II 

Calendar No. 719 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3235 

To amend the Act titled ‘‘An Act to authorize the leasing of restricted 

Indian lands for public, religious, educational, recreational, residential, 

business, and other purposes requiring the grant of long-term leases’’, 

approved August 9, 1955, to provide for Indian tribes to enter into 

certain leases without prior express approval from the Secretary of the 

Interior. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 20, 2010 

Mr. DORGAN (for himself, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. TESTER, Mr. UDALL of New 

Mexico, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. BINGAMAN, and Mr. DODD) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

DECEMBER 20, 2010 

Reported by Mr. DORGAN, with an amendment 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend the Act titled ‘‘An Act to authorize the leasing 

of restricted Indian lands for public, religious, educational, recreational, residential, business, and other 

purposes requiring the grant of long-term leases’’, approved August 9, 1955, to provide for Indian tribes 

to enter into certain leases without prior express approval 

from the Secretary of the Interior. 


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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 ‘‘Helping Expedite and 

5 Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act of 2010’’ 

6 or the ‘‘HEARTH Act of 2010’’. 

7 SEC. 2. APPROVAL OF, AND REGULATIONS RELATED TO, 

8 TRIBAL LEASES. 

9 The first section of the Act titled ‘‘An Act to author10 ize the leasing of restricted Indian lands for public, reli11 gious, educational, recreational, residential, business, and 

12 other purposes requiring the grant of long-term leases’’, 

13 approved August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415) is amended as 

14 follows: 

15 (1) In subsection (d)— 

16 (A) by striking paragraph (2) and insert17 ing the following: 

18 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Indian tribe’ has the meaning 

19 given such term in section 102 of the Federally Rec20 ognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 

21 479a);’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

23 (i) in the matter preceding subpara24 graph (A), by striking ‘‘Navajo Indian’’; 


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

2 ‘‘the Navajo Nation’’ and inserting ‘‘an In3 dian tribe’’; 

4 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

5 ‘‘Navajo Indians or members of another 

6 Indian tribe’’ and inserting ‘‘an Indian 

7 tribe or a member of an Indian tribe’’; and 

8 (iv) in subparagraph (C)(i), by strik9 ing ‘‘Navajo Indian’’ and inserting ‘‘mem10 ber of an Indian tribe’’; 

11 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘the 

12 Navajo Nation’’ and inserting ‘‘an applicable 

13 Indian tribe’’; 

14 (D) by striking paragraph (5) and redesig15 nating paragraphs (6), (7), and (8) as para16 graphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively; 

17 (E) in paragraph (5) (as redesignated), by 

18 striking ‘‘the Navajo Nation’’ and inserting ‘‘an 

19 Indian tribe’’; and 

20 (F) in paragraph (7) (as redesignated)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘the Navajo Nation’’; 

22 and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘with Navajo Nation 

24 law’’ and inserting ‘‘with applicable tribal 

25 law’’. 


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1 (2) In subsection (e)— 

2 (A) by amending the subsection heading to 

3 read as follows: ‘‘APPROVAL OF LEASES—TRIB4 AL DISCRETION.—’’; 

5 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (i) in the matter preceding subpara7 graph (A), by striking ‘‘Any leases by the 

8 Navajo Nation’’ and inserting ‘‘At the dis9 cretion of any Indian tribe, any leases by 

10 the applicable Indian tribe’’; 

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘except a lease for the 

12 exploration, development, or extraction of 

13 any mineral resources,’’; and 

14 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

15 ‘‘Navajo Nation’’ and inserting ‘‘applicable 

16 Indian tribe’’; 

17 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Nav18 ajo’’; 

19 (D) in paragraph (3)— 

20 (i) in the second sentence, by insert21 ing ‘‘, similar to the process established by 

22 the Department of the Interior under the 

23 National Environmental Policy Act of 

24 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)’’ after 

25 ‘‘process’’; 


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1 (ii) in the third sentence, by striking 

2 ‘‘the regulations of the Navajo Nation’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘such regulations’’; and 

4 (iii) in the fifth sentence, by striking 

5 ‘‘with the Navajo Nation’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘with the applicable Indian tribe’’; 

7 (E) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘Navajo 

8 Nation’’ each place it appears and inserting 

9 ‘‘applicable Indian tribe’’; 

10 (F) in paragraph (5)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1), includ12 ing the Navajo Nation.’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘paragraph (1).’’; and 

14 (ii) by striking the second sentence 

15 and inserting ‘‘Pursuant to the Secretary’s 

16 authority to fulfill the trust obligation of 

17 the United States to the applicable Indian 

18 tribe as defined in other statutory or regu19 latory authorizations, the Secretary may, 

20 upon reasonable notice from the applicable 

21 Indian tribe and in the discretion of the 

22 Secretary, enforce the provisions of a lease 

23 or cancel a lease.’’; 

24 (G) in paragraph (6)(A)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘of the Navajo Nation’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘of the applicable Indian 

3 tribe’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘Navajo Nation tribal’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘tribal’’; and 

6 (H) in paragraph (6)(B), by striking 

7 ‘‘Navajo Nation’’ each place it appears and in8 serting ‘‘applicable Indian tribe’’. 

