Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 167 / Wednesday, September 1, 2021 / Notices 49053 

Development, Washington, DC 20240, 

paula.hart@bia.gov, (202) 219–4066. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 

section 11 of the Indian Gaming 

Regulatory Act (IGRA), Public Law 100– 

497, 25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq., the 

Secretary of the Interior shall publish in 

the Federal Register notice of approved 

Tribal-State compacts for the purpose of 

engaging in Class III gaming activities 

on Indian lands. As required by 25 CFR 

293.4, all compacts and amendments are 

subject to review and approval by the 

Secretary. The Compact authorizes the 

Tribe to engage in sports wagering at the 

Tribe’s class III gaming facility, updates 

the Compact to reflect this change in 

various sections, and incorporates 

Appendix S, Sports Wagering. The 

Amendment is approved. 

Bryan Newland, 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18814 Filed 8–31–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4337–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

[212A2100DD/AAKC001030/ 

A0A501010.999900253G] 

Indian Gaming; Approval of TribalState Class III Gaming Compact in the 

State of Washington 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice publishes the 

approval of Sixth Amendment to the 

Tribal-State Compact (Amendment) for 

Class III Gaming between the Puyallup 

Tribe of Indians (Tribe) and the State of 

Washington (State). 

DATES: The amendment takes effect on 

September 1, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Paula L. Hart, Director, Office of Indian 

Gaming, Office of the Deputy Assistant 

Secretary—Policy and Economic 

Development, Washington, DC 20240, 

paula.hart@bia.gov, (202) 219–4066. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under 

section 11 of the Indian Gaming 

Regulatory Act (IGRA), Public Law 100– 

497, 25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq., the 

Secretary of the Interior shall publish in 

the Federal Register notice of approved 

Tribal-State compacts for the purpose of 

engaging in Class III gaming activities 

on Indian lands. As required by 25 CFR 

293.4, all compacts and amendments are 

subject to review and approval by the 

Secretary. The Amendment authorizes 

the Tribe to engage in sports wagering 

at the Tribe’s class III gaming facility, 

updates the Compact to reflect this 

change in various sections, and 

incorporates Appendix S, Sports 

Wagering. The Amendment is approved. 

Bryan Newland, 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2021–18816 Filed 8–31–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4337–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

[212A2100DD/AAKC001030/ 

A0A501010.999900] 

HEARTH Act Approval of Table 

Mountain Rancheria Tribal Trust Lands 

Residential Lease Regulations 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Indian Affairs 

(BIA) approved the Table Mountain 

Rancheria Tribal Trust Lands 

Residential Lease Regulations under the 

Helping Expedite and Advance 

Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act 

of 2012 (HEARTH Act). With this 

approval, the Tribe is authorized to 

enter into residential leases without 

further BIA approval. 

DATES: BIA issued the approval on 

August 25, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Sharlene Round Face, Bureau of Indian 

Affairs, Division of Real Estate Services, 

1001 Indian School Road NW, 

Albuquerque, NM 87104, 

sharlene.roundface@bia.gov, (505) 563– 

3132. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Summary of the HEARTH Act 

The HEARTH Act makes a voluntary, 

alternative land leasing process 

available to Tribes, by amending the 

Indian Long-Term Leasing Act of 1955, 

25 U.S.C. 415. The HEARTH Act 

authorizes Tribes to negotiate and enter 

into business leases of Tribal trust lands 

with a primary term of 25 years, and up 

to two renewal terms of 25 years each, 

without the approval of the Secretary of 

the Interior (Secretary). The HEARTH 

Act also authorizes Tribes to enter into 

leases for residential, recreational, 

religious, or educational purposes for a 

primary term of up to 75 years without 

the approval of the Secretary. 

Participating Tribes develop Tribal 

leasing regulations, including an 

environmental review process, and then 

must obtain the Secretary’s approval of 

those regulations prior to entering into 

leases. The HEARTH Act requires the 

Secretary to approve Tribal regulations 

if the Tribal regulations are consistent 

with the Department of the Interior’s 

(Department) leasing regulations at 25 

CFR part 162 and provide for an 

environmental review process that 

meets requirements set forth in the 

HEARTH Act. This notice announces 

that the Secretary, through the Assistant 

Secretary—Indian Affairs, has approved 

the Tribal regulations for the Table 

Mountain Rancheria. 

II. Federal Preemption of State and 

Local Taxes 

The Department’s regulations 

governing the surface leasing of trust 

and restricted Indian lands specify that, 

subject to applicable Federal law, 

permanent improvements on leased 

land, leasehold or possessory interests, 

and activities under the lease are not 

subject to State and local taxation and 

may be subject to taxation by the Indian 

Tribe with jurisdiction. See 25 CFR 

162.017. As explained further in the 

preamble to the final regulations, the 

Federal government has a strong interest 

in promoting economic development, 

self-determination, and Tribal 

sovereignty. 77 FR 72440, 72447–48 

(December 5, 2012). The principles 

supporting the Federal preemption of 

State law in the field of Indian leasing 

and the taxation of lease-related 

interests and activities applies with 

equal force to leases entered into under 

Tribal leasing regulations approved by 

the Federal government pursuant to the 

HEARTH Act. 

Section 5 of the Indian Reorganization 

Act, 25 U.S.C. 5108, preempts State and 

local taxation of permanent 

improvements on trust land. 

Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis 

Reservation v. Thurston County, 724 

F.3d 1153, 1157 (9th Cir. 2013) (citing 

Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones, 411 

U.S. 145 (1973)). Similarly, section 5108 

preempts State taxation of rent 

payments by a lessee for leased trust 

lands, because ‘‘tax on the payment of 

rent is indistinguishable from an 

impermissible tax on the land.’’ See 

Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Stranburg, 

799 F.3d 1324, 1331, n.8 (11th Cir. 

2015). In addition, as explained in the 

preamble to the revised leasing 

regulations at 25 CFR part 162, Federal 

courts have applied a balancing test to 

determine whether State and local 

taxation of non-Indians on the 

reservation is preempted. White 

Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker, 448 

U.S. 136, 143 (1980). The Bracker 

balancing test, which is conducted 

against a backdrop of ‘‘traditional 

notions of Indian self-government,’’ 

requires a particularized examination of 


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