II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1586

To reduce the fractionated ownership of Indian lands, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 15, 1999

Mr. CAMPBELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

A BILL

To reduce the fractionated ownership of Indian lands, 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 ‘‘Indian Land Consoli5 dation Act Amendments of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) in the 1800’s and early 1900’s, the United

9 States sought to assimilate Indian people into the

10 surrounding non-Indian culture by allotting tribal

11 lands to individual members of Indian tribes;
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1 (2) many trust allotments were taken out of

2 trust status and sold by their Indian owners;

3 (3) the trust periods for trust allotments have

4 been extended indefinitely;

5 (4) because of the inheritance provisions in the

6 original treaties or allotment Acts, the ownership of

7 many of the trust allotments that have remained in

8 trust status has become fractionated into hundreds

9 or thousands of interests, many of which represent

10 2 percent or less of the total interests;

11 (5) Congress has authorized the acquisition of

12 lands in trust for individual Indians, and many of

13 those lands have also become fractionated by subse14 quent inheritance;

15 (6) the acquisitions referred to in paragraph (5)

16 continue to be made;

17 (7) the fractional interests described in this sec18 tion provide little or no return to the beneficial own19 ers of those interests and the administrative costs

20 borne by the United States for those interests are

21 inordinate;

22 (8) substantial numbers of fractional interests

23 of 2 percent or less of a total interest in trust or re24 stricted lands have escheated to Indian tribes under
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1 section 207 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act

2 (25 U.S.C. 2206), which was enacted in 1983;

3 (9) in Babbit v. Youpee (117 S Ct. 727

4 (1997)), the United States Supreme Court found

5 that the application of section 207 of the Indian

6 Land Consolidation Act to the facts presented in

7 that case to be unconstitutional;

8 (10) in the absence of remedial legislation, the

9 number of the fractional interests will continue to

10 grow; and

11 (11) the problem of the fractionation of Indian

12 lands described in this section is the result of a pol13 icy of the Federal Government, cannot be solved by

14 Indian tribes, and requires a solution under Federal

15 law.

16 SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF POLICY.

17 It is the policy of the United States—

18 (1) to prevent the further fractionation of trust

19 allotments made to Indians;

20 (2) to consolidate fractional interests and own21 ership of those interests into usable parcels;

22 (3) to consolidate fractional interests in a man23 ner that enhances tribal sovereignty; and

24 (4) to promote tribal self-sufficiency and self25 determination.
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1 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIAN LAND CONSOLIDA2 TION ACT.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Indian Land Consolidation

4 Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is amended—

5 (1) in section 202—

6 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(1)

7 ‘tribe’ ’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) ‘Indian tribe’ or

8 ‘tribe’ ’’;

9 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert10 ing the following:

11 ‘‘(2) ‘Indian’ means any person who is a mem12 ber of an Indian tribe or is eligible to become a

13 member of an Indian tribe at the time of the dis14 tribution of the assets of a decedent’s estate;’’;

15 (C) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para16 graph (3);

17 (D) by striking the period at the end of

18 paragraph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

19 (E) by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(5) ‘heirs of the first or second degree’ means

21 parents, children, grandchildren, grandparents,

22 brothers and sisters of a decedent.’’;

23 (2) by amending section 203 to read as follows:

24 ‘‘SEC. 203. OTHER APPLICABLE PROVISIONS.

25 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), sec26 tions 5 and 7 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly
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1 known as the ‘Indian Reorganization Act’) (48 Stat. 985

2 et seq., chapter 576; 25 U.S.C. 465 and 467) shall apply

3 to all Indian tribes, notwithstanding section 18 of that Act

4 (25 U.S.C. 478).

5 ‘‘(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec6 tion is intended to supersede any other provision of Fed7 eral law which authorizes, prohibits, or restricts the acqui8 sition of land or the creation of reservations for Indians

9 with respect to any specific Indian tribe, reservation, or

10 State.’’;

11 (3) in section 205—

12 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph

13 (1)—

14 (i) by striking ‘‘Any Indian’’ and in15 serting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to

16 subsection (b), any Indian’’;

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘per centum of the un18 divided interest in such tract’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘percent of the individual interests in

20 such tract. Interests owned by an Indian

21 tribe in a tract may be included in the

22 computation of the percentage of owner23 ship of the undivided interests in that tract

