Title: ANCSA Unrecognized Community Landless Natives Authorization Act of 2017
Policy area: Native Americans

Summary:
ANCSA Unrecognized Community Landless Natives Authorization Act of 2017
This bill amends the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to permit the Alaska Native residents of each of the Alaska Native villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell, Alaska, to organize as Alaska Native urban corporations and to receive certain settlement land.
These urban corporations may establish a settlement trust to promote the health, education, and welfare of the trust beneficiaries, and preserve the Alaska Native heritage and culture of their communities.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1491 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1491

 To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act with respect to the 
    Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and 
               Wrangell, Alaska, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 29, 2017

 Ms. Murkowski (for herself and Mr. Sullivan) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act with respect to the 
    Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and 
               Wrangell, Alaska, 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 ``ANCSA Unrecognized Community 
Landless Natives Authorization Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. UNRECOGNIZED SOUTHEAST ALASKA NATIVE COMMUNITIES RECOGNITION 
              AND COMPENSATION.

    (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to redress the 
omission of the southeastern Alaska communities of Haines, Ketchikan, 
Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell from eligibility by authorizing the 
Native people enrolled in the communities--
            (1) to form Urban Corporations for the communities under 
        the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et 
        seq.); and
            (2) to receive certain settlement land pursuant to that 
        Act.
    (b) Establishment of Additional Native Corporations.--Section 16 of 
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1615) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, 
and Wrangell, Alaska.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Native residents of each of the 
        Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and 
        Wrangell, Alaska, may organize as Urban Corporations.
            ``(2) Effect on entitlement to land.--Nothing in this 
        subsection affects any entitlement to land of any Native 
        Corporation established before the date of enactment of this 
        subsection pursuant to this Act or any other provision of 
        law.''.
    (c) Shareholder Eligibility.--Section 8 of the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1607) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(d) Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, 
and Wrangell.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall enroll to each of 
        the Urban Corporations for Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, 
        Tenakee, or Wrangell those individual Natives who enrolled 
        under this Act to the Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, 
        Petersburg, Tenakee, or Wrangell, respectively.
            ``(2) Number of shares.--Each Native who is enrolled to an 
        Urban Corporation for Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, 
        or Wrangell pursuant to paragraph (1) and who was enrolled as a 
        shareholders of the Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska 
        on or before March 30, 1973, shall receive 100 shares of 
        Settlement Common Stock in the respective Urban Corporation.
            ``(3) Natives receiving shares through inheritance.--If a 
        Native received shares of stock in the Regional Corporation for 
        Southeast Alaska through inheritance from a decedent Native who 
        originally enrolled to the Native Village of Haines, Ketchikan, 
        Petersburg, Tenakee, or Wrangell and the decedent Native was 
        not a shareholder in a Village or Urban Corporation, the Native 
        shall receive the identical number of shares of Settlement 
        Common Stock in the Urban Corporation for Haines, Ketchikan, 
        Petersburg, Tenakee, or Wrangell as the number of shares 
        inherited by that Native from the decedent Native who would 
        have been eligible to be enrolled to the respective Urban 
        Corporation.
            ``(4) Effect on entitlement to land.--Nothing in this 
        subsection affects entitlement to land of any Regional 
        Corporation pursuant to section 12(b) or 14(h)(8).''.
    (d) Distribution Rights.--Section 7 of the Alaska Native Claims 
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1606) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (j)--
                    (A) by striking ``(j) During'' and inserting the 
                following:
    ``(j) Distribution of Corporate Funds and Other Net Income.--
            ``(1) In general.--During'';
                    (B) by striking ``Not less'' and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(2) Minimum allocation.--Not less'';
                    (C) by striking ``In the case'' and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(3) Thirteenth regional corporation.--In the case''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Native villages of haines, ketchikan, petersburg, 
        tenakee, and wrangell.--Native members of the Native Villages 
        of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell who 
        become shareholders in an Urban Corporation for such a Native 
        Village shall continue to be eligible to receive distributions 
        under this subsection as at-large shareholders of the Regional 
        Corporation for Southeast Alaska.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(s) Effect of Amendatory Act.--Section 2 of the ANCSA 
Unrecognized Community Landless Natives Authorization Act of 2017 and 
the amendments made by that section shall not affect--
            ``(1) the ratio for determination of revenue distribution 
        among Native Corporations under this section; or
            ``(2) the settlement agreement among Regional Corporation 
        or Village Corporations or other provisions of subsection (i) 
        or (j).''.
    (e) Compensation.--The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 
U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 43. URBAN CORPORATIONS FOR HAINES, KETCHIKAN, PETERSBURG, 
              TENAKEE, AND WRANGELL.

