I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2689 
To prescribe procedures for effective consultation and coordination by Federal 
agencies with federally recognized Indian Tribes regarding Federal Gov-
ernment activities that impact Tribal lands and interests to ensure that 
meaningful Tribal input is an integral part of the Federal decision- 
making process. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 25, 2017 
Mr. GRIJALVA (for himself and Mrs. TORRES) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To prescribe procedures for effective consultation and coordi-
nation by Federal agencies with federally recognized In-
dian Tribes regarding Federal Government activities that 
impact Tribal lands and interests to ensure that mean-
ingful Tribal input is an integral part of the Federal 
decision-making process. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Requirements, Expectations, and Standard Procedures 
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for Executive Consultation with Tribes Act’’ or the ‘‘RE-
SPECT Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. 
Sec. 3. Sense of Congress. 
Sec. 4. Definitions. 
TITLE I—CONSULTATION PROCEDURE 
Sec. 101. Requirement for consultation. 
Sec. 102. Timing. 
Sec. 103. Scoping stage consultation. 
Sec. 104. Decision stage procedures. 
Sec. 105. Documentation and reporting. 
Sec. 106. Implementation. 
Sec. 107. Sensitive Tribal information. 
TITLE II—TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY 
Sec. 201. Tribal sovereignty. 
TITLE III—INDIAN TRIBAL WAIVERS 
Sec. 301. Indian Tribal waivers. 
TITLE IV—JUDICIAL REVIEW 
Sec. 401. Judicial review. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that— 
(1) the United States has a unique, legally af-
firmed government-to-government relationship with 
Indian Tribal Governments as set forth in the Con-
stitution of the United States, treaties, statutes, Ex-
ecutive orders, and court decisions; 
(2) the United States recognizes the right of In-
dian Tribes to self-government and supports Tribal 
sovereignty and self-determination; 
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(3) the United States, through treaties, stat-
utes, and historical relations, has defined a unique 
trust relationship and responsibility to protect and 
support Indian Tribes and Indians; 
(4) owing to this trust relationship, the United 
States has a responsibility to consult with Indian 
Tribes on a government-to-government basis when 
formulating policies and undertaking activities that 
may have impacts on Tribal lands and interests; 
(5) procedures for such consultation should be 
designed and structured to give Indian Tribes oppor-
tunities to provide meaningful, informed input 
throughout the development and decision-making 
processes; 
(6) increasing Federal and Tribal capacities for 
effective consultation while building institutional 
knowledge fosters greater efficiency and benefits for 
future projects; 
(7) the consultation process should be institu-
tionalized according to best practices that are de-
signed and administered by the agency and that ful-
fill the legal requirements mandated by this Act; 
(8) consulting with Indian Tribes during the 
formulation of long-term management plans reduces 
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the likelihood of project delays and increases the ef-
ficiency of project implementations; and 
(9) effective consultation demands ongoing, re-
spectful communication between agencies and Indian 
Tribes. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to establish and support a process of reg-
ular, meaningful consultation and collaboration with 
Indian Tribes in the development of Federal policies 
and the initiation of Federal activities that impact 
Tribal lands and interests; 
(2) to strengthen the United States govern-
ment-to-government 
relationships 
with 
Indian 
Tribes; 
(3) to establish minimum standard procedures 
to ensure the above goals are achieved; and 
(4) to recognize Tribal regulatory authority and 
jurisdiction generally, and specifically through the 
waiver process. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of the Congress that— 
(1) consultation constitutes more than simply 
notifying an Indian Tribe about a planned under-
taking; 
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(2) effective, meaningful consultation requires a 
two-way exchange of information, a willingness to 
listen, an attempt to understand and genuinely con-
sider each other’s opinions, beliefs, and desired out-
comes, and a seeking of agreement on how to pro-
ceed concerning the issues at hand; and 
(3) consultation can be considered effective and 
meaningful when each party demonstrates a genuine 
commitment to learn, acknowledge, and respect the 
positions, perspectives, and concerns of the other 
parties. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of this Act: 
(1) ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘activity’’ means any 
agency regulation, rulemaking, policy, guidance, leg-
islative proposal, grant funding formula change, or 
operational activity that may have a substantial di-
rect effect on an Indian Tribe on matters includ-
ing— 
(A) Tribal cultural practices, lands, re-
sources, or access to traditional areas of cul-
tural or religious importance on federally man-
aged land; 
(B) the ability of an Indian Tribe to gov-
ern or provide services to its members; 
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(C) an Indian Tribe’s formal relationship 
with the agency; or 
(D) the consideration of the agency’s trust 
responsibilities to Indian Tribes. 
(2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means any 
authority of the United States that is an ‘‘agency’’ 
under section 3502(1) of title 44, United States 
Code. 
(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 
has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 
Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 
(4) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—The term 
‘‘memorandum of agreement’’ means a document 
that records the terms and conditions agreed upon 
by an agency and an Indian Tribe through the con-
sultation process regarding an activity, including any 
measures to be taken to resolve or mitigate adverse 
impacts on the Indian Tribe. 
(5) NEW
DISCOVERY.—The term ‘‘new dis-
covery’’ means any unexpected development that oc-
curs during the course of an activity, such as the 
discovery of a new archeological site, unanticipated 
impacts on organisms or ecosystems, or the realiza-
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tion of unintended consequences of a new regulation, 
that may have impacts on Tribal lands and interests. 