9 (A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘the Nav10 ajo Nation’’ and inserting ‘‘an applicable Indian 

11 tribe’’; 

12 (B) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘the Nav13 ajo Nation’’ and inserting ‘‘an Indian tribe’’; 

14 (C) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

15 after the semicolon at the end; 

16 (D) in paragraph (8)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘the Navajo Nation’’; 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘with Navajo Nation 

19 law’’ and inserting ‘‘with applicable tribal 

20 law’’; and 

21 (iii) by striking the period at the end 

22 and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

24 ‘‘(9) the term ‘Indian tribe’ has the meaning 

25 given such term in section 102 of the Federally RecogVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:43 Dec 21, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3235.RS S3235

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1 nized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 

2 479a); and 

3 ‘‘(10) the term ‘individually owned allotted land’ 

4 means a parcel of land that— 

5 ‘‘(A)(i) is located within the jurisdiction of 

6 an Indian tribe; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) is held in trust or restricted status by 

8 the United States for the benefit of an Indian 

9 tribe or a member of an Indian tribe; and 

10 ‘‘(B) is allotted to a member of an Indian 

11 tribe.’’. 

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

13 ‘‘(h) TRIBAL APPROVAL OF LEASES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion of any In15 dian tribe, any lease by the Indian tribe for the pur16 poses authorized under subsection (a) (including any 

17 amendments to subsection (a)), except a lease for the 

18 exploration, development, or extraction of any min19 eral resources, shall not require the approval of the 

20 Secretary, if the lease is executed under the tribal reg21 ulations approved by the Secretary under this sub22 section and the term of the lease does not exceed— 

23 ‘‘(A) in the case of a business or agricul24 tural lease, 25 years, except that any such lease 

25 may include an option to renew for up to 2 adVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:43 Dec 21, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3235.RS S3235

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1 ditional terms, each of which may not exceed 25 

2 years; and 

3 ‘‘(B) in the case of a lease for public, reli4 gious, educational, recreational, or residential 

5 purposes, 75 years, if such a term is provided for 

6 by the regulations issued by the Indian tribe. 

7 ‘‘(2) ALLOTTED LAND.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

8 apply to any lease of individually owned Indian al9 lotted land. 

10 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OVER TRIBAL

11 REGULATIONS.— 

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

13 have the authority to approve or disapprove any 

14 tribal regulations issued in accordance with 

15 paragraph (1). 

16 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS FOR APPROVAL.— 

17 The Secretary shall approve any tribal regula18 tion issued in accordance with paragraph (1), if 

19 the tribal regulations— 

20 ‘‘(i) are consistent with any regula21 tions issued by the Secretary under sub22 section (a) (including any amendments to 

23 the subsection or regulations); and 

24 ‘‘(ii) provide for an environmental re25 view process that includes— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the identification and evalua2 tion of any significant effects of the 

3 proposed action on the environment; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(II) a process for ensuring 

6 that— 

7 ‘‘(aa) the public is informed 

8 of, and has a reasonable oppor9 tunity to comment on, any sig10 nificant environmental impacts of 

11 the proposed action identified by 

12 the Indian tribe; and 

13 ‘‘(bb) the Indian tribe pro14 vides responses to relevant and 

15 substantive public comments on 

16 any such impacts before the In17 dian tribe approves the lease. 

18 ‘‘(4) REVIEW PROCESS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 

20 days after the date on which the tribal regula21 tions described in paragraph (1) are submitted 

22 to the Secretary, the Secretary shall review and 

23 approve or disapprove the regulations. 

24 ‘‘(B) WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION.—If the 

25 Secretary disapproves the tribal regulations deVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:43 Dec 21, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S3235.RS S3235

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1 scribed in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall in2 clude written documentation with the dis3 approval notification that describes the basis for 

4 the disapproval. 

5 ‘‘(C) EXTENSION.—The deadline described 

6 in subparagraph (A) may be extended by the 

7 Secretary, after consultation with the Indian 

8 tribe. 

9 ‘‘(5) FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—Not10 withstanding paragraphs (3) and (4), if an Indian 

11 tribe carries out a project or activity funded by a 

12 Federal agency, the Indian tribe shall have the au13 thority to rely on the environmental review process of 

14 the applicable Federal agency rather than any tribal 

15 environmental review process under this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(6) DOCUMENTATION.—If an Indian tribe exe17 cutes a lease pursuant to tribal regulations under 

18 paragraph (1), the Indian tribe shall provide the Sec19 retary with— 

20 ‘‘(A) a copy of the lease, including any 

21 amendments or renewals to the lease; and 

22 ‘‘(B) in the case of tribal regulations or a 

23 lease that allows for lease payments to be made 

24 directly to the Indian tribe, documentation of the 

25 lease payments that are sufficient to enable the 


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1 Secretary to discharge the trust responsibility of 

2 the United States under paragraph (7). 

