Interior Improvement Act

To improve processes in the Department of the Interior, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Interior Improvement Act 2. Definitions (a) In general The first sentence of section 19 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the Indian Reorganization Act 25 U.S.C. 479 (1) by striking The term Effective beginning on June 18, 1934, the term (2) by striking any recognized Indian tribe now under Federal jurisdiction any federally recognized Indian tribe (b) Retroactive protection To the extent a trust acquisition by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the Indian Reorganization Act 25 U.S.C. 461 et seq. 3. Land acquisition applications The Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the Indian Reorganization Act 25 U.S.C. 465 5A. Land acquisition applications (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Applicant The term applicant Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 25 U.S.C. 450b (2) Application The term application (3) Contiguous The term contiguous (A) means 2 parcels of land having a common boundary, notwithstanding the existence of non-navigable waters or a public road or right-of-way; and (B) includes parcels that touch at a point. (4) Contiguous jurisdiction The term contiguous jurisdiction (5) County and county equivalent The terms county county equivalent (6) Department The term Department (7) Economic impact The term economic impact (8) Final decision The term final decision (9) Indian tribe The term Indian tribe 25 U.S.C. 450b (10) Secretary The term Secretary (b) Applications (1) In general An Indian tribe or individual Indian seeking to have off-reservation fee or restricted land taken into trust for the benefit of that Indian tribe or individual Indian shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as this section and the Secretary require. (2) Requirements The Secretary may approve complete applications described in paragraph (1) on a discretionary basis, subject to the condition that the application includes— (A) a written request for approval of a trust acquisition by the United States for the benefit of the applicant; (B) the legal name of the applicant, including, in the case of an applicant that is an Indian tribe, the tribal name of the applicant as the name appears in the list of recognized Indian tribes published by the Secretary in the Federal Register pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 ( 25 U.S.C. 479a–1 (C) a legal description of the land to be acquired; (D) a description of the need for the proposed acquisition of the property; (E) a description of the purpose for which the property is to be used; (F) a legal instrument to verify current ownership, such as a deed; (G) statutory authority for the proposed acquisition of the property; (H) a business plan for management of the land to be acquired, if the application is for business purposes; (I) the location of the land to be acquired relative to State and reservation boundaries; and (J) a copy of any cooperative agreement between the applicant and a contiguous jurisdiction. (3) Final decision After considering an application described in this subsection and in accordance with subsection (c) and any other applicable Federal law or regulation, a final decision to approve or deny the completed application shall be issued. (c) Statutory notice and comment requirements (1) Notice and comment requirements for initial applications (A) Notice (i) In general Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary receives an initial application, the Secretary shall make that application, whether complete or incomplete, available to the public on the website of the Department, subject to applicable Federal privacy laws. (ii) Additional notice requirement Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary receives an initial application, the Secretary shall provide by certified mail notice of the application to contiguous jurisdictions. (B) Comment Each contiguous jurisdiction notified under subparagraph (A)(ii) shall have not fewer than 30 days, beginning on the date that the contiguous jurisdiction receives the notice, to comment on that initial application. (2) Notice requirement for any application update, modification, or withdrawal (A) In general If at any time an application is updated, modified, or withdrawn, not later than 5 days after the date on which the Secretary receives notice of that update, modification, or withdrawal, the Secretary shall make that information available to the public on the website of the Department, subject to any applicable Federal privacy laws. (B) Inclusion If an application has been updated or modified in any way, the notice described in subparagraph (A) shall include a description of the changes made and the updated or modified application, whether complete or incomplete, available on the website of the Department, subject to any applicable Federal privacy laws. (3) Notice and comment requirements for completed applications (A) Notice (i) In general Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary receives a completed application, the Secretary shall make that application available to the public on the website of the Department, subject to any applicable Federal privacy laws. (ii) Additional notice requirements Not later than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary receives a completed application, the Secretary shall provide by certified mail notice of the application to contiguous jurisdictions. (iii) Publication in federal register Not later than 5 days after the date on which the Secretary receives a completed application, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register notice of the completed application. (B) Comment Contiguous jurisdictions shall have not fewer than 30 days, beginning on the date on which the contiguous jurisdiction receives notice under subparagraph (A)(ii), to comment on that completed application. (4) Notice of decision (A) In general Not later than 5 days after a final decision to approve or deny an application is issued, the Secretary shall issue a notice of decision and make the notice of decision available to the public on the website of the Department. (B) Publication in federal register Not later than 5 days after a final decision to approve or deny an application is issued, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register the notice of decision described in subparagraph (A). (d) Encouraging local cooperation (1) In general The Secretary shall encourage, but may not require, applicants to enter into cooperative agreements with contiguous