(6) SACRED
SITE.—The term ‘‘sacred site’’ 
means any specific, discrete, narrowly delineated lo-
cation on Federal land that is identified by an In-
dian Tribe— 
(A) as sacred by virtue of its established 
religious significance to, or ceremonial use by, 
an Indian religion; or 
(B) to be of established cultural signifi-
cance. 
(7) STANDARD PROCESS.—The term ‘‘standard 
process’’ means a streamlined process for agency-In-
dian Tribe interaction agreed to by both parties 
through consultation and certified in a memorandum 
of agreement that applies to certain specified activi-
ties or limited categories of activities. 
TITLE I—CONSULTATION 
PROCEDURE 
SEC. 101. REQUIREMENT FOR CONSULTATION. 
(a) SCOPE.—Agencies shall have an accountable 
process to ensure meaningful and timely input by Indian 
Tribes and Tribal officials prior to undertaking any activ-
ity that may have substantial direct impacts on the lands 
or interests of one or more Indian Tribes, on the relation-
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ship between the Federal Government and Indian Tribes, 
or on the distribution of power and responsibilities be-
tween the Federal Government and Indian Tribes. Con-
sultation with Indian Tribes shall occur for all activities 
that would affect any part of any Federal land that shares 
a border with Indian country as defined in section 1151 
of title 18, United States Code, but is not limited to activi-
ties on such lands. 
(b) MULTIAGENCY ACTIVITIES.—In the case of agen-
cy-drafted proposed legislation, the drafting agency, and 
any other agency that will be implementing the legislation, 
shall each be considered involved in the activity. If more 
than one agency is involved in an activity, some or all of 
the agencies may designate a lead agency, which shall ful-
fill their collective consultation responsibilities. Those 
agencies that do not designate a lead agency shall remain 
individually responsible for their consultation responsibil-
ities under this Act. 
(c) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this Act shall exempt 
an agency from additional consultation required under any 
other law or from taking any other consultative actions 
as required by any other law or agency prerogative in addi-
tion to those required by this Act. Nor does it preclude 
an agency from additional consultation that complies with 
agency regulations for consultation, advances agency con-
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sultation practices, or supports agency efforts to build or 
strengthen government-to-government relationships with 
Indian Tribes. 
(d) TEMPORARY WAIVER.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The agency may temporarily 
waive the requirements of this title in all or any por-
tion of any emergency area during all or any portion 
of an emergency period. 
(2) DURATION OF WAIVER.—A temporary waiv-
er under this subsection shall end upon the termi-
nation of the applicable emergency period. 
(3) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this 
subsection— 
(A) the term ‘‘emergency area’’ means a 
geographical area in which there exists an 
emergency or disaster declared by the President 
pursuant to the National Emergencies Act 
(Public Law 94–412) or the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(Public Law 93–288); and 
(B) the term ‘‘emergency period’’ means 
the period during which there exists an emer-
gency or disaster declared by the President pur-
suant to the National Emergencies Act (Public 
Law 94–412) or the Robert T. Stafford Dis-
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aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(Public Law 93–288). 
SEC. 102. TIMING. 
Consultation under sections 103 and 104 shall be 
completed before any Federal funds are expended for the 
activity and before the issuance of any license other than 
for funding nondestructive project planning activities. 
SEC. 103. SCOPING STAGE CONSULTATION. 
(a) PLANNING DOCUMENT.—As early as possible in 
the planning stage of an activity, the agency shall compile 
a draft of the scope of the project, including any geo-
graphic areas important to Indian Tribes that might be 
affected and any other anticipated Tribal impacts. The 
agency shall make a good faith effort to include areas that 
contain sites important to Indian Tribes whether or not 
such sites are explicitly known to the agency. 
(b) INITIAL CONSULTATION CONTACT.—The agen-
cy— 
(1) shall send, via United States mail and, if 
possible, email, a copy of the planning document and 
a letter requesting consultation meetings to the rel-
evant Tribal Government officials, including the 
Tribal leader and all members of any elected Tribal 
governing body, relevant Tribal governmental agen-
cies (including the Tribal Historic Preservation Offi-
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cer or cultural resource manager), and relevant non- 
Tribal stakeholders (including the State Historic 
Preservation Officer and local governments that 
have jurisdiction on any affected land via agreement 
with the agency); 
(2) at the request of an affected Indian Tribe, 
shall send, via United States mail and, if possible, 
email, a copy of the planning document and a letter 
requesting consultation meetings to nongovern-
mental Tribal stakeholders, such as elders councils 
and religious leaders; 
(3) shall not request consultation with non-
governmental Tribal stakeholders without the writ-
ten consent of the affected Indian Tribe; and 
(4) shall follow up with phone calls to confirm 
receipt of the documents by all intended recipients. 
(c) CONSULTATION MEETING ARRANGEMENTS.—The 
agency shall negotiate with the affected Indian Tribes to 
determine the time, place, agenda, travel funds, facilitator, 
format, and goals of a consultation meeting. The agency 
shall keep thorough documentation of all steps taken to 
contact and engage the affected Indian Tribes in consulta-
tion. If, after a good faith effort, the agency fails to en-
gage the affected Indian Tribes, it may terminate its 
scoping stage consultation efforts by providing all con-
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