IB 
Union Calendar No. 294 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 205 
[Report No. 112–427] 
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 
APRIL 16, 2012 
Additional sponsors: Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. COLE, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. 
LUJA´N, Mr. BOREN, Ms. RICHARDSON, Mr. DENHAM, Mr. HONDA, Mr. 
SHERMAN, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. BACA, 
Mr. INSLEE, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. KIND, Mr. PEARCE, and Ms. BALD-
WIN 
APRIL 16, 2012 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 6, 2011] 
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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. 
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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 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 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 Nav-
ajo Nation’’ and inserting ‘‘an applicable Indian 
tribe’’; 
(B) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘the Nav-
ajo 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 Recog-
nized 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 
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exploration, development, or extraction of any min-
eral resources, shall not require the approval of the 
Secretary, if the lease is executed under the tribal reg-
ulations approved by the Secretary under this sub-
section and the term of the lease does not exceed— 
‘‘(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 al-
lotted 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-
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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 evalua-
tion 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. 
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‘‘(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 accordance with, and 
made available to entities eligible for, such con-
tracts, 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-
clude written documentation with the dis-
approval notification that describes the basis for 
the disapproval. 
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‘‘(C) EXTENSION.—The deadline described 
in subparagraph (A) may be extended by the 
Secretary, after consultation with the Indian 
tribe. 
‘‘(5) FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—Not-
withstanding 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 au-
thority to rely on the environmental review process of 
the applicable Federal agency rather than any tribal 
environmental review process under this subsection. 
‘‘(6) DOCUMENTATION.—If an Indian tribe exe-
cutes a lease pursuant to tribal regulations under 
paragraph (1), the Indian tribe shall provide the Sec-
retary 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 responsibility of 
the United States under paragraph (7). 
‘‘(7) TRUST RESPONSIBILITY.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The United States shall 
not be liable for losses sustained by any party to 
a lease executed pursuant to tribal regulations 
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 appli-
cable 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 In-
dian 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 de-
termines to be appropriate, to review the compli-
ance 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 vio-
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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— 
‘‘(I) a hearing that is on the 
record; and 
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‘‘(II) a reasonable opportunity to 
cure the alleged violation. 
‘‘(9) SAVINGS
CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub-
section shall affect subsection (e) or any tribal regula-
tions 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 In-
dian 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 sec-
tion 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 com-
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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 transfers 
were undertaken. 
(5) Whether, in appropriate circumstances and 
with the approval of geographically proximate Indian 
tribes, the LTRO functions may be performed by a 
single Indian tribe or a tribal consortium in a cost 
effective manner. 
Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to amend the 
Act titled ‘An Act to authorize the leasing of restricted 
Indian lands for public, religious, educational, rec-
reational, residential, business, and other purposes re-
quiring 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.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 294 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 205 
[Report No. 112–427] 
A BILL 
To amend the Act titled ‘‘An Act to authorize the 
leasing of restricted Indian lands for public, reli-
gious, educational, recreational, residential, busi-
ness, 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. 
APRIL 16, 2012 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
dered to be printed 
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