I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 205 
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 6, 2011 
Mr. HEINRICH (for himself, Mrs. BONO MACK, and Mrs. LUMMIS) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To amend the Act titled ‘‘An Act to authorize the leasing 
of restricted Indian lands for public, religious, edu-
cational, recreational, residential, business, and other 
purposes requiring the grant of long-term leases’’, ap-
proved August 9, 1955, to provide for Indian tribes 
to enter into certain leases without prior express approval 
from the Secretary of the Interior. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jan 12, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H205.IH
H205
smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helping Expedite and 
Advance Responsible Tribal Home ownership Act of 
2011’’ or the ‘‘HEARTH Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. APPROVAL OF, AND REGULATIONS RELATED TO, 
TRIBAL LEASES. 
The first section of the Act titled ‘‘An Act to author-
ize the leasing of restricted Indian lands for public, reli-
gious, educational, recreational, residential, business, and 
other purposes requiring the grant of long-term leases’’, 
approved August 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415), is amended 
as follows: 
(1) In subsection (d)— 
(A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘the 
Navajo Nation’’ and inserting ‘‘an applicable 
Indian tribe’’; 
(B) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘the 
Navajo Nation’’ and inserting ‘‘an Indian 
tribe’’; 
(C) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon at the end; 
(D) in paragraph (8)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘the Navajo Nation’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘with Navajo Nation 
law’’ and inserting ‘‘with applicable tribal 
law’’; and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jan 12, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H205.IH
H205
smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
(iii) by striking the period at the end 
and inserting a semicolon; and 
(E) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(9) the term ‘Indian tribe’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 102 of the Federally Rec-
ognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 
479a); and 
‘‘(10) the term ‘individually owned allotted 
land’ means a parcel of land that— 
‘‘(A)(i) is located within the jurisdiction of 
an Indian tribe; or 
‘‘(ii) is held in trust or restricted status by 
the United States for the benefit of an Indian 
tribe or a member of an Indian tribe; and 
‘‘(B) is allotted to a member of an Indian 
tribe.’’. 
(2) By adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(h) TRIBAL APPROVAL OF LEASES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion of any In-
dian tribe, any lease by the Indian tribe for the pur-
poses authorized under subsection (a) (including any 
amendments to subsection (a)), except a lease for 
the exploration, development, or extraction of any 
mineral resources, shall not require the approval of 
the Secretary, if the lease is executed under the trib-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jan 12, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H205.IH
H205
smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
al regulations approved by the Secretary under this 
subsection and the term of the lease does not ex-
ceed— 
‘‘(A) in the case of a business or agricul-
tural lease, 25 years, except that any such lease 
may include an option to renew for up to 2 ad-
ditional terms, each of which may not exceed 25 
years; and 
‘‘(B) in the case of a lease for public, reli-
gious, educational, recreational, or residential 
purposes, 75 years, if such a term is provided 
for by the regulations issued by the Indian 
tribe. 
‘‘(2) ALLOTTED
LAND.—Paragraph (1) shall 
not apply to any lease of individually owned Indian 
allotted land. 
‘‘(3) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OVER TRIBAL 
REGULATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
have the authority to approve or disapprove any 
tribal regulations issued in accordance with 
paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS FOR APPROVAL.— 
The Secretary shall approve any tribal regula-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jan 12, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H205.IH
H205
smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
tion issued in accordance with paragraph (1), if 
the tribal regulations— 
‘‘(i) are consistent with any regula-
tions issued by the Secretary under sub-
section (a) (including any amendments to 
the subsection or regulations); and 
‘‘(ii) provide for an environmental re-
view process that includes— 
‘‘(I) the identification and eval-
uation of any significant effects of the 
proposed action on the environment; 
and 
‘‘(II) a process for ensuring 
that— 
‘‘(aa) the public is informed 
of, and has a reasonable oppor-
tunity to comment on, any sig-
nificant environmental impacts of 
the proposed action identified by 
the Indian tribe; and 
‘‘(bb) the Indian tribe pro-
vides responses to relevant and 
substantive public comments on 
any such impacts before the In-
dian tribe approves the lease. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jan 12, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H205.IH
H205
smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(4) REVIEW PROCESS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 120 
days after the date on which the tribal regula-
tions described in paragraph (1) are submitted 
to the Secretary, the Secretary shall review and 
approve or disapprove the regulations. 