    ``(a) Offer of Compensation.--
            ``(1) In general.--On incorporation of the Urban 
        Corporations for Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and 
        Wrangell, the Secretary, in consultation and coordination with 
        the Secretary of Commerce, and in consultation with 
        representatives of each such Urban Corporation and the Regional 
        Corporation for Southeast Alaska, shall offer as compensation, 
        pursuant to this Act, 1 township of land (23,040 acres) to each 
        of the Urban Corporations for Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, 
        Tenakee, and Wrangell, in accordance with this subsection.
            ``(2) Local areas of historical, cultural, traditional, and 
        economic importance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall offer as 
                compensation under this subsection local areas of 
                historical, cultural, traditional, and economic 
                importance to Alaska Natives from the Villages of 
                Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, or Wrangell.
                    ``(B) Selection of land.--In selecting the land to 
                be withdrawn and conveyed pursuant to this section, the 
                Secretary--
                            ``(i) shall give preference to land with 
                        commercial purposes;
                            ``(ii) may include subsistence and cultural 
                        sites, aquaculture sites, hydroelectric sites, 
                        tideland, surplus Federal property, and eco-
                        tourism sites; and
                            ``(iii) shall not include land within a 
                        conservation system unit (as defined in section 
                        102 of the Alaska National Interest Lands 
                        Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3102)).
                    ``(C) Contiguous, compact sites.--The land selected 
                pursuant to this section shall be contiguous and 
                reasonably compact tracts if practicable.
                    ``(D) Valid existing rights.--The land selected 
                pursuant to this section shall be subject to all valid 
                existing rights and all other provisions of section 
                14(g), including any lease, contract, permit, right-of-
                way, or easement (including a lease issued under 
                section 6(g) of the Act of July 7, 1958 (commonly known 
                as the `Alaska Statehood Act') (48 U.S.C. note prec. 
                21; Public Law 85-508)).
    ``(b) Acceptance or Rejection of Offer.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        the offer of compensation from the Secretary under subsection 
        (a), each of the Urban Corporations for Haines, Ketchikan, 
        Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell shall accept or reject the 
        offer.
            ``(2) Resolution.--To accept or reject the offer, each such 
        Urban Corporation shall provide to the Secretary a properly 
        executed and certified corporate resolution that states that 
        the offer proposed by the Secretary was voted on, and either 
        approved or rejected, by a majority of the shareholders of the 
        Urban Corporation.
            ``(3) Rejection of offer.--If the offer is rejected--
                    ``(A) the Secretary, in consultation with 
                representatives of the Urban Corporation that rejected 
                the offer and the Regional Corporation for Southeast 
                Alaska, shall revise the offer; and
                    ``(B) the Urban Corporation shall have an 
                additional 180 days within which to accept or reject 
                the revised offer.
    ``(c) Withdrawal and Conveyance of Land and Title.--Not later than 
180 days after receipt of a corporate resolution of an Urban 
Corporation approving an offer of the Secretary under subsection 
(b)(1), the Secretary shall (as appropriate)--
            ``(1) withdraw the land;
            ``(2) convey to the Urban Corporation title to the surface 
        estate of the land; and
            ``(3) convey to the Regional Corporation for Southeast 
        Alaska title the subsurface estate for the land.
    ``(d) Conveyance of Roads, Trails, Log Transfer Facilities, Leases, 
and Appurtenances.--The Secretary shall, without consideration of 
compensation, convey to the Urban Corporations of Haines, Ketchikan, 
Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell, by quitclaim deed or patent, all 
right, title, and interest of the United States in all roads, trails, 
log transfer facilities, leases, and appurtenances on or related to the 
land conveyed to the Corporations pursuant to subsection (c).
    ``(e) Settlement Trust.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Urban Corporations of Haines, 
        Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell may establish a 
        settlement trust in accordance with section 39 for the purposes 
        of promoting the health, education, and welfare of the trust 
        beneficiaries, and preserving the Native heritage and culture, 
        of the communities of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, 
        and Wrangell, respectively.
            ``(2) Proceeds and income.--The proceeds and income from 
        the principal of a trust established under paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    ``(A) first be applied to the support of those 
                enrollees, and the descendants of the enrollees, who 
                are elders or minor children; and
                    ``(B) then to the support of all other 
                enrollees.''.
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