with, or otherwise relating to, the land, interest 

9 in land, or other interests or assets that are 

10 owned by individuals in— 

11 ‘‘(i) Five Civilized Tribes restricted 

12 fee status; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) Osage Tribe restricted fee sta14 tus.’’; and 

15 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF SUBSECTION.—Except to the 

17 extent that this Act otherwise affects the application 

18 of a Federal law described in paragraph (2), nothing 

19 in this subsection limits the application of this Act 

20 to trust or restricted land, interests in such land, or 

21 any other trust or restricted interests or assets.’’; 

22 (3) in subsection (h) (as redesignated by para23 graph (1))— 

24 (A) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘(25 

25 U.S.C. 2205)’’; and 
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1 (B) in paragraph (7), by inserting ‘‘in 

2 trust or restricted status’’ after ‘‘testator’’; 

3 (4) in subsection (j) (as redesignated by para4 graph (1))— 

5 (A) in paragraph (2)(A)— 

6 (i) in clause (ii)(I), by striking ‘‘the 

7 date of enactment of this subparagraph’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘the date that is 1 year after 

9 the date on which the Secretary publishes 

10 a notice of certification under section 

11 8(a)(4) of the American Indian Probate 

12 Reform Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 2201 note; 

13 Public Law 108–374)’’; and 

14 (ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘the 

15 provisions of section 207(a)(2)(A)’’ and in16 serting ‘‘subsection (a)(2)(A)’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (8)(D), by striking ‘‘the 

18 provisions of section 207(a)(2)(D) (25 U.S.C. 

19 2206(a)(2)(D))’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

20 (a)(2)(D)’’; and 

21 (C) in paragraph (9)(C)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘section 207(e) (25 

23 U.S.C. 2206(e))’’ and inserting ‘‘sub24 section (e)’’; and 
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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘section 207(p) (25 

2 U.S.C. 2206(p))’’ and inserting ‘‘sub3 section (o)’’; and 

4 (5) in subsection (o) (as redesignated by para5 graph (1))— 

6 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

7 (i) in the matter preceding subpara8 graph (A), by striking ‘‘section 

9 207(a)(2)(A) or (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub10 paragraph (A) or (D) of subsection 

11 (a)(2)’’; and 

12 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

13 ‘‘section 207(b)(1)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub14 section (b)(1)(A)’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘sec16 tion 207(a)(2)(A) or (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub17 paragraph (A) or (D) of subsection (a)(2)’’; and 

18 (C) in paragraph (6)— 

19 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

20 ‘‘Proceeds’’ and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Proceeds’’; and 

22 (ii) by striking the second sentence 

23 and inserting the following: 

24 ‘‘(B) HOLDING IN TRUST.—Proceeds de25 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be deposited 
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1 and held in an account as trust personalty if 

2 the interest sold would otherwise pass to— 

3 ‘‘(i) the heir, by intestate succession 

4 under subsection (a); or 

5 ‘‘(ii) the devisee in trust or restricted 

6 status under subsection (b)(1).’’. 

7 (b) NONTESTAMENTARY DISPOSITION.—Section 

8 207(a)(2)(D)(iv)(I)(aa) of the Indian Land Consolidation 

9 Act (25 U.S.C. 2206(a)(2)(D)(iv)(I)(aa)) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘clause (iii)’’ and inserting ‘‘this 

11 subparagraph’’; and 

12 (2) in subitem (BB), by striking ‘‘any co13 owner’’ and inserting ‘‘not more than 1 co-owner’’. 

14 (c) JOINT TENANCY; RIGHT OF SURVIVORSHIP.— 

15 Section 207(c) of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 

16 U.S.C. 2206(c)) is amended by striking the subsection 

17 heading and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(c) JOINT TENANCY; RIGHT OF SURVIVOR19 SHIP.—’’. 

20 (d) ESTATE PLANNING ASSISTANCE.—Section 

21 207(f)(3) of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 

22 U.S.C. 2206(f)(3)) is amended in the matter preceding 

23 subparagraph (A) by inserting ‘‘, including noncompetitive 

24 grants,’’ after ‘‘grants’’. 
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1 SEC. 5. FRACTIONAL INTEREST ACQUISITION PROGRAM. 

2 Section 213 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act 

3 (25 U.S.C. 2212) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking the section heading and insert5 ing the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 213. FRACTIONAL INTEREST ACQUISITION PRO7 GRAM.’’; 

8 and 

9 (2) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘(25 

10 U.S.C. 2206(p))’’. 

11 SEC. 6. ESTABLISHING FAIR MARKET VALUE. 

12 Section 215 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act 

13 (25 U.S.C. 2214) is amended by striking the last sentence 

14 and inserting the following: ‘‘Such a system may govern 

15 the amounts offered for the purchase of interests in trust 

16 or restricted land under this Act.’’. 

17 SEC. 7. LAND OWNERSHIP INFORMATION. 

18 Section 217(e) of the Indian Land Consolidation Act 

19 (25 U.S.C. 2216(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘be made 

20 available to’’ and inserting ‘‘be made available to—’’. 

21 SEC. 8. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

22 (a) PROBATE REFORM.—The American Indian Pro23 bate Reform Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 2201 note; Public 

24 Law 108–374) is amended— 

25 (1) in section 4, by striking ‘‘(as amended by 

26 section 6(a)(2))’’; and 
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1 (2) in section 9, by striking ‘‘section 

2 205(d)(2)(I)(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

3 205(c)(2)(I)(i) of the Indian Land Consolidation Act 

4 (25 U.S.C. 2204(c)(2)(I)(i))’’. 

5 (b) TRANSFER AND EXCHANGE OF LAND.—Section 

6 4 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 464) is amended 

7 to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 4. TRANSFER AND EXCHANGE OF RESTRICTED IN9 DIAN LAND AND SHARES OF INDIAN TRIBES 

10 AND CORPORATIONS. 

11 ‘‘(a) APPROVAL.—Except as provided in this section, 

12 no sale, devise, gift, exchange, or other transfer of re13 stricted Indian land or shares in the assets of an Indian 

14 tribe or corporation organized under this Act shall be 

15 made or approved. 

16 ‘‘(b) TRANSFER TO INDIAN TRIBE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Land or shares described 

18 in subsection (a) may be sold, devised, or otherwise 

19 transferred to the Indian tribe on the reservation of 

20 which the land is located, or in the corporation of 

21 which the shares are held or were derived (or a suc22 cessor of such a corporation), with the approval of 

23 the Secretary of the Interior. 

24 ‘‘(2) DESCENT AND DEVISE.—Land and shares 

25 transferred under paragraph (1) shall descend or be 
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1 devised to any member of the Indian tribe or cor2 poration (or an heir of such a member) in accord3 ance with the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 

4 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.), including a tribal probate code 

5 approved under that Act (including regulations). 

6 ‘‘(c) VOLUNTARY EXCHANGES.—The Secretary of the 

7 Interior may authorize a voluntary exchange of land or 

8 shares described in subsection (a) that the Secretary de9 termines to be of equal value if the Secretary determines 

10 that the exchange is— 

11 ‘‘(1) expedient; 

12 ‘‘(2) beneficial for, or compatible with, achiev13 ing proper consolidation of Indian land; and 

14 ‘‘(3) for the benefit of cooperative organiza15 tions.’’. 

16 SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

17 The amendments made by this Act shall be effective 

18 as if included in the American Indian Probate Reform Act 

19 of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 2201 note; Public Law 108–374). 

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