Secure Rural and Tribal Lands Act
Bill: S.4878 | Sponsor: Sen. Wyden, Ron (D-OR)
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
Secure Rural and Tribal Lands Act
This bill specifies the factors to be considered when allocating funding from the Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund (a general revenue enhancement program that provides additional assistance to eligible counties and tribal governments for any governmental purpose except lobbying).

To amend title VI of the Social Security Act to improve the Local 
    Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund, 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 ``Secure Rural and Tribal Lands Act''.

SEC. 2. LOCAL ASSISTANCE AND TRIBAL CONSISTENCY FUND.

    (a) In General.--Section 605 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
805) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``with amounts to be 
        obligated'' and all that follows through the period and 
        inserting ``for making payments under this section to eligible 
        revenue sharing recipients, eligible Tribal governments, and 
        territories, with amounts to be allocated and paid in 
        accordance with subsection (b) not later than December 31, 
        2022.''; and
            (2) by striking subsections (b) through (f) and inserting 
        the following:
    ``(b) Authority To Make Payments.--
            ``(1) Allocations and payments to eligible revenue sharing 
        recipients.--
                    ``(A) Revenue sharing counties.--
                            ``(i) Allocations.--The Secretary shall 
                        reserve $1,485,000,000 of the total amount 
                        appropriated under subsection (a) to allocate 
                        to each revenue sharing county an amount 
                        determined by the Secretary, taking into 
                        account--
                                    ``(I) the amount of entitlement 
                                land and Federal land in each revenue 
                                sharing county; and
                                    ``(II) the economic conditions of 
                                each revenue sharing county, using such 
                                measurements of poverty, household 
                                income, and unemployment over the most 
                                recent 20-year period as of September 
                                30, 2021, to the extent data are 
                                available, as well as other economic 
                                indicators as the Secretary determines 
                                appropriate.
                            ``(ii) Payments.--Subject to subparagraph 
                        (B)(ii), the Secretary shall pay each revenue 
                        sharing county that is an eligible revenue 
                        sharing county the amount determined for the 
                        county under clause (i).
                    ``(B) Special rules.--
                            ``(i) Revenue sharing counties with limited 
                        government functions.--In the case of an amount 
                        allocated to a revenue sharing county under 
                        subparagraph (A) that is a county with limited 
                        government functions, the Secretary shall, from 
                        such amount, allocate and pay to each eligible 
                        revenue sharing local government within such 
                        county an amount determined by the Secretary, 
                        taking into account the amount of entitlement 
                        land and Federal land in the eligible revenue 
                        sharing local government and the population of 
                        the eligible revenue sharing local government 
                        relative to the total population of such county 
                        with limited government functions.
                            ``(ii) Eligible revenue sharing county in 
                        alaska.--In the case of the eligible revenue 
                        sharing county described in subsection 
                        (f)(3)(C), the Secretary shall pay the amount 
                        allocated to such eligible revenue sharing 
                        county under subparagraph (A) to the State of 
                        Alaska and the State of Alaska shall distribute 
                        from such payment, payments to home rule cities 
                        and general law cities (as such cities are 
                        defined by the State) located within the 
                        boundaries of the eligible revenue sharing 
                        county described in subsection (f)(3)(C).
                    ``(C) Pro rata adjustment authority.--The amounts 
                otherwise determined for allocation and payment under 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B) may be adjusted by the 
                Secretary on a pro rata basis to the extent necessary 
                to ensure that all available funds are allocated and 
                paid to eligible revenue sharing recipients in 
                accordance with the requirements specified in each such 
                subparagraph.
            ``(2) Allocations and payments to eligible tribal 
        governments.--The Secretary shall reserve $500,000,000 of the 
        total amount appropriated under subsection (a) to allocate and 
        pay to eligible Tribal governments amounts that are determined 
        by the Secretary taking into account economic conditions of 
        each eligible Tribe.
            ``(3) Allocations and payments to territories.--The 
        Secretary shall reserve $15,000,000 of the total amount 
        appropriated under subsection (a) to allocate and pay to each 
        territory an amount which bears the same proportion to the 
        amount reserved under this paragraph as the population of the 
        territory bears to the total population of all the territories.
    ``(c) Use of Payments.--An eligible revenue sharing recipient, an 
eligible Tribal government, or a territory may use funds provided under 
a payment made under this section for any governmental purpose other 
than a lobbying activity.
    ``(d) Reporting Requirement.--Each eligible revenue sharing 
recipient and each territory that receives a payment under this section 
shall submit to the Secretary periodic reports providing a detailed 
accounting of the use of funds by the eligible revenue sharing 
