Unlocking Native Lands and Opportunities for Commerce and Key Economic Developments Act of 2023

118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1322 AN ACT To amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to modify the author- ized purposes and term period of tribal leases, 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 2 † S 1322 ES SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Unlocking Native 2 Lands and Opportunities for Commerce and Key Eco- 3 nomic Developments Act of 2023’’. 4 SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF TRIBAL LEASES AND RIGHTS-OF- 5 WAY ACROSS INDIAN LAND. 6 (a) EXTENSION OF TRIBAL LEASE PERIOD.—The 7 first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (69 Stat. 539, 8 chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 415) (commonly known as the 9 ‘‘Long-Term Leasing Act’’), is amended— 10 (1) by striking ‘‘That (a)’’ and all that follows 11 through the end of subsection (a) and inserting the 12 following: 13 ‘‘SECTION 1. LEASES OF RESTRICTED LAND. 14 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZED PURPOSES; TERM; APPROVAL BY 15 SECRETARY.— 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any restricted Indian 17 lands, regardless of whether that land is tribally or 18 individually owned, may be leased by the Indian 19 owner of the land, with the approval of the Sec- 20 retary, for— 21 ‘‘(A) a public, religious, educational, rec- 22 reational, residential, business, or grazing pur- 23 poses; or 24 ‘‘(B) a farming purpose that requires the 25 making of a substantial investment in the im- 26 3 † S 1322 ES provement of the land for the production of 1 1 or more specialized crops as determined by the 2 Secretary. 3 ‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—A lease under paragraph 4 (1) may include the development or use of natural 5 resources in connection with operations under that 6 lease. 7 ‘‘(3) TERM.— 8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 9 subparagraph (B), a lease under paragraph (1) 10 shall be for a term of not more than 99 years, 11 including any renewals. 12 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR GRAZING PUR- 13 POSES.—A lease under paragraph (1) for graz- 14 ing purposes may be for a term of not more 15 than 10 years, including any renewals. 16 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENT.—Each lease and renewal 17 under this subsection shall be made in accordance 18 with such terms and regulations as may be pre- 19 scribed by the Secretary. 20 ‘‘(5) CONDITIONS FOR APPROVAL.—Before the 21 approval of any lease or renewal of an existing lease 22 pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary shall de- 23 termine that adequate consideration has been given 24 to— 25 4 † S 1322 ES ‘‘(A) relationship between the use of the 1 leased lands and the use of neighboring land; 2 ‘‘(B) the height, quality, and safety of any 3 structures or other facilities to be constructed 4 on the leased land; 5 ‘‘(C) the availability of police and fire pro- 6 tection and other services on the leased land; 7 ‘‘(D) the availability of judicial forums for 8 all criminal and civil causes of action arising on 9 the leased land; and 10 ‘‘(E) the effects on the environment of the 11 uses to which the leased lands will be subject.’’; 12 (2) in subsection (b)— 13 (A) by striking ‘‘(b) Any lease’’ and insert- 14 ing the following: 15 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR SECRETARY APPROVAL.—Any 16 lease’’; 17 (B) by striking ‘‘of the Interior’’ each 18 place it appears; and 19 (C) by striking ‘‘clause (3)’’ and inserting 20 ‘‘paragraph’’; 21 (3) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), (c), 22 and (d) as subsections (b), (c), (d), and (a), respec- 23 tively, and moving the subsections so as to appear 24 in alphabetical order; 25 5 † S 1322 ES (4) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ each place it 1 appears and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’; and 2 (5) in subsection (h)(1)— 3 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 4 (A), by striking ‘‘and the term of the lease does 5 not exceed—’’ and inserting a period; and 6 (B) by striking subparagraphs (A) and 7 (B). 8 (b) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 2 of the Act 9 of August 9, 1955 (69 Stat. 539, chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 10 415a) (commonly known as the ‘‘Long-Term Leasing 11 Act’’), is amended by inserting ‘‘of the Interior’’ after 12 ‘‘Secretary’’ each place it appears. 13 (c) MODIFICATIONS OF RIGHTS-OF-WAY ACROSS IN- 14 DIAN LAND.—The Act of February 5, 1948 (62 Stat. 17, 15 chapter 45), is amended— 16 (1) in the first section (62 Stat. 17, chapter 45; 17 25 U.S.C. 323), by striking ‘‘That the Secretary of 18 the Interior be, and he is hereby, empowered to’’ 19 and inserting the following: 20 ‘‘SECTION 1. RIGHTS-OF-WAY FOR ALL PURPOSES ACROSS 21 INDIAN LAND. 22 ‘‘(a) RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—The Secretary of the Interior 23 may