24 for purposes of determining whether the
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1 consent requirement under the preceding

2 sentence has been met.’’;

3 (iii) by striking ‘‘: Provided, That—’’;

4 and inserting the following:

5 ‘‘(b) CONDITIONS APPLICABLE TO PURCHASE.—Sub6 section (a) applies on the conditions that—’’;

7 (B) in paragraph (2)—

8 (i) by striking ‘‘If,’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘if’’; and

10 (ii) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; and

11 (C) by striking paragraph (3) and insert12 ing the following:

13 ‘‘(3) the approval of the Secretary shall be re14 quired for a land sale initiated under this section,

15 except that such approval shall not be required with

16 respect to a land sale transaction initiated by an In17 dian tribe that has in effect a land consolidation

18 plan that has been approved by the Secretary under

19 section 204.’’;

20 (4) by striking section 206 and inserting the

21 following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 206. DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF TRUST OR RE2 STRICTED LANDS; TRIBAL ORDINANCE BAR3 RING NONMEMBERS OF AN INDIAN TRIBE

4 FROM INHERITANCE BY DEVISE OR DE5 SCENT.

6 ‘‘(a) TRIBAL PROBATE CODES.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

8 provision of law, any Indian tribe may adopt a tribal

9 probate code to govern descent and distribution of

10 trust or restricted lands that are—

11 ‘‘(A) located within that Indian tribe’s res12 ervation; or

13 ‘‘(B) otherwise subject to the jurisdiction

14 of that Indian tribe.

15 ‘‘(2) CODES.—A tribal probate code referred to

16 in paragraph (1) may provide that, notwithstanding

17 section 207, only members of the Indian tribe shall

18 be entitled to receive by devise or descent any inter19 est in trust or restricted lands within that Indian

20 tribe’s reservation or otherwise subject to that In21 dian tribe’s jurisdiction.

22 ‘‘(b) SECRETARIAL APPROVAL.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any tribal probate code en24 acted under subsection (a), and any amendment to

25 such a tribal probate code, shall be subject to the

26 approval of the Secretary.
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1 ‘‘(2) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each Indian tribe

3 that adopts a tribal probate code under sub4 section (a) shall submit that code to the Sec5 retary for review. Not later than 180 days after

6 a tribal probate code is submitted to the Sec7 retary under this paragraph, the Secretary shall

8 review and approve or disapprove that tribal

9 probate code.

10 ‘‘(B) CONSEQUENCE OF FAILURES TO AP11 PROVE OR DISAPPROVE A TRIBAL PROBATE

12 CODE.—If the Secretary fails to approve or dis13 approve a tribal probate code submitted for re14 view under subparagraph (A) by the date speci15 fied in that subparagraph, the tribal probate

16 code shall be deemed to have been approved by

17 the Secretary, but only to the extent that the

18 tribal probate code is consistent with Federal

19 law.

20 ‘‘(C) CONSISTENCY OF TRIBAL PROBATE

21 CODE WITH THIS ACT.—The Secretary may not

22 approve a tribal probate code under this para23 graph unless the Secretary determines that the

24 tribal probate code is consistent with this Act.
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1 ‘‘(D) EXPLANATION.—If the Secretary dis2 approves a tribal probate code under this para3 graph, the Secretary shall include in a notice of

4 the disapproval to the Indian tribe a written ex5 planation of the reasons for the disapproval.

6 ‘‘(E) AMENDMENTS.—

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each Indian tribe

8 that amends a tribal probate code under

9 this paragraph shall submit the amend10 ment to the Secretary for review and ap11 proval. Not later than 60 days after receiv12 ing an amendment under this subpara13 graph, the Secretary shall review and ap14 prove or disapprove the amendment.

15 ‘‘(ii) CONSEQUENCE OF FAILURE TO

16 APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE AN AMEND17 MENT.—If the Secretary fails to approve

18 or disapprove an amendment submitted

19 under clause (i), the amendment shall be

20 deemed to have been approved by the Sec21 retary, but only to the extent that the

22 amendment is consistent with Federal law.

23 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE DATES.—A tribal probate code

24 or amendment approved under paragraph (2) shall

25 become effective on the later of—
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1 ‘‘(A) the date specified in section

2 207(e)(1); or

3 ‘‘(B) 180 days after the date of approval.

