A joint resolution to make technical corrections in the Act of January 25, 1983 (Public Law 97-459).
PL 98-608 (H.J.Res.158), enacted 10/30/1984

PUBLIC LAW 98-608—OCT. 30, 1984 
98 STAT. 3171 
Public Law 98-608 
98th Congress 
Joint Resolution 
To make technical corrections in the Act of January 12, 1983 (Public Law 97-459). 
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That the Act of January 
12, 1983 (96 Stat. 2515; Public Law 97-459), is hereby amended as 
follows: 
(1) At the end of section 204 change the period to a colon and 
insert the following: "Provided, T h a t -
'll) the sale price or exchange value received by the tribe for 
land or interests in land covered by this section shall be no less 
than within 10 per centum of the fair market value as deter-
mined by the Secretary; 
"(2) if the tribal land involved in an exchange is of greater or 
lesser value than the land for which it is being exchanged, the 
tribe may accept or give cash in such exchange in order to 
equalize the values of the property exchanged; 
"(3) any proceeds from the sale of land or interests in land or 
proceeds received by the tribe to equalize an exchange made 
pursuant to this section shall be used exclusively for the pur-
chase of other land or interests in land; 
"(4) the Secretary shall maintain a separate trust account for 
each tribe selling or exchanging land pursuant to this section 
consisting of the proceeds of the land sales and exchanges and 
shall release such funds only for the purpose of buying lands 
under this section; and 
"(5) any tribe may retain the mineral rights to such sold or 
exchanged lands and the Secretary shall assist such tribe in 
determining the value of such mineral rights and shall take 
such value into consideration in determining the fair market 
value of such lands. 
"(b) The Secretary must execute such instrument of conveyance 
needed to effectuate a sale or exchange of tribal lands made pursu-
ant to an approved tribal land consolidation plan unless he makes a 
specific finding that such sale or exchange is not in the best interest 
of the tribe or is not in compliance with the tribal land consolidation 
plan.". 
(2) Section 205 is amended to read as follows: 
"SEC. 205. Any Indian tribe may purchase at no less than the fair 
market value part or all of the interests in any tract of trust or 
restricted land within that tribe's reservation or otherwise subject to 
that tribe's jurisdiction with the consent of the owners of such 
interests. The tribe may purchase all of the interests in such tract 
with the consent of the owners of over 50 per centum of the 
undivided interests in such tract: Provided, That— 
"(1) any Indian owning any undivided interest, and in actual 
use and possession of such tract for at least three years preced-
Oct. 30, 1984 
[H.J. Res. 158] 
Indians. 
Public lands. 
25 u s e 2203. 
Mines and 
mining. 
25 u s e 2204. 
98 STAT. 3172 
PUBLIC LAW 98-608—OCT. 30, 1984 
ing the tribal initiative, may purchase such tract by matching 
the tribal offer; 
"(2) if, at any time within five years following the date of 
acquisition of such land by an individual pursuant to this 
section, such property is offered for sale or a petition is filed 
with the Secretary for removal of the property from trust or 
restricted status, the tribe shall have 180 days from the date it 
is notified of such offer or petition to acquire such property by 
paying to the owner the fair market value as determined by the 
Secretary; 
"(3) all purchases and sales initiated under this section shall 
be subject to approval by the Secretary.". 
Gifts and 
(3) Section 206 is amended to read as follows: 
property. 
