PROGRESS for Indian Tribes Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2031 To amend the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to provide further self-governance by Indian Tribes, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 2, 2019 Ms. HAALAND (for herself, Mr. COLE, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. HECK, Ms. GABBARD, and Mr. GALLEGO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Indian Self-Determination and Education As- sistance Act to provide further self-governance by Indian Tribes, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Practical Reforms and Other Goals to Reinforce the Ef- 5 fectiveness of Self-Governance and Self-Determination for 6 Indian Tribes Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘PROGRESS for In- 7 dian Tribes Act’’. 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:57 Apr 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2031.IH H2031 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2031 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—TRIBAL SELF-GOVERNANCE Sec. 101. Tribal self-governance. TITLE II—INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION Sec. 201. Definitions; reporting and audit requirements; application of provi- sions. Sec. 202. Contracts by Secretary of the Interior. Sec. 203. Administrative provisions. Sec. 204. Contract funding and indirect costs. Sec. 205. Contract or grant specifications. TITLE I—TRIBAL SELF- 3 GOVERNANCE 4 SEC. 101. TRIBAL SELF-GOVERNANCE. 5 (a) EFFECT OF PROVISIONS.—Nothing in this Act, 6 or the amendments made by this Act, shall be construed— 7 (1) to modify, limit, expand, or otherwise af- 8 fect— 9 (A) the authority of the Secretary of the 10 Interior, as provided for under the Indian Self- 11 Determination and Education Assistance Act 12 (as in effect on the day before the date of en- 13 actment of this Act), regarding— 14 (i) the inclusion of any non-BIA pro- 15 gram (as defined in section 401 of the In- 16 dian Self-Determination and Education 17 Assistance Act) in a self-determination 18 contract or funding agreement under sec- 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2031.IH H2031 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2031 IH tion 403(c) of such Act (as so in effect); 1 or 2 (ii) the implementation of any con- 3 tract or agreement described in clause (i) 4 that is in effect on the day described in 5 subparagraph (A); 6 (B) the meaning, application, or effect of 7 any Tribal water rights settlement, including 8 the performance required of a party thereto or 9 any payment or funding obligation thereunder; 10 (C) the authority, jurisdiction, or responsi- 11 bility of a State to manage, control, or regulate 12 fish and wildlife under State law (including reg- 13 ulations) on land or water in the State, includ- 14 ing Federal public land; 15 (D) except for the authority provided to 16 the Secretary as described in subparagraph (A), 17 the applicability or effect of any Federal law re- 18 lated to the protection or management of fish 19 or wildlife; or 20 (E) any treaty-reserved right or other right 21 of any Indian Tribe as recognized by any other 22 means, including treaties or agreements with 23 the United States, Executive orders, statutes, 24 regulations, or case law; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2031.IH H2031 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2031 IH (2) to authorize any provision of a contract or 1 agreement that is not consistent with the terms of 2 a Tribal water rights settlement. 3 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 401 of the Indian Self- 4 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5 5361) is amended to read as follows: 6 ‘‘SEC. 401. DEFINITIONS. 7 ‘‘In this title: 8 ‘‘(1) COMPACT.—The term ‘compact’ means a 9 self-governance compact entered into under section 10 404. 11 ‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM; CONSTRUCTION 12 PROJECT.—The term ‘construction program’ or ‘con- 13 struction project’ means a Tribal undertaking relat- 14 ing to the administration, planning, environmental 15 determination, design, construction, repair, improve- 16 ment, or expansion of roads, bridges, buildings, 17 structures, systems, or other facilities for purposes 18 of housing, law enforcement, detention, sanitation, 19 water supply, education, administration, community, 20 health, irrigation, agriculture, conservation, flood 21 control, transportation, or port facilities, or for other 22 Tribal purposes. 23 ‘‘(3) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’ 24 means the Department of the Interior. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2031.IH H2031 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2031 IH ‘‘(4) FUNDING AGREEMENT.—The term ‘fund- 1 ing agreement’ means a funding agreement entered 2 into under section 403. 