IIB 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 205 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
MAY 16, 2012 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 
AN ACT 
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, and for other pur-
poses. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helping Expedite and 
Advance Responsible Tribal Home Ownership Act of 
2012’’ or the ‘‘HEARTH Act of 2012’’. 
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’’; 
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(ii) by striking ‘‘with Navajo Nation 
law’’ and inserting ‘‘with applicable tribal 
law’’; and 
(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 
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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-
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). 
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‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS FOR APPROVAL.— 
The Secretary shall approve any tribal regula-
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 
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any such impacts before the In-
dian tribe approves the lease. 
‘‘(C) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Sec-
retary may provide technical assistance, upon 
request of the Indian tribe, for development of 
a regulatory environmental review process 
under subparagraph (B)(ii). 
‘‘(D) 
INDIAN
SELF-DETERMINATION 
ACT.—The technical assistance to be provided 
by the Secretary pursuant to subparagraph (C) 
may be made available through contracts, 
grants, or agreements entered into in accord-
ance with, and made available to entities eligi-
ble for, such contracts, grants, or agreements 
under the Indian Self-Determination Act (25 
U.S.C. 450 et seq.). 
‘‘(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-
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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. 
‘‘(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 
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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-
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. 
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‘‘(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— 
‘‘(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— 
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‘‘(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.’’. 
SEC. 3. LAND TITLE REPORTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of Indian Affairs 
shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Natural Re-
sources of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Indian Affairs of the Senate a report regarding 
the history and experience of Indian tribes that have cho-
sen to assume responsibility for operating the Indian Land 
Title and Records Office (referred to in this section as 
the ‘‘LTRO’’) functions from the Bureau of Indian Af-
fairs. 
(b) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the review under 
subsection (a), the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall consult 
with the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
Office of Native American Programs and the Indian tribes 
that are managing LTRO functions (referred to in this 
section as the ‘‘managing Indian tribes’’). 
(c) CONTENTS.—The review under subsection (a) 
shall include an analysis of the following factors: 
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(1) Whether and how tribal management of the 
LTRO functions has expedited the processing and 
issuance of Indian land title certifications as com-
pared to the period during which the Bureau of In-
dian Affairs managed the programs. 
(2) Whether and how tribal management of the 
LTRO functions has increased home ownership 
among the population of the managing Indian tribe. 
(3) What internal preparations and processes 
were required of the managing Indian tribes prior to 
assuming management of the LTRO functions. 
(4) Whether tribal management of the LTRO 
functions resulted in a transfer of financial resources 
and manpower from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to 
the managing Indian tribes and, if so, what trans-
fers were undertaken. 
(5) Whether, in appropriate circumstances and 
with the approval of geographically proximate Indian 
tribes, the LTRO functions may be performed by a 
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single Indian tribe or a tribal consortium in a cost 
effective manner. 
Passed the House of Representatives May 15, 2012. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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