"SEC. 206. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 
Indian tribe, subject to approval by the Secretary, may adopt its own 
code of laws to govern descent and distribution of trust or restricted 
lands within that tribe's reservation or otherwise subject to that 
tribe's jurisdiction, and may provide that nonmembers of the tribe or 
non-Indians shall not be entitled to receive by devise or descent any 
interest or trust or restricted lands within that tribe's reservation or 
otherwise subject to that tribe's jurisdiction: Provided, That in the 
event a tribe takes such action— 
"(1) if an Indian dies intestate, the surviving non-Indian or 
nonmember spouse and/or children may elect to receive a life 
estate in as much of the trust or restricted lands as such person 
or persons would have been entitled to take in the absence of 
such restriction on eligibility for inheritance and the remainder 
shall vest in the Indians or tribal members who would have 
been heirs in the absence of a qualified person taking a life 
estate; 
"(2) if an intestate Indian descendent has no heir to whom 
interests in trust or restricted lands may pass, such interests 
shall escheat to the tribe, subject to any non-Indian or non-
member spouse and/or children's rights as described in para-
graph (1) of this section; 
"(3) if an Indian decedent has devised interests in trust or 
restricted lands to persons who are ineligible for such an inher-
itance by reason of a tribal ordinance enacted pursuant to this 
section, the devise shall be voided only if, while the estate is 
pending before the Secretary for probate, the tribe acquires 
such interests by paying to the Secretary, on behalf of the 
devisees, the fair market value of such interests as determined 
by the Secretary as of the date of the decedent's death: 
Provided, That any non-Indian or nonmember spouse and/or 
children of such decedent who have been devised such interests 
may retain, at their option, a life estate in such interests. 
Any ineligible devisee shall also have the right to renounce his or 
her devise in favor of a person or persons who are eligible to inherit. 
"(b) The right to receive a life estate under the provisions of this 
section shall be limited to— 
"(1) a spouse and/or children who, if they had been eligible, 
would have inherited an ownership interest of 10 per centum or 
more in the tract of land; or 
"(2) a spouse and/or children who occupied the tract as a 
home at the time of the decedent's death.". 
25 use 2206. 
(4) Section 207 is amended to read as follows: 
PUBLIC LAW 98-608—OCT. 30, 1984 
98 STAT. 3173 
"SEC. 207. (a) No undivided interest in any tract of trust or 
Gifts and 
restricted land within a tribe's reservation or otherwise subject to a 
property. 
tribe's jurisdiction shall descend by intestacy or devise but sliall 
escheat to that tribe if such interest represents 2 per centum or less 
of the total acreage in such tract and is incapable of earning $100 in 
any one of the five years from the date of decedent's death. Where 
the fractional interest has earned to its owner less than $100 in jiny 
one of the five years before the decedent's death, there shall be a 
rebuttable presumption that such interest is incapable of earning 
$100 in any one of the five years following the death of the decedent. 
"(b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the devise of such an 
escheatable fractional interest to any other owner of an undivided 
fractional interest in such parcel or tract of trust or restricted laind. 
"(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), any Indian 
tribe may, subject to the approval of the Secretary, adopt its own 
code of laws to govern the deposition of interests that are escheat-
able under this section, and such codes or laws shall take precedence 
over the escheat provisions of subsection (a), provided, the Secretary 
shall not approve any code or law that fails to accomplish the 
purpose of preventing further descent or fractionation of such 
escheateble interests.". 
(5) At the conclusion of the Act add the following new section: 
"SEC. 212. Nothing in this Act shall be construed as vestii^ the 25 use 2211. 
governing body of an Indian tribe with any authority which is not 
authorized by the constitution and by-laws or other oi^anizational 
document of such tribe.". 
SEC. 2. The Act of March 29, 1956 (c. 107, 70 Stat. 62; 25 U.S.C. 
483a) is amended by inserting immediately after the enacting claiuse 
"(a)" and by adding at the conclusion of the Act a new subsection (b) 
as follows: 
"(b) In the event such land is acquired by an Indian or an Indian 
tribe, such land shall not be removed from trust or restricted st£itus 
except upon application to the Secretory under existing law.". 
Approved October 30, 1984. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.J. Res. 158: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 98-49 (Comm. on Interior and Insular Affairs). 
SENATE REPORT No. 98-632 (Comm. on Indian Affairs). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 129 (1983): Apr. 19, 20, considered and passed House. 
Vol. 130 (1984): Oct. 3, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Oct. 4, House concurred in Senate amendment. 
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