H. R. 4833—6
retary with the full and active participation of the Indian tribes
with trust funds held by the Secretary and other affected Indian
tribes.
(b) EFFECT.—The lack of promulgated regulations shall not
limit the effect of this title.
TITLE III—SPECIAL TRUSTEE FOR
AMERICAN INDIANS
SEC. 301. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this title are—
(1) to provide for more effective management of, and
accountability for the proper discharge of, the Secretary’s trust
responsibilities to Indian tribes and individual Indians by
establishing in the Department of the Interior an Office of
Special Trustee for American Indians to oversee and coordinate
reforms within the Department of practices relating to the
management and discharge of such responsibilities;
(2) to ensure that reform of such practices in the Depart-
ment is carried out in a unified manner and that reforms
of the policies, practices, procedures and systems of the Bureau,
Minerals Management Service, and Bureau of Land Manage-
ment, which carry out such trust responsibilities, are effective,
consistent, and integrated; and
(3) to ensure the implementation of all reforms necessary
for the proper discharge of the Secretary’s trust responsibilities
to Indian tribes and individual Indians.
SEC. 302. OFFICE OF SPECIAL TRUSTEE FOR AMERICAN INDIANS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established within the
Department of the Interior the Office of Special Trustee for Amer-
ican Indians. The Office shall be headed by the Special Trustee
who shall report directly to the Secretary.
(b) SPECIAL TRUSTEE.—
(1) APPOINTMENT.—The Special Trustee shall be appointed
by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, from among individuals who possess demonstrated abil-
ity in general management of large governmental or business
entities and particular knowledge of trust fund management,
management of financial institutions, and the investment of
large sums of money.
(2) COMPENSATION.—The Special Trustee shall be paid at
a rate determined by the Secretary to be appropriate for the
position, but not less than the rate of basic pay payable at
Level II of the Executive Schedule under section 5313 of title
5, United States Code.
(c) TERMINATION OF OFFICE.—
(1) CONDITIONED
UPON
IMPLEMENTATION
OF
REFORMS.—
The Special Trustee, in proposing a termination date under
section 303(a)(2)(C), shall ensure continuation of the Office
until all reforms identified in the strategic plan have been
implemented to the satisfaction of the Special Trustee.
(2) 30-DAY NOTICE.—Thirty days prior to the termination
date proposed in the plan submitted under this section, the
Special Trustee shall notify the Secretary and the Congress
in writing of the progress in implementing the reforms identi-
H. R. 4833—7
fied in the plan. The Special Trustee, at that time, may rec-
ommend the continuation, or the permanent establishment,
of the Office if the Special Trustee concludes that continuation
or permanent establishment is necessary for the efficient dis-
charge of the Secretary’s trust responsibilities.
(3) TERMINATION DATE.—The Office shall terminate 180
legislative days after the date on which the notice to the Con-
gress under paragraph (2) is provided, unless the Congress
extends the authorities of the Special Trustee. For the purposes
of this section, a legislative day is a day on which either
House of the Congress is in session.
SEC. 303. AUTHORITIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE SPECIAL TRUSTEE.
(a) COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PLAN.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Special Trustee shall prepare and,
after consultation with Indian tribes and appropriate Indian
organizations, submit to the Secretary and the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, within one year
after the initial appointment is made under section 302(b),
a comprehensive strategic plan for all phases of the trust
management business cycle that will ensure proper and efficient
discharge of the Secretary’s trust responsibilities to Indian
tribes and individual Indians in compliance with this Act.
(2) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—The plan prepared under para-
graph (1) shall include the following:
(A) Identification of all reforms to the policies, proce-
dures, practices and systems of the Department, the
Bureau, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Min-
erals Management Service necessary to ensure the proper
and efficient discharge of the Secretary’s trust responsibil-
ities in compliance with this Act.
(B) Provisions for opportunities for Indian tribes to
assist in the management of their trust accounts and to
identify for the Secretary options for the investment of
their trust accounts, in a manner consistent with the trust
responsibilities of the Secretary, in ways that will help
promote economic development in their communities.
(C) A timetable for implementing the reforms identified
in the plan, including a date for the proposed termination
of the Office.
(b) DUTIES.—
(1) GENERAL OVERSIGHT OF REFORM EFFORTS.—The Special
Trustee shall oversee all reform efforts within the Bureau,
the Bureau of Land Management, and the Minerals Manage-
ment Service relating to the trust responsibilities of the Sec-
retary to ensure the establishment of policies, procedures, sys-
tems and practices to allow the Secretary to discharge his
trust responsibilities in compliance with this Act.
(2) BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS.—
(A) MONITOR RECONCILIATION OF TRUST ACCOUNTS.—
The Special Trustee shall monitor the reconciliation of
tribal and Individual Indian Money trust accounts to
ensure that the Bureau provides the account holders, with
a fair and accurate accounting of all trust accounts.