‘‘(B) WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION.—If the 
Secretary disapproves the tribal regulations de-
scribed in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall in-
clude written documentation with the dis-
approval notification that describes the basis for 
the disapproval. 
‘‘(C) EXTENSION.—The deadline described 
in subparagraph (A) may be extended by the 
Secretary, after consultation with the Indian 
tribe. 
‘‘(5) FEDERAL
ENVIRONMENTAL
REVIEW.— 
Notwithstanding paragraphs (3) and (4), if an In-
dian tribe carries out a project or activity funded by 
a Federal agency, the Indian tribe shall have the au-
thority to rely on the environmental review process 
of the applicable Federal agency rather than any 
tribal environmental review process under this sub-
section. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jan 12, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H205.IH
H205
smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(6) DOCUMENTATION.—If an Indian tribe exe-
cutes a lease pursuant to tribal regulations under 
paragraph (1), the Indian tribe shall provide the 
Secretary with— 
‘‘(A) a copy of the lease, including any 
amendments or renewals to the lease; and 
‘‘(B) in the case of tribal regulations or a 
lease that allows for lease payments to be made 
directly to the Indian tribe, documentation of 
the lease payments that are sufficient to enable 
the Secretary to discharge the trust responsi-
bility of the United States under paragraph (7). 
‘‘(7) TRUST RESPONSIBILITY.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The United States 
shall not be liable for losses sustained by any 
party to a lease executed pursuant to tribal reg-
ulations under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—Pursu-
ant to the authority of the Secretary to fulfill 
the trust obligation of the United States to the 
applicable Indian tribe under Federal law (in-
cluding regulations), the Secretary may, upon 
reasonable notice from the applicable Indian 
tribe and at the discretion of the Secretary, en-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jan 12, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H205.IH
H205
smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
force the provisions of, or cancel, any lease exe-
cuted by the Indian tribe under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(8) COMPLIANCE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An interested party, 
after exhausting of any applicable tribal rem-
edies, may submit a petition to the Secretary, 
at such time and in such form as the Secretary 
determines to be appropriate, to review the 
compliance of the applicable Indian tribe with 
any tribal regulations approved by the Sec-
retary under this subsection. 
‘‘(B) VIOLATIONS.—If, after carrying out 
a review under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 
determines that the tribal regulations were vio-
lated, the Secretary may take any action the 
Secretary determines to be necessary to remedy 
the violation, including rescinding the approval 
of the tribal regulations and reassuming respon-
sibility for the approval of leases of tribal trust 
lands. 
‘‘(C) DOCUMENTATION.—If the Secretary 
determines that a violation of the tribal regula-
tions has occurred and a remedy is necessary, 
the Secretary shall— 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jan 12, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H205.IH
H205
smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(i) make a written determination 
with respect to the regulations that have 
been violated; 
‘‘(ii) provide the applicable Indian 
tribe with a written notice of the alleged 
violation together with such written deter-
mination; and 
‘‘(iii) prior to the exercise of any rem-
edy, the rescission of the approval of the 
regulation involved, or the reassumption of 
lease approval responsibilities, provide the 
applicable Indian tribe with— 
‘‘(I) a hearing that is on the 
record; and 
‘‘(II) a reasonable opportunity to 
cure the alleged violation. 
‘‘(9) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub-
section shall affect subsection (e) or any tribal regu-
lations issued under that subsection.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jan 12, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H205.IH
H205
smartinez on DSKB9S0YB1PROD with BILLS