3 ‘‘(7) TRUST RESPONSIBILITY.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The United States shall 

5 not be liable for losses sustained by any party to 

6 a lease executed pursuant to tribal regulations 

7 under paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—Pursu9 ant to the authority of the Secretary to fulfill the 

10 trust obligation of the United States to the appli11 cable Indian tribe under Federal law (including 

12 regulations), the Secretary may, upon reasonable 

13 notice from the applicable Indian tribe and at 

14 the discretion of the Secretary, enforce the provi15 sions of, or cancel, any lease executed by the In16 dian tribe under paragraph (1). 

17 ‘‘(8) COMPLIANCE.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An interested party, 

19 after exhausting of any applicable tribal rem20 edies, may submit a petition to the Secretary, at 

21 such time and in such form as the Secretary de22 termines to be appropriate, to review the compli23 ance of the applicable Indian tribe with any 

24 tribal regulations approved by the Secretary 

25 under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(B) VIOLATIONS.—If, after carrying out a 

2 review under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

3 determines that the tribal regulations were vio4 lated, the Secretary may take any action the 

5 Secretary determines to be necessary to remedy 

6 the violation, including rescinding the approval 

7 of the tribal regulations and reassuming respon8 sibility for the approval of leases of tribal trust 

9 lands. 

10 ‘‘(C) DOCUMENTATION.—If the Secretary 

11 determines that a violation of the tribal regula12 tions has occurred and a remedy is necessary, 

13 the Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(i) make a written determination 

15 with respect to the regulations that have 

16 been violated; 

17 ‘‘(ii) provide the applicable Indian 

18 tribe with a written notice of the alleged 

19 violation together with such written deter20 mination; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) prior to the exercise of any rem22 edy, the rescission of the approval of the 

23 regulation involved, or the reassumption of 

24 lease approval responsibilities, provide the 

25 applicable Indian tribe with— 


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1 ‘‘(I) a hearing that is on the 

2 record; and 

3 ‘‘(II) a reasonable opportunity to 

4 cure the alleged violation. 

5 ‘‘(9) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub6 section shall affect subsection (e) or any tribal regula7 tions issued under that subsection.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. LAND TITLE REPORTS—REVIEW AND REPORT TO 

9 CONGRESS. 

10 Not later than 180 days after funds are made avail11 able for this section, the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall 

12 prepare and submit to the Committees on Financial Serv13 ices and Natural Resources in the House of Representa14 tives and the Committees on Banking, Housing, and 

15 Urban Affairs and Indian Affairs in the Senate a report 

16 regarding the history and experience of Indian tribes that 

17 have chosen to assume responsibility for operating the In18 dian Land Title and Records Office (hereafter referred to 

19 as the ‘‘LTRO’’) functions from the Bureau of Indian Af20 fairs. In conducting the review, the Bureau of Indian Af21 fairs shall consult with the Department of Housing and 

22 Urban Development Office of Native American Programs 

23 and those Indian tribes that are managing LTRO func24 tions (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘managing Indian 


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1 tribes’’). The review shall include an analysis of the fol2 lowing factors: 

3 (1) Whether and how tribal management of the 

4 LTRO functions has expedited the processing and 

5 issuance of Indian land title certifications as com6 pared to when the Bureau of Indian Affairs man7 aged these programs. 

8 (2) Whether and how tribal management of the 

9 LTRO functions has increased home ownership 

10 among the managing Indian tribe’s population. 

11 (3) What internal preparations and processes 

12 were required of the managing Indian tribes prior to 

13 assuming management of the LTRO functions. 

14 (4) Whether tribal management of the LTRO 

15 functions resulting in a transfer of financial re16 sources and manpower from the Bureau of Indian 

17 Affairs to the managing Indian tribes and, if so, 

18 what transfers were undertaken. 

19 (5) Whether, in appropriate circumstances and 

20 with the approval of geographically proximate Indian 

21 tribes, the LTRO functions may be performed by a 

22 single Indian tribe or a tribal consortium in a cost 

23 effective manner. 


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Calendar No. 719 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3235 

A BILL 

To amend the Act titled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 

Secretary of the Interior. leases without prior express approval from the provide for Indian tribes to enter into certain long-term leases’’, approved August 9, 1955, to ness, and other purposes requiring the grant of gious, educational, recreational, residential, busileasing of restricted Indian lands for public, reliDECEMBER 20, 2010 

Reported with an amendment 


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