jurisdictions. (2) Cooperative agreements (A) In general The Secretary shall give weight and preference to an application with a cooperative agreement described in paragraph (1). (B) Terms of agreement A cooperative agreement described in paragraph (1) may include terms relating to mitigation, changes in land use, dispute resolution, fees, and other terms determined by the parties to be appropriate. (C) Submission of cooperative agreement (i) In general If an applicant submits to the Secretary a cooperative agreement or multiple cooperative agreements executed between the applicant and contiguous jurisdictions, the Secretary shall issue a final decision to approve or deny a complete application not later than— (I) 60 days after the date of completion of the review process under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (II) if that review process is not applicable, 30 days after the date on which a complete application is received by the Secretary. (ii) Timeline Completion of the review process under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (I) the issuance of a categorical exclusion determination in accordance with section 6.204 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations); (II) an environmental assessment finding of no significant impact in accordance with section 6.206 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations); or (III) the issuance of a record of decision in accordance with section 6.208 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations). (iii) Effect of failure to issue timely final decision If the Secretary fails to issue a final decision by the date described in clause (i), the application shall be— (I) deemed approved on an automatic basis; and (II) treated as a final decision. (D) Cooperative agreement not submitted (i) In general If an applicant does not submit to the Secretary a cooperative agreement executed between the applicant and contiguous jurisdictions, the Secretary shall issue a written determination of mitigation by the date that is not later than 30 days after a complete application is received by the Secretary, which shall— (I) describe whether any economic impacts on contiguous jurisdictions have been mitigated to the extent practicable; and (II) explain the basis of that determination. (ii) Determination of mitigation The Secretary shall consider a determination of mitigation in making a final decision to approve or deny an application, but that determination shall not halt or unduly delay the regular processing of an application. (iii) Considerations In making a determination of mitigation described in clause (i), the Secretary shall take into consideration— (I) the anticipated economic impact of approving an application on contiguous jurisdictions; and (II) whether the absence of a cooperative agreement is attributable to the failure of any contiguous jurisdiction to work in good faith to reach an agreement with the applicant. (iv) Notice The Secretary shall provide by certified mail a copy of the determination of mitigation described in clause (i) to the applicant and contiguous jurisdictions not less than 5 days after a determination of mitigation is issued. (v) Good faith protection Failure to submit a cooperative agreement shall not prejudice an application if the Secretary determines that the failure to submit is attributable to the failure of any contiguous jurisdiction to work in good faith to reach an agreement. (3) Reciprocal notice and comment The Secretary shall also encourage contiguous jurisdictions to engage in local cooperation through reciprocal notice and comment procedures, particularly with regard to changes in land use. (e) Implementation (1) Consultation Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall initiate consultation with Indian tribes regarding the implementation of this section. (2) Summary Not later than 180 days after the date on which the consultation described in paragraph (1) is initiated, the Secretary shall issue a summary of the consultation and the summary shall be published in the Federal Register. (3) Rulemaking Not later than 60 days after the date on which the summary described in paragraph (2) is published in the Federal Register, the Secretary shall, through a rulemaking under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, modify existing regulations, guidance, rules, and policy statements, as necessary to carry out this section. (f) Judicial review (1) In general An applicant or contiguous jurisdiction may seek review of a final decision. (2) Administrative review An applicant or contiguous jurisdiction may seek review in a United States district court only after exhausting all available administrative remedies. . 4. Effect (a) Other land determinations Nothing in this Act (or an amendment made by this Act) impacts any other Federal Indian land determination. (b) Effect on other laws Nothing in this Act (or the amendments made by this Act) affects— (1) the application or effect of any Federal law other than the Act of June 18, 1934 ( 25 U.S.C. 461 et seq. (2) any limitation on the authority of the Secretary of the Interior under any Federal law or regulation other than the Act of June 18, 1934 ( 25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.

Summary: Interior Improvement Act (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Indian Reorganization Act to expand the definition of Indian to include members of Indian tribes that were federally recognized after June 18, 1934. Trust acquisitions by the Department of the Interior for tribes recognized after June 18, 1934, are ratified and confirmed. (Sec. 3) Indian tribes and individual Indians may apply to Interior to have off-reservation land taken into trust for the benefit of that tribe or individual. An application must include specified information, including a description of the need for the proposed acquisition and the purpose for which the property is to be used. Interior must publish these applications and notify jurisdictions contiguous to land included in an application. Interior must encourage applicants to enter into cooperative agreements with contiguous jurisdictions. An application with a cooperative agreement is automatically approved if Interior does not make a decision on the application within a specified number of days. In making a decision on an application that does not include a cooperative agreement, Interior must determine whether anticipated impacts on contiguous jurisdictions have been mitigated and consider whether contiguous jurisdictions failed to work in good faith to reach an agreement with the applicant.