4 ‘‘(4) LIMITATIONS.—

5 ‘‘(A) TRIBAL PROBATE CODES.—Each trib6 al probate code enacted under subsection (a)

7 shall apply only to the estate of a decedent who

8 dies on or after the effective date of the tribal

9 probate code.

10 ‘‘(B) AMENDMENTS TO TRIBAL PROBATE

11 CODES.—With respect to an amendment to a

12 tribal probate code referred to in subparagraph

13 (A), that amendment shall apply only to the es14 tate of a descendant who dies on or after the

15 effective date of the amendment.

16 ‘‘(5) REPEALS.—The repeal of a tribal probate

17 code shall—

18 ‘‘(A) not become effective earlier than the

19 date that is 180 days after the Secretary re20 ceives notice of the repeal; and

21 ‘‘(B) apply only to the estate of a decedent

22 who dies on or after the effective date of the re23 peal.

24 ‘‘(c) USE OF PROPOSED FINDINGS BY TRIBAL JUS25 TICE SYSTEMS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) TRIBAL JUSTICE SYSTEM DEFINED.—In

2 this subsection, the term ‘tribal justice system’ has

3 the meaning given that term in section 3 of the In4 dian Tribal Justice Act (25 U.S.C. 3602).

5 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall pro6 mulgate regulations concerning the use of proposed

7 findings of fact and conclusions of law, as rendered

8 by a tribal justice system, in the adjudication of pro9 bate proceedings by the Department of the Interior.

10 ‘‘(d) LIFE ESTATES FOR NON-INDIAN SPOUSES AND

11 CHILDREN WHO WOULD OTHERWISE BE PRECLUDED

12 FROM INHERITING BY REASON OF THE OPERATION OF

13 A TRIBAL PROBATE CODE.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) shall apply

15 with respect to a non-Indian spouse or child of an

16 Indian decedent, if that decedent is subject to a trib17 al probate code that has been approved by the Sec18 retary (or deemed approved) under subsection (b)

19 and—

20 ‘‘(A) dies intestate; and

21 ‘‘(B) has devised an interest in trust or re22 stricted lands to that non-Indian spouse or

23 child, which the spouse or child is otherwise

24 prohibited from inheriting by reason of that

25 tribal probate code.
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1 ‘‘(2) LIFE ESTATES.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A surviving non-In3 dian spouse or child of the decedent described

4 in paragraph (1) may elect to receive a life es5 tate in the portion of the trust or restricted

6 lands to which that individual would have been

7 entitled under the tribal probate code, if that

8 individual were an Indian.

9 ‘‘(B) REMAINDER OF INTEREST.—If a

10 non-Indian spouse or child elects to receive a

11 life estate described in subparagraph (A), the

12 remainder of the interest of the Indian decedent

13 shall vest in the Indians who would otherwise

14 have been heirs, but for that spouse’s or child’s

15 election to receive a life estate.’’;

16 (5) by striking section 207 and inserting the

17 following:

18 ‘‘SEC. 207. DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION; ESCHEAT OF

19 FRACTIONAL INTERESTS.

20 ‘‘(a) DESCENT AND DISTRIBUTION.—Except as pro21 vided in this section, interests in trust or restricted lands

22 may descend by testate or intestate succession only to—

23 ‘‘(1) the decedent’s heirs-at-law or relatives

24 within the first and second degree;
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1 ‘‘(2) a person who owns a preexisting interest

2 in the same parcel of land conveyed by the decedent;

3 ‘‘(3) members of the Indian tribe with jurisdic4 tion over the lands devised; or

5 ‘‘(4) the Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the

6 lands devised.

7 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE.—A decedent that does not have

8 a relative who meets the description under subsection

9 (a)(1) or a relative who is a member described in sub10 section (a)(3) may devise that decedent’s estate or any

11 asset of that estate to any relative.

12 ‘‘(c) DEVISE OF INTERESTS IN THE SAME PARCEL

13 TO MORE THAN 1 PERSON.—

14 ‘‘(1) JOINT TENANCY WITH RIGHT OF SURVI15 VORSHIP.—If a testator devises interests in the same

16 parcel of trust or restricted land to more than 1 per17 son, in the absence of express language in the devise

18 to the contrary, the devise shall be presumed to cre19 ate a joint tenancy with right of survivorship.

20 ‘‘(2) ESTATES PASSING BY INTESTATE SUCCES21 SION.—With respect to an estate passing by intes22 tate succession, only a spouse and heirs of the first

23 or second degree may inherit an interest in trust or

24 restricted lands.
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1 ‘‘(3) ESCHEAT.—If no individual is eligible to

2 receive an interest in trust or restricted lands, the

3 interest shall escheat to the Indian tribe having ju4 risdiction over the trust or restricted lands, subject

5 to any life estate that may be created under section

6 206(d).

7 ‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION TO INDIAN TRIBES.—Not

8 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of

9 the Indian Land Consolidation Act Amendments of

10 1999, the Secretary shall, to the extent that the Sec11 retary considers to be practicable, notify Indian

12 tribes and individual landowners of the amendments

13 made by the Indian Land Consolidation Act Amend14 ments of 1999. The notice shall list estate planning

15 options available to the owners.

16 ‘‘(5) DESCENT OF OFF-RESERVATION LANDS.—

17 ‘‘(A) INDIAN RESERVATION DEFINED.—

18 For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘In19 dian reservation’ includes lands located

20 within—

21 ‘‘(i) Oklahoma; and

22 ‘‘(ii) the boundaries of an Indian

23 tribe’s former reservation (as defined and

24 determined by the Secretary).
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1 ‘‘(B) DESCENT.—Upon the death of an in2 dividual holding an interest in trust or re3 stricted lands that are located outside the

4 boundaries of an Indian reservation and that

5 are not subject to the jurisdiction of any Indian

6 tribe, that interest shall descend either—

7 ‘‘(A) by testate or intestate succession in

8 trust to an Indian; or

9 ‘‘(B) in fee status to any other devises or

10 heirs.

11 ‘‘(6) NOTICE TO INDIANS.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

13 provide notice to each Indian that has an inter14 est in trust or restricted lands of that interest.

15 The notice shall specify that if such interest is

16 in 2 percent or less of the total acreage in a

17 parcel of trust or restricted lands, that interest

18 may escheat to the Indian tribe of that Indian.

19 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Subsections (a) and

20 (d) shall not apply to the probate of any inter21 est in trust or restricted lands of an Indian de22 cedent if the Secretary failed to provide notice

23 under subparagraph (A) to that individual be24 fore the date that is 180 days before the death

25 of the decedent.
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1 ‘‘(d) ESCHEATABLE FRACTIONAL INTERESTS.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection

3 (a), no undivided interest which represents 2 percent

4 or less of the total acreage in a parcel of trust or

5 restricted land shall pass by intestacy.

6 ‘‘(2) ESCHEAT.—An undivided interest referred

7 to in paragraph (1) shall escheat—

8 ‘‘(A) to the Indian tribe on whose reserva9 tion the interest is located; or

10 ‘‘(B) if that interest is located outside of a

11 reservation, to the recognized tribal government

12 possessing jurisdiction over the land.’’; and

13 (6) by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘SEC. 213. ACQUISITION OF FRACTIONAL INTERESTS.

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may acquire, in

16 the discretion of the Secretary, with the consent of its

17 owner and at fair market value, any fractional interest in

18 trust or restricted lands. The Secretary shall give priority

19 to the acquisition of fractional interests representing 2

20 percent or less of a parcel of trust or restricted land. The

21 Secretary shall hold in trust for the Indian tribe that has

22 jurisdiction over the fractional interest in trust or re23 stricted lands the title of all interests acquired under this

24 section.
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1 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM OF ACQUISITION.—Any Indian tribe

2 that has in effect a consolidation plan that has been ap3 proved by the Secretary under section 204 may request

4 the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the Indian

5 tribe to implement a program to acquire fractional inter6 ests, as authorized by subsection (a) using funds appro7 priated pursuant to this Act.

8 ‘‘SEC. 214. ADMINISTRATION OF ACQUIRED FRACTIONAL

9 INTERESTS, DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the conditions de11 scribed in subsection (b)(1), an Indian tribe receiving a

12 fractional interest under section 207 or 213 may, as a ten13 ant in common with the other owners of the trust or re14 stricted lands, lease the interest, sell the resources, con15 sent to the granting of rights-of-way, or engage in any

16 other transaction affecting the trust or restricted land au17 thorized by law.

18 ‘‘(b) CONDITIONS.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The conditions described in

20 this paragraph are as follows:

21 ‘‘(A) Until the purchase price paid by the

22 Secretary for the interest referred to in sub23 section (a) has been recovered, any lease, re24 source sale contract, right-of-way, or other

25 transaction affecting the document providing
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1 for the disposition of the interest under that

2 subsection shall contain a clause providing that

3 all revenue derived from the interest shall be

4 paid to the Secretary.

5 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall deposit any rev6 enue derived from interest paid under subpara7 graph (A) in the Acquisition Fund created

8 under section 216.

9 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall deposit any rev10 enue derived from the interest that is paid

11 under subparagraph (A) that is in an amount

12 in excess of the purchase price of the fractional

13 interest involved to the credit of the Indian

14 tribe that receives the fractional interest under

15 section 213.

16 ‘‘(D) Notwithstanding any other provision

17 of law, including section 16 of the Act of June

18 18, 1934 (commonly referred to as the ‘Indian

19 Reorganization Act’) (48 Stat. 987, chapter

20 576; 25 U.S.C. 476), during such time as an

21 Indian tribe is a tenant in common with indi22 vidual Indian landowners on land acquired

23 under section 207 or 213, the Indian tribe may

24 not refuse to enter into any transaction covered

25 under this section if landowners owning a ma-
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1 jority of the undivided interests in the parcel

2 consent to the transaction.

3 ‘‘(E) If the Indian tribe does not consent

4 to enter into a transaction referred to in sub5 paragraph (D), the Secretary may consent on

6 behalf of the Indian tribe.

7 ‘‘(F) For leases of allotted land that are

8 authorized to be granted by the Secretary, the

9 Indian tribe shall be treated as if the Indian

10 tribe were an individual Indian landowner.

11 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1)(A) shall not

12 apply to any revenue derived from an interest in a

13 parcel of land acquired by the Secretary under sec14 tion after an amount equal to the purchase price of

15 that interest in land has been paid into the Acquisi16 tion Fund created under section 216.

17 ‘‘SEC. 215. ESTABLISHING FAIR MARKET VALUE.

18 ‘‘For the purposes of this Act, the Secretary may de19 velop a reservation-wide system (or system for another ap20 propriate geographical unit) for establishing the fair mar21 ket value of various types of lands and improvements.

22 That system may govern the amounts offered for the pur23 chase of interests in trust or restricted lands under section

24 213.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 216. ACQUISITION FUND.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish an

3 Acquisition Fund to—

4 ‘‘(1) disburse appropriations authorized to ac5 complish the purposes of section 213; and

6 ‘‘(2) collect all revenues received from the lease,

7 permit, or sale of resources from interests in trust

8 or restricted lands transferred to Indian tribes by

9 the Secretary under section 213.

10 ‘‘(b) DEPOSITS; USE.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

12 all proceeds from leases, permits, or resource sales

13 derived from an interest in trust or restricted lands

14 described in subsection (a)(2) shall—

15 ‘‘(A) be deposited in the Acquisition Fund;

16 and

17 ‘‘(B) as specified in advance in appropria18 tions Acts, be available for the purpose of ac19 quiring additional fractional interests in trust

20 or restricted lands.

21 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM DEPOSITS OF PROCEEDS.—With

22 respect to the deposit of proceeds derived from an

23 interest under paragraph (1), the aggregate amount

24 deposited under that paragraph shall not exceed the

25 purchase price of that interest under section 213.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 217. DETERMINATION OF RESERVATION BOUND2 ARIES AND TRIBAL JURISDICTION.

3 ‘‘(a) DETERMINATION OF JURISDICTION.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall deter5 mine whether a parcel of land is—

6 ‘‘(A) within an Indian reservation; or

7 ‘‘(B) otherwise subject to an Indian tribe’s

8 jurisdiction.

9 ‘‘(2) REVIEW.—The United States District

10 Court for the district where land that is subject to

11 a determination under paragraph (1) is located may

12 review the determination under chapter 7 of title 5,

13 United States Code.

14 ‘‘(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act

15 may be construed to affect section 2409a of title 28,

16 United States Code.

17 ‘‘SEC. 218. TRUST AND RESTRICTED LAND TRANSACTIONS.

18 ‘‘(a) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States

19 to encourage and assist the consolidation of land owner20 ship through transactions involving individual Indians in

21 a manner consistent with the policy of maintaining the

22 trust status of allotted lands.

