II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1322 

To amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to modify the authorized purposes 

and term period of tribal leases, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 26, 2023 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to modify the authorized purposes and term period of tribal leases, 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. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unlocking Native 

5 Lands and Opportunities for Commerce and Key Eco6 nomic Developments Act of 2023’’. 

7 SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF TRIBAL LEASES AND RIGHTS-OF8 WAY ACROSS INDIAN LAND. 

9 (a) EXTENSION OF TRIBAL LEASE PERIOD.—The 

10 first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (69 Stat. 539, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1322 IS

1 chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 415) (commonly known as the 

2 ‘‘Long-Term Leasing Act’’), is amended— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘That (a)’’ and all that follows 

4 through the end of subsection (a) and inserting the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘SECTION 1. LEASES OF RESTRICTED LAND. 

7 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZED PURPOSES; TERM; APPROVAL BY

8 SECRETARY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any restricted Indian 

10 lands, regardless of whether that land is tribally or 

11 individually owned, may be leased by the Indian 

12 owner of the land, with the approval of the Sec13 retary, for— 

14 ‘‘(A) a public, religious, educational, rec15 reational, residential, business, or grazing pur16 poses; or 

17 ‘‘(B) a farming purpose that requires the 

18 making of a substantial investment in the im19 provement of the land for the production of 1 

20 or more specialized crops as determined by the 

21 Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—A lease under paragraph 

23 (1) may include the development or use of natural 

24 resources in connection with operations under that 

25 lease. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1322 IS

1 ‘‘(3) TERM.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

3 subparagraph (B), a lease under paragraph (1) 

4 shall be for a term of not more than 99 years, 

5 including any renewals. 

6 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR GRAZING PUR7 POSES.—A lease under paragraph (1) for graz8 ing purposes may be for a term of not more 

9 than 10 years, including any renewals. 

10 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENT.—Each lease and renewal 

11 under this subsection shall be made in accordance 

12 with such terms and regulations as may be pre13 scribed by the Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(5) CONDITIONS FOR APPROVAL.—Before the 

15 approval of any lease or renewal of an existing lease 

16 pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary shall de17 termine that adequate consideration has been given 

18 to— 

19 ‘‘(A) relationship between the use of the 

20 leased lands and the use of neighboring land; 

21 ‘‘(B) the height, quality, and safety of any 

22 structures or other facilities to be constructed 

23 on the leased land; 

24 ‘‘(C) the availability of police and fire pro25 tection and other services on the leased land; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1322 IS

1 ‘‘(D) the availability of judicial forums for 

2 all criminal and civil causes of action arising on 

3 the leased land; and 

4 ‘‘(E) the effects on the environment of the 

5 uses to which the leased lands will be subject.’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘(b) Any lease’’ and insert8 ing the following: 

9 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR SECRETARY APPROVAL.—Any 

10 lease’’; 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘of the Interior’’ each 

12 place it appears; and 

13 (C) by striking ‘‘clause (3)’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘paragraph’’; 

15 (3) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), (c), 

16 and (d) as subsections (b), (c), (d), and (a), respec17 tively, and moving the subsections so as to appear 

18 in alphabetical order; and 

19 (4) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ each place it 

20 appears and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’. 

21 (b) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 2 of the Act 

22 of August 9, 1955 (69 Stat. 539, chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 

23 415a) (commonly known as the ‘‘Long-Term Leasing 

24 Act’’), is amended by inserting ‘‘of the Interior’’ after 

25 ‘‘Secretary’’ each place it appears. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1322 IS

1 (c) MODIFICATION OF RIGHTS-OF-WAY ACROSS IN2 DIAN LAND.—The first section of the Act of February 5, 

3 1948 (62 Stat. 17, chapter 45; 25 U.S.C. 323), is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘That the Secretary of the Inte6 rior be, and he is empowered to’’ and inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘SECTION 1. RIGHTS-OF-WAY FOR ALL PURPOSES ACROSS 

9 INDIAN LAND. 

10 ‘‘(a) RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—Except as provided in sub11 section (b), the Secretary of the Interior may’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—A right-of-way granted by an In14 dian tribe for the purposes authorized under this section 

15 shall not require the approval of the Secretary of the Inte16 rior, subject to the condition that— 

17 ‘‘(1) the right-of-way approval process by the 

18 Indian tribe substantially complies with subsection 

19 (h) of the first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 

20 (69 Stat. 539, chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 415(h)); or 

21 ‘‘(2) the Indian tribe has tribal regulations ap22 proved by the Secretary of the Interior under that 

23 subsection.’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS