H. R. 205 
One Hundred Twelfth Congress 
of the 
United States of America 
AT THE SECOND SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and twelve 
An Act 
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, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 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 (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 semi-
colon 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 
(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 Recognized 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
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‘‘(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 Indian tribe, 
any lease by the Indian tribe for the purposes 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 tribal regula-
tions approved by the Secretary under this subsection and 
the term of the lease does not exceed— 
‘‘(A) in the case of a business or agricultural lease, 
25 years, except that any such lease may include an option 
to renew for up to 2 additional terms, each of which may 
not exceed 25 years; and 
‘‘(B) in the case of a lease for public, religious, edu-
cational, 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 regulation issued in accordance 
with paragraph (1), if the tribal regulations— 
‘‘(i) are consistent with any regulations issued by 
the Secretary under subsection (a) (including any 
amendments to the subsection or regulations); and 
‘‘(ii) provide for an environmental review process 
that includes— 
‘‘(I) the identification and evaluation 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 opportunity to comment on, any 
significant environmental impacts of the pro-
posed action identified by the Indian tribe; 
and 
‘‘(bb) the Indian tribe provides responses 
to relevant and substantive public comments 
on any such impacts before the Indian tribe 
approves the lease. 
‘‘(C) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may pro-
vide 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 accordance with, 
and made available to entities eligible for, such contracts, 
grants, or agreements under the Indian Self-Determination 
Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.).
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‘‘(4) REVIEW PROCESS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 
date on which the tribal regulations 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 dis-
approves the tribal regulations described in paragraph (1), 
the Secretary shall include written documentation with 
the disapproval notification that describes the basis for 
the disapproval. 
‘‘(C) EXTENSION.—The deadline described in subpara-
graph (A) may be extended by the Secretary, after consulta-
tion with the Indian tribe. 
‘‘(5) FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—Notwithstanding 
paragraphs (3) and (4), if an Indian tribe carries out a project 
or activity funded by a Federal agency, the Indian tribe shall 
have the authority to rely on the environmental review process 
of the applicable Federal agency rather than any tribal environ-
mental review process under this subsection. 
‘‘(6) DOCUMENTATION.—If an Indian tribe executes 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 suffi-
cient to enable the Secretary to discharge the trust respon-
sibility 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 pursu-
ant to tribal regulations under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(B) AUTHORITY
OF
SECRETARY.—Pursuant to the 
authority of the Secretary to fulfill the trust obligation 
of the United States to the applicable Indian tribe under 
Federal law (including regulations), the Secretary may, 
upon reasonable notice from the applicable Indian tribe 
and at the discretion of the Secretary, enforce the provi-
sions of, or cancel, any lease executed by the Indian tribe 
under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(8) COMPLIANCE.— 
‘‘(A) 
IN
GENERAL.—An 
interested 
party, 
after 
exhausting of any applicable tribal remedies, 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 Secretary under 
this subsection. 
‘‘(B) VIOLATIONS.—If, after carrying out a review under 
subparagraph (A), the Secretary determines that the tribal 
regulations were violated, 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 responsibility for the approval 
of leases of tribal trust lands.
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‘‘(C) DOCUMENTATION.—If the Secretary determines 
that a violation of the tribal regulations 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 determination; and 
‘‘(iii) prior to the exercise of any remedy, the rescis-
sion 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 subsection shall 
affect subsection (e) or any tribal regulations 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 Resources of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 
Senate a report regarding the history and experience of Indian 
tribes that have chosen 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 Affairs. 
(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: 
(1) Whether and how tribal management of the LTRO 
functions has expedited the processing and issuance of Indian 
land title certifications as compared to the period during which 
the Bureau of Indian 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 transfers were undertaken. 
(5) Whether, in appropriate circumstances and with the 
approval of geographically proximate Indian tribes, the LTRO
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functions may be performed by a single Indian tribe or a 
tribal consortium in a cost effective manner. 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.