3 ‘‘(5) GROSS MISMANAGEMENT.—The term 4 ‘gross mismanagement’ means a significant viola- 5 tion, shown by a preponderance of the evidence, of 6 a compact, funding agreement, or statutory or regu- 7 latory requirement applicable to Federal funds for a 8 program administered by an Indian Tribe under a 9 compact or funding agreement. 10 ‘‘(6) INHERENT FEDERAL FUNCTION.—The 11 term ‘inherent Federal function’ means a Federal 12 function that may not legally be delegated to an In- 13 dian Tribe. 14 ‘‘(7) NON-BIA PROGRAM.—The term ‘non-BIA 15 program’ means all or a portion of a program, func- 16 tion, service, or activity that is administered by any 17 bureau, service, office, or agency of the Department 18 of the Interior other than— 19 ‘‘(A) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 20 ‘‘(B) the Office of the Assistant Secretary 21 for Indian Affairs; or 22 ‘‘(C) the Office of the Special Trustee for 23 American Indians. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2031.IH H2031 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2031 IH ‘‘(8) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 1 any program, function, service, or activity (or por- 2 tion thereof) within the Department that is included 3 in a funding agreement. 4 ‘‘(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 5 the Secretary of the Interior. 6 ‘‘(10) SELF-DETERMINATION CONTRACT.—The 7 term ‘self-determination contract’ means a self-de- 8 termination contract entered into under section 102. 9 ‘‘(11) SELF-GOVERNANCE.—The term ‘self-gov- 10 ernance’ means the Tribal Self-Governance Program 11 established under section 402. 12 ‘‘(12) TRIBAL SHARE.—The term ‘Tribal share’ 13 means the portion of all funds and resources of an 14 Indian Tribe that— 15 ‘‘(A) support any program within the Bu- 16 reau of Indian Affairs, the Office of the Special 17 Trustee for American Indians, or the Office of 18 the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs; and 19 ‘‘(B) are not required by the Secretary for 20 the performance of an inherent Federal func- 21 tion. 22 ‘‘(13) TRIBAL WATER RIGHTS SETTLEMENT.— 23 The term ‘Tribal water rights settlement’ means any 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2031.IH H2031 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2031 IH settlement, compact, or other agreement expressly 1 ratified or approved by an Act of Congress that— 2 ‘‘(A) includes an Indian Tribe and the 3 United States as parties; and 4 ‘‘(B) quantifies or otherwise defines any 5 water right of the Indian Tribe.’’. 6 (c) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 402 of the Indian 7 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 8 U.S.C. 5362) is amended to read as follows: 9 ‘‘SEC. 402. TRIBAL SELF-GOVERNANCE PROGRAM. 10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab- 11 lish and carry out a program within the Department to 12 be known as the ‘Tribal Self-Governance Program’. 13 ‘‘(b) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING INDIAN 14 TRIBES.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 16 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary, acting 17 through the Director of the Office of Self-Gov- 18 ernance, may select not more than 50 new In- 19 dian Tribes per year from those tribes eligible 20 under subsection (c) to participate in self-gov- 21 ernance. 22 ‘‘(B) JOINT PARTICIPATION.—On the re- 23 quest of each participating Indian Tribe, 2 or 24 more otherwise eligible Indian Tribes may be 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2031.IH H2031 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2031 IH treated as a single Indian Tribe for the purpose 1 of participating in self-governance. 2 ‘‘(2) OTHER AUTHORIZED INDIAN TRIBE OR 3 TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—If an Indian Tribe author- 4 izes another Indian Tribe or a Tribal organization to 5 plan for or carry out a program on its behalf under 6 this title, the authorized Indian Tribe or Tribal or- 7 ganization shall have the rights and responsibilities 8 of the authorizing Indian Tribe (except as otherwise 9 provided in the authorizing resolution). 10 ‘‘(3) JOINT PARTICIPATION AS ORGANIZA- 11 TION.—Two or more Indian Tribes that are not oth- 12 erwise eligible under subsection (c) may be treated 13 as a single Indian Tribe for the purpose of partici- 14 pating in self-governance as a Tribal organization 15 if— 16 ‘‘(A) each Indian Tribe so requests; and 17 ‘‘(B) the Tribal organization itself, or at 18 least one of the Indian Tribes participating in 19 the Tribal organization, is eligible under sub- 20 section (c). 21 ‘‘(4) TRIBAL WITHDRAWAL FROM A TRIBAL OR- 22 GANIZATION.— 23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An Indian Tribe that 24 withdraws from participation in a Tribal orga- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2031.IH H2031 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2031 IH nization, in whole or in part, shall be entitled 1 to participate in self-governance if the Indian 2 Tribe is eligible under subsection (c). 