I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3013
To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to allow shareholder
common stock to be transferred to adopted Alaska Native children and
their descendants, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 5, 1999
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
A BILL
To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to allow
shareholder common stock to be transferred to adopted
Alaska Native children and their descendants, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCE.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Alaska Native Claims Technical Amendments Act of
1999’’.
(b) REFERENCE.—Whenever in this Act a section or
other provision is amended or repealed, such amendment
or repeal shall be considered to be made to that section
or other provision of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act (43 U.S.C. 1601, et seq.).
SEC. 2. COMMON STOCK TO ADOPTED-OUT DESCENDANTS.
Section 7(h)(1)(C)(iii) of the Act (43 U.S.C.
1606(h)(1)(C)(iii)) is amended by inserting before the pe-
riod at the end the following: ‘‘, notwithstanding an adop-
tion, relinquishment, or termination of parental rights
that may have altered or severed the legal relationship be-
tween the gift donor and recipient’’.
SEC. 3. RELATION TO CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.
Section 29(g) of the Act (43 U.S.C. 1626(g)) is
amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(g)’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(2) Any corporation, partnership, joint venture, sole
proprietorship, trust, or affiliate with which a Native Cor-
poration or its affiliate engages in one or more commercial
transactions that exceed a total of $20,000 in a calendar
year shall, when in the course and scope of such commer-
cial transaction, be within the class of entities excluded
from the definition of ‘employer’ by section 701(b)(1) of
Public Law 88–352 (78 Stat. 253).’’.
SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF SETTLEMENT TRUST.
Section 3(t)(2) of the Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(t)(2)) is
amended by striking ‘‘sole’’ and all that follows through
‘‘Stock’’ and inserting ‘‘benefit of shareholders, Natives,
and descendants of Natives,’’.
SEC. 5. ALASKA NATIVE VETERANS.
Section 41 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act (43 U.S.C. 1629g) is amended as follows:
(1) In subsection (a)(1), insert ‘‘amended’’
after ‘‘promulgation of’’.
(2) In subsection (a)(1), strike ‘‘subsection (b)’’
and insert ‘‘subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2)’’;
(3) In subsection (a)(1), insert ‘‘and may sub-
mit an application for an allotment to the Secretary
in accordance with the provisions of this section’’
after ‘‘December 18, 1971’’.
(4) Strike subsection (a)(2) and insert the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(2) Allotments may be selected only from—
‘‘(A) lands that were vacant, unappropri-
ated, and unreserved on the date when the per-
son eligible for the allotment first used and oc-
cupied those lands;
‘‘(B) lands in the National Petroleum Re-
serve-Alaska which the person eligible for the
allotment used and occupied;
‘‘(C) lands that were not vacant, unappro-
priated, and unreserved on the date when the
person eligible for the allotment first used and
occupied those lands, but which, prior to De-
cember 18, 1971, became vacant, unappropri-
ated, and unreserved during the time that the
person eligible for the allotment used and occu-
pied those lands; or
‘‘(D) lands that were not vacant, unappro-
priated, and unreserved on the date when the
person eligible for the allotment first used and
occupied those lands, but which became vacant,
unappropriated, and unreserved after December
18, 1971, and remain vacant, unappropriated,
and unreserved.’’.
(5) In subsection (a)(3)(B), insert ‘‘, and not
relinquished’’ after ‘‘provision of law’’.
(6) In subsection (a)(3)(C), strike ‘‘Village or
Regional’’ and insert ‘‘Regional, Village, Urban, or
Group’’.
(7) In subsection (a)(3)(C), insert ‘‘, and not
relinquished’’ after ‘‘Corporation’’.
(8) In subsection (a)(3)(E), insert ‘‘Federal’’
after ‘‘acquired’’.
(9) In subsection (a)(3)(I), strike ‘‘, including
but not limited to the following’’ and all that follows
through ‘‘Cemetery sites’’.
(10) In subsection (a)(4), insert ‘‘described in
subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2)’’ after ‘‘A person’’.
(11) In subsection (a)(4)(B), strike ‘‘(C)’’ after
‘‘section 11(a)(1)’’.
(12) In subsection (a)(4)(B), strike ’’Park;
and’’ and insert ‘‘Park; or’’.
(13) In subsection (a)(4)(C), insert ‘‘, or lands
withdrawn solely under section 17(d)(1) of this Act’’
after ‘‘lands’’.
(14) In subsection (b)(1), strike ‘‘A person’’
and insert ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (3), a
person’’.
(15) In subsection (b)(1)(B), strike ‘‘January
1, 1969 and December 31, 1971’’ and all that fol-
lows through ‘‘December 3, 1971’’, and insert ‘‘Au-
gust 5, 1964, and May 7, 1975, and served on active
duty for at least 6 months’’.
(16) In subsection (b)(2), insert ‘‘(as defined
pursuant to State law)’’ after ‘‘personal representa-
tive’’.