23 ‘‘(b) VALUATION OF SALES AND EXCHANGES.—Not24 withstanding any other provision of law—
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1 ‘‘(1) the sale of an interest in trust or restricted

2 land may be made for an amount that is less than

3 the fair market value of that interest; and

4 ‘‘(2) the exchange of an interest in trust or re5 stricted lands may be made for an interest of a value

6 less than the fair market value of the interest in

7 those lands.

8 ‘‘(c) STATUS OF LANDS.—The sale or exchange of

9 an interest in trust or restricted land under this section

10 shall not affect the status of that land as trust or re11 stricted land.

12 ‘‘(d) GIFT DEEDS.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual owner of an

14 interest in trust or restricted land may convey that

15 interest by gift deed to—

16 ‘‘(A) an individual Indian who is a member

17 of the Indian tribe that exercises jurisdiction

18 over the land;

19 ‘‘(B) the Indian tribe that exercises juris20 diction over that land; or

21 ‘‘(C) any other person whom the Secretary

22 determines may hold the land in trust or re23 stricted status.
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1 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—With respect to any gift

2 deed conveyed under this section, the Secretary shall

3 not require an appraisal.

4 ‘‘SEC. 219. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the date that is

6 3 years after the date of enactment of the Indian Land

7 Consolidation Act Amendments of 1999, and annually

8 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report

9 that indicates, for the period covered by the report—

10 ‘‘(1) the number of fractional interests in trust

11 or restricted lands acquired; and

12 ‘‘(2) the impact of the resulting reduction in

13 the number of such fractional interests on the finan14 cial and realty recordkeeping systems of the Bureau

15 of Indian Affairs.

16 ‘‘(b) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEGISLATION.—The

17 Secretary, after consultation with the Indian tribes, shall

18 make recommendations for such legislation as is necessary

19 to make further reductions in the fractional interests re20 ferred to in subsection (a).

21 ‘‘SEC. 220. APPROVAL OF LEASES, RIGHTS-OF-WAY, AND

22 SALES OF NATURAL RESOURCES.

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may approve any

24 lease, right-of-way, sale of natural resources, or any other
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1 transaction affecting individually owned trust or restricted

2 lands that requires approval by the Secretary, if—

3 ‘‘(1) the owners of a majority interest in the

4 trust or restricted lands consent to the transaction;

5 and

6 ‘‘(2) the Secretary determines that approval of

7 the transaction is in the best interest of the Indian

8 owners.

9 ‘‘(b) BINDING TRANSACTIONS.—Upon the approval

10 of a transaction referred to in subsection (a), the trans11 action shall be binding upon the owners of the minority

12 interests in the trust or restricted land, and all other par13 ties to the transaction to the same extent as if all of the

14 Indian owners had consented to the transaction.

15 ‘‘SEC. 221. REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING NON16 TRUST LANDS.

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro18 vision of law, any Indian tribe may on the same basis as

19 any other person, buy, sell, mortgage, or otherwise acquire

20 or dispose of lands or interests in land described in sub21 section (b), without an Act of Congress or the approval

22 of the Secretary.

23 ‘‘(b) LANDS.—Lands described in this subsection are

24 lands that are—
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1 ‘‘(1) acquired after the date of enactment of the

2 Indian Land Consolidation Act Amendments of

3 1999; and

4 ‘‘(2) not held in trust or subject to a pre5 existing Federal restriction on alienation imposed by

6 the United States.

7 ‘‘(c) NO LIABILITY ON PART OF THE UNITED

8 STATES.—The disposition of lands described in subsection

9 (b) shall create no liability on the part of the United

10 States.’’.

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.—

12 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE OF AMENDMENTS TO SEC13 TION 207 OF THE INDIAN LAND CONSOLIDATION

14 ACT.—Except with respect to the notification under

15 section 207(c) (4) and (6) of the Indian Land Con16 solidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2206(c) (4) and (6)), the

17 amendments made by subsection (a) to section 207

18 of the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C.

19 2206) shall become effective on the date that is 2

20 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

21 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made

22 by subsection (a) to section 207 of the Indian Land

23 Consolidation Act shall apply only to the estates of

24 decedents that die on or after the date specified in

25 paragraph (1).
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1 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

3 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

Æ