3 ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF WITHDRAWAL.—If an In- 4 dian Tribe withdraws from participation in a 5 Tribal organization, the Indian Tribe shall be 6 entitled to its Tribal share of funds and re- 7 sources supporting the programs that the In- 8 dian Tribe is entitled to carry out under the 9 compact and funding agreement of the Indian 10 Tribe. 11 ‘‘(C) PARTICIPATION IN SELF-GOVERN- 12 ANCE.—The withdrawal of an Indian Tribe 13 from a Tribal organization shall not affect the 14 eligibility of the Tribal organization to partici- 15 pate in self-governance on behalf of one or more 16 other Indian Tribes, if the Tribal organization 17 still qualifies under subsection (c). 18 ‘‘(D) WITHDRAWAL PROCESS.— 19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An Indian Tribe 20 may, by Tribal resolution, fully or partially 21 withdraw its Tribal share of any program 22 in a funding agreement from a partici- 23 pating Tribal organization. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2031.IH H2031 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2031 IH ‘‘(ii) NOTIFICATION.—The Indian 1 Tribe shall provide a copy of the Tribal 2 resolution described in clause (i) to the 3 Secretary. 4 ‘‘(iii) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 5 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A withdrawal 6 under clause (i) shall become effective 7 on the date that is specified in the 8 Tribal resolution and mutually agreed 9 upon by the Secretary, the with- 10 drawing Indian Tribe, and the Tribal 11 organization that signed the compact 12 and funding agreement on behalf of 13 the withdrawing Indian Tribe or Trib- 14 al organization. 15 ‘‘(II) NO SPECIFIED DATE.—In 16 the absence of a date specified in the 17 resolution, the withdrawal shall be- 18 come effective on— 19 ‘‘(aa) the earlier of— 20 ‘‘(AA) 1 year after the 21 date of submission of the re- 22 quest; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2031.IH H2031 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2031 IH ‘‘(BB) the date on 1 which the funding agree- 2 ment expires; or 3 ‘‘(bb) such date as may be 4 mutually agreed upon by the Sec- 5 retary, the withdrawing Indian 6 Tribe, and the Tribal organiza- 7 tion that signed the compact and 8 funding agreement on behalf of 9 the withdrawing Indian Tribe or 10 Tribal organization. 11 ‘‘(E) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—If an In- 12 dian Tribe or Tribal organization eligible to 13 enter into a self-determination contract or a 14 compact or funding agreement fully or partially 15 withdraws from a participating Tribal organiza- 16 tion, the withdrawing Indian Tribe— 17 ‘‘(i) may elect to enter into a self-de- 18 termination contract or compact, in which 19 case— 20 ‘‘(I) the withdrawing Indian 21 Tribe or Tribal organization shall be 22 entitled to its Tribal share of unex- 23 pended funds and resources sup- 24 porting the programs that the Indian 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2031.IH H2031 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2031 IH Tribe will be carrying out under its 1 own self-determination contract or 2 compact and funding agreement (cal- 3 culated on the same basis as the 4 funds were initially allocated to the 5 funding agreement of the Tribal orga- 6 nization); and 7 ‘‘(II) the funds referred to in 8 subclause (I) shall be withdrawn by 9 the Secretary from the funding agree- 10 ment of the Tribal organization and 11 transferred to the withdrawing Indian 12 Tribe, on the condition that sections 13 102 and 105(i), as appropriate, shall 14 apply to the withdrawing Indian 15 Tribe; or 16 ‘‘(ii) may elect not to enter into a self- 17 determination contract or compact, in 18 which case all unexpended funds and re- 19 sources associated with the withdrawing 20 Indian Tribe’s returned programs (cal- 21 culated on the same basis as the funds 22 were initially allocated to the funding 23 agreement of the Tribal organization) shall 24 be returned by the Tribal organization to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2031.IH H2031 jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2031 IH the Secretary for operation of the pro- 1 grams included in the withdrawal. 2 ‘‘(F) RETURN TO MATURE CONTRACT STA- 3 TUS.—If an Indian Tribe elects to operate all or 4 some programs carried out under a compact or 5 funding agreement under this title through a 6 self-determination contract under title I, at the 7 option of the Indian Tribe, the resulting self-de- 8 termination contract shall be a mature self-de- 9 termination contract as long as the Indian 10 Tri [Text truncated for display. 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