(B) INVESTMENTS.—The Special Trustee shall ensure
that the Bureau establishes appropriate policies and proce-
H. R. 4833—8
dures, and develops necessary systems, that will allow
it—
(i) properly to account for and invest, as well as
maximize, in a manner consistent with the statutory
restrictions imposed on the Secretary’s investment
options, the return on the investment of all trust fund
monies, and
(ii) to prepare accurate and timely reports to
account holders (and others, as required) on a periodic
basis regarding all collections, disbursements, invest-
ments, and return on investments related to their
accounts.
(C) OWNERSHIP AND LEASE DATA.—The Special Trustee
shall ensure that the Bureau establishes policies and prac-
tices to maintain complete, accurate, and timely data
regarding the ownership and lease of Indian lands.
(3) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT.—The Special Trustee
shall ensure that the Bureau of Land Management establishes
policies and practices adequate to enforce compliance with Fed-
eral requirements for drilling, production, accountability,
environmental protection, and safety with respect to the lease
of Indian lands.
(4) MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE.—The Special Trustee
shall ensure that the Minerals Management Service establishes
policies and practices to enforce compliance by lessees of Indian
lands with all requirements for timely and accurate reporting
of production and payment of lease royalties and other reve-
nues, including the audit of leases to ensure that lessees are
accurately reporting production levels and calculating royalty
payments.
(c) COORDINATION OF POLICIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Special Trustee shall ensure that—
(A) the policies, procedures, practices, and systems of
the Bureau, the Bureau of Land Management, and the
Minerals Management Service related to the discharge of
the Secretary’s trust responsibilities are coordinated,
consistent, and integrated, and
(B) the Department prepares comprehensive and
coordinated written policies and procedures for each phase
of the trust management business cycle.
(2) STANDARDIZED PROCEDURES.—The Special Trustee shall
ensure that the Bureau imposes standardized trust fund
accounting procedures throughout the Bureau.
(3) INTEGRATION OF LEDGER WITH INVESTMENT SYSTEM.—
The Special Trustee shall ensure that the trust fund invest-
ment, general ledger, and subsidiary accounting systems of
the Bureau are integrated and that they are adequate to sup-
port the trust fund investment needs of the Bureau.
(4) INTEGRATION OF LAND RECORDS, TRUST FUNDS ACCOUNT-
ING, AND ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AMONG AGENCIES.—The
Special Trustee shall ensure that—
(A) the land records system of the Bureau interfaces
with the trust fund accounting system, and
(B) the asset management systems of the Minerals
Management Service and the Bureau of Land Management
interface with the appropriate asset management and
H. R. 4833—9
accounting systems of the Bureau, including ensuring
that—
(i) the Minerals Management Service establishes
policies and procedures that will allow it to properly
collect, account for, and disburse to the Bureau all
royalties and other revenues generated by production
from leases on Indian lands; and
(ii) the Bureau of Land Management and the
Bureau provide Indian landholders with accurate and
timely reports on a periodic basis that cover all trans-
actions related to leases of Indian resources.
(5) TRUST MANAGEMENT PROGRAM BUDGET.—
(A) DEVELOPMENT
AND
SUBMISSION.—The Special
Trustee shall develop for each fiscal year, with the advice
of program managers of each office within the Bureau
of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management and Min-
erals Management Service that participates in trust
management, including the management of trust funds
or natural resources, or which is charged with any respon-
sibility under the comprehensive strategic plan prepared
under subsection (a) of this section, a consolidated Trust
Management program budget proposal that would enable
the Secretary to efficiently and effectively discharge his
trust responsibilities and to implement the comprehensive
strategic plan, and shall submit such budget proposal to
the Secretary, the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget, and to the Congress.
(B) DUTY OF CERTAIN PROGRAM MANAGERS.—Each pro-
gram manager participating in trust management or
charged with responsibilities under the comprehensive
strategic plans shall transmit his office’s budget request
to the Special Trustee at the same time as such request
is submitted to his superiors (and before submission to
the Office of Management and Budget) in the preparation
of the budget of the President submitted to the Congress
under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code.
(C) 
CERTIFICATION
OF
ADEQUACY
OF
BUDGET
REQUEST.—The Special Trustee shall—
(i) review each budget request submitted under
subparagraph (B);
(ii) certify in writing as to the adequacy of such
request to discharge, effectively and efficiently, the
Secretary’s trust responsibilities and to implement the
comprehensive strategic plan; and
(iii) notify the program manager of the Special
Trustee’s certification under clause (ii).
(D) MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS.—The Special Trustee
shall maintain records of certifications made under para-
graph (3)(B).
(E) LIMITATION ON REPROGRAMMING OR TRANSFER.—
No program manager shall submit, and no official of the
Department of the Interior may approve or otherwise
authorize, a reprogramming or transfer request with
respect to any funds appropriated for trust management
which is included in the Trust Management Program
Budget unless such request has been approved by the
Special Trustee.