(17) In subsection (b)(2), strike ‘‘who was’’ and
insert ‘‘which decedent would have been’’.
(18) In subsection (b)(2), strike ‘‘subsection
(b)(1)’’ and insert ‘‘paragraph (1),’’.
(19) In subsection (b)(2), strike ‘‘if, during’’
and all that follows through ‘‘prisoner of war.’’ and
insert ‘‘under this section.’’.
(20) In subsection (b)(3)—
(A) insert ‘‘previously applied for the same
allotment,’’ after ‘‘No person who received an
allotment,’’;
(B) insert ‘‘application’’ after ‘‘pending al-
lotment’’;
(C) strike ‘‘receive’’ and insert ‘‘apply for’’;
and
(D) insert before the period ‘‘, other than
a person acting in the capacity of a personal
representative of an estate selecting an allot-
ment pursuant to paragraph (2)’’.
(21) In subsection (e)—
(A) strike ‘‘of this section’’ and insert ‘‘of
the Alaska Native Claims Technical Amend-
ments Act of 1999’’;
(B) strike ‘‘of the Interior’’ after ‘‘Sec-
retary’’;
(C) insert ‘‘amended’’ after ‘‘Alaska Native
groups’’; and
(D) insert ‘‘as amended’’ after ‘‘rules to
carry out this section’’.
(22) Add at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(f) APPROVAL OF ALLOTMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing
rights, and except as otherwise provided in this sub-
section, within 18 months after close of the applica-
tion period, the Secretary shall approve said applica-
tion and issue a deed in accordance with the Act of
May 17, 1906, which shall be subject to the same
terms, conditions, and protections provided for such
deeds.
‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—Upon receipt of an allot-
ment application, but in any event, not later than 90
days after the close of the application period, the
Secretary shall notify the State and all interested
parties of the application and the land description
contained therein, and any such party shall have 12
months following the close of the application period
in which to file with the Secretary a protest as pro-
vided in paragraph (3).
‘‘(3) EFFECT
OF
PROTEST.—Paragraph (1)
shall not apply and the Native allotment application
shall be adjudicated pursuant to the requirements of
the Act of May 17, 1906 (Chapter 2469; 34 Stat.
197), this Act, and other applicable law, if, pursuant
to paragraph (2)—
‘‘(A) a Native Corporation files a protest
with the Secretary stating that the applicant is
not entitled to the land described in the allot-
ment application, and said land is withdrawn
for selection by or has been conveyed to the Na-
tive Corporation pursuant to this Act;
‘‘(B) the State files a protest with the Sec-
retary stating that the land described in the al-
lotment application is necessary for access to
lands owned by the United States, the State of
Alaska, or a political subdivision of the State of
Alaska, to resources located thereon, or to a
public body of water regularly employed for
transportation purposes, and the protest states
with specificity the facts upon which the conclu-
sions concerning access are based and that no
reasonable alternative for access exists;
‘‘(C) a person or entity files a protest with
the Secretary stating that the applicant is not
entitled to the land described in the allotment
application and that said land is the situs of
improvements claimed by the person or entity;
or
‘‘(D) a person who resides in the vicinity
of the land described in the allotment applica-
tion files a protest with the Secretary stating
that the land described in the allotment applica-
tion is land subject to communal use.
‘‘(4) APPROVAL PROCEDURE.—Upon expiration
of the 18 months following the close of the applica-
tion period pursuant to subsection (a)(1), the Sec-
retary shall—
‘‘(A) if no protest is timely filed, approve
the application pursuant to paragraph (1); or
‘‘(B) if a protest is timely filed, adjudicate
the legal sufficiency of any such protest, and—
‘‘(i) if the protest is legally insuffi-
cient, approve the application; or
‘‘(ii) if the protest is valid, issue a de-
cision that closes the application and that
is final for the Secretary.’’.
SEC. 6. APPLICABILITY OF NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
RESTRICTIONS.
Section 22(g) of the Act is amended by striking ‘‘Not-
withstanding’’ and all that follows through ‘‘of such Ref-
uge.’’.
SEC. 7. ELIM NATIVE CORPORATION LAND RESTORATION.
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C.