recipient or territory, as applicable, and such other information as 
the Secretary may require for the administration of this section.
    ``(e) Recoupment.--Any eligible revenue sharing recipient or any 
territory that has failed to submit a report required under subsection 
(d) or failed to comply with subsection (c), shall be required to repay 
to the Secretary an amount equal to--
            ``(1) in the case of a failure to comply with subsection 
        (c), the amount of funds used in violation of such subsection; 
        and
            ``(2) in the case of a failure to submit a report required 
        under subsection (d), such amount as the Secretary determines 
        appropriate, but not to exceed 5 percent of the amount paid to 
        the eligible revenue sharing recipient or the territory under 
        this section.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) County.--The term `county' means a county, parish, 
        borough, or other equivalent county division (as defined by the 
        Bureau of the Census) in 1 of the 50 States.
            ``(2) County with limited government functions.--The term 
        `county with limited government functions' means a county in 
        which entitlement land or Federal land is located that is not 
        an eligible revenue sharing county.
            ``(3) Eligible revenue sharing county.--The term `eligible 
        revenue sharing county' means--
                    ``(A) a unit of general local government (as 
                defined in section 6901(2) of title 31, United States 
                Code) that is--
                            ``(i) a county in which entitlement land is 
                        located and which is eligible for a payment 
                        under section 6902(a) of title 31, United 
                        States Code; or
                            ``(ii) a county that contains Federal land;
                    ``(B) the District of Columbia; and
                    ``(C) the combined area in Alaska that is within 
                the boundaries of a census area used by the Secretary 
                of Commerce in the decennial census, but that is not 
                included within the boundary of a unit of general local 
                government described in subparagraph (A).
            ``(4) Eligible revenue sharing local government.--The term 
        `eligible revenue sharing local government' means a unit of 
        general local government (as defined in section 6901(2) of 
        title 31, United States Code) that is not a county or territory 
        and--
                    ``(A) in which entitlement land is located and 
                which is eligible for a payment under section 6902(a) 
                of title 31, United States Code; or
                    ``(B) in which Federal land is located.
            ``(5) Eligible revenue sharing recipients.--The term 
        `eligible revenue sharing recipients' means, collectively, 
        eligible revenue sharing counties and eligible revenue sharing 
        local governments.
            ``(6) Eligible tribal government.--The term `eligible 
        Tribal government' means the recognized governing body of an 
        eligible Tribe.
            ``(7) Eligible tribe.--The term `eligible Tribe' means any 
        Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, 
        community, component band, or component reservation, 
        individually identified (including parenthetically) in the list 
        published on January 28, 2022, pursuant to section 104 of the 
        Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994.
            ``(8) Entitlement land.--The term `entitlement land' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 6901(1) of title 31, 
        United States Code.
            ``(9) Federal land.--The term `Federal land' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 3(7) of the Secure Rural 
        Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000.
            ``(10) Revenue sharing county.--The term `revenue sharing 
        county' means--
                    ``(A) an eligible revenue sharing county; or
                    ``(B) a county with limited government functions.
            ``(11) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of the Treasury.
            ``(12) Territory.--The term `territory' means--
                    ``(A) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
                    ``(B) the United States Virgin Islands;
                    ``(C) Guam;
                    ``(D) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                Islands; or
                    ``(E) American Samoa.''.
    (b) Department of the Treasury Administrative Expenses.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, the unobligated balances from amounts made available to 
        the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this subsection 
        as the ``Secretary'') for administrative expenses pursuant to 
        the provisions specified in paragraph (2) shall be available to 
        the Secretary (in addition to any other appropriations provided 
        for such purpose) for any administrative expenses of the 
        Department of the Treasury determined by the Secretary to be 
        necessary to respond to the coronavirus emergency, including 
        any expenses necessary to implement any provision of--
                    (A) the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 
                Security Act (Public Law 116-136);
                    (B) division N of the Consolidated Appropriations 
                Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260);
                    (C) the American Rescue Plan Act (Public Law 117-
                2); or
                    (D) title VI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
                801 et seq.).
            (2) Provisions specified.--The provisions specified in this 
        paragraph are the following:
                    (A) Sections 4003(f) and 4112(b) of the Coronavirus 
                Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (Public Law 116-
                136).
                    (B) Section 421(f)(2) of division N of the 
                Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-
                260).
                    (C) Sections 3201(a)(2)(B), 3206(d)(1)(A), and 
                7301(b)(5) of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 
                (Public Law 117-2).
                    (D) Section 602(a)(2) of the Social Security Act 
                (42 U.S.C. 802(a)(2)).
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