1601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section:
‘‘ELIM NATIVE CORPORATION LAND RESTORATION
‘‘SEC. 42. (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
‘‘(1) approximately 350,000 acres of land were
withdrawn by Executive Orders in 1917 for the use
of the United States Bureau of Education and of
the Natives of Indigenous Alaskan race;
‘‘(2) these lands comprised the Norton Bay
Reservation (later referred to as Norton Bay Native
Reserve) and were set aside for the benefit of the
Native inhabitants of the Eskimo Village of Elim,
Alaska;
‘‘(3) in 1929, an Executive Order deleted
50,000 acres of land from the Norton Bay Reserva-
tion, without the informed consent of the Native
residents living on the Reservation, and the people
of Elim believe this deletion violated the Act of
March 3, 1927 (44 Stat. 1347);
‘‘(4) there appears to have been only minimal
consultation conducted by the United States Govern-
ment with the inhabitants of Elim prior to this dele-
tion of lands;
‘‘(5) the lands were deleted from the Reserva-
tion for the benefit of others;
‘‘(6) the deleted lands were not offered to be re-
stored to the original Reservation when lands com-
prising the Reservation were made available to the
Native inhabitants of Elim under section 19(b) of
this Act at the time of passage of this Act;
‘‘(7) the failure to replace these lands has been
and continues to be a source of deep concern to the
indigenous people of Elim;
‘‘(8) until this matter is dealt with equitably, it
will continue to be a source of great frustration and
sense of loss among the shareholders of the Elim
Native Corporation and their descendants; and
‘‘(9) in light of the above, to replace the lands
deleted in 1929 from the Norton Bay Reservation,
which was established for the benefit of the inhab-
itants of the Village of Elim, 50,000 acres of land
should be conveyed to the Elim Native Corporation.
‘‘(b) WITHDRAWAL AND AVAILABILITY FOR SELEC-
TION.—The lands described in subsection (c) are with-
drawn, subject to valid existing rights, from all forms of
appropriation or disposition under the public land laws,
including the mining and mineral leasing laws, for a period
of 2 years from the date of enactment of this section, for
selection by the Elim Native Corporation.
‘‘(c) LANDS DESCRIBED.—The lands described in
this section are within the boundary of a parcel of land
in the vicinity of Elim, Alaska, more particularly depicted
and designated ‘Temporary Withdrawal Area’ on the map
dated August 1, 1999, and entitled Land Withdrawal Elim
Native Corporation Land Restoration.
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION TO SELECT
AND RECEIVE
TITLE TO LANDS; RESERVATION OF EASEMENT.—The
Elim Native Corporation is authorized to select and re-
ceive title to 50,000 acres of lands within the boundary
of the lands described in subsection (c) to replace the
lands deleted from the original Norton Bay Reservation.
The Secretary is authorized and directed to receive and
adjudicate a selection application filed by the Elim Native
Corporation, and to convey the surface and subsurface es-
tate in the selected lands to the Elim Native Corporation
subject to the following rules, conditions, and limitations:
‘‘(1) The Elim Native Corporation shall have 2
years from the date of the enactment of the Alaska
Native Claims Technical Amendments Act of 1999
in which to file its selection of no more than 60,000
acres of land from the area described in subsection
(c). The selection application shall be filed with the
Bureau of land Management, shall describe a single
tract adjacent to U.S. Survey No. 2548, Alaska, and
shall be reasonably compact, contiguous, and in
whole sections except when separated by unavailable
land or when the remaining entitlement is less than
a whole section. The Elim Native Corporation shall
prioritize its selections made pursuant to this section
at the time such selections are filed, and such
prioritization shall be irrevocable. Any lands selected
shall remain withdrawn until conveyed or full entitle-
ment has been achieved.
‘‘(2) The selection filed by the Elim Native Cor-
poration pursuant to this section shall be subject to
valid existing rights and may not supersede prior se-
lections of the State of Alaska, any Native corpora-
tion, or valid entries of any private individual unless
such selection or entry is relinquished prior to any
selection by the Elim Native Corporation. Any lands
held within the exterior boundaries of lands con-
veyed to the Elim Native Corporation shall have all
rights of ingress and egress to be vested in the
inholder and the inholder’s agents, employees, co-
venturers, licensees, or subsequent grantees, and
such easements shall be reserved in the conveyance
to the Elim Native Corporation.
‘‘(3) The Bureau of Land Management shall re-
serve easements to the United States for the benefit
of the public pursuant to section 17(b) of this Act
in the conveyance to the Elim Native Corporation.
‘‘(4) The Bureau of Land Management may re-
serve an easement for the Iditarod National Historic
Trail in the conveyance to the Elim Native Corpora-
tion.
‘‘(e) FINALITY OF SELECTIONS.—Selection by the
Elim Native Corporation of lands under subsection (d)
and final conveyance of those lands to Elim Native Cor-
poration shall constitute full satisfaction of any claim of
entitlement of the Elim Native Corporation—
‘‘(1) with respect to its land entitlements under
section 19(b); and
‘‘(2) with respect to the extinguishment of the
Norton Bay Reservation (as withdrawn by Executive
Order No. 2508, dated January 3, 1917, as amend-
ed by Executive Order No. 2525, dated February 6,
1917).’’.
SEC. 8. CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONTAMINA-
TION.
The Act is further amended by adding after the sec-
tion added by section 7 of this Act, the following new sec-
tion:
‘‘CLARIFICATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONTAMINATION
‘‘SEC. 43. Notwithstanding section 107 of the Com-
prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980, or any other provision of law, no
person acquiring any interest in land under this Act shall
be liable for the costs of removal or remedial action, any
damages, or any third party liability arising out of or as
a result of any contamination on that land at the time
that such land was acquired under this Act unless such
person was directly responsible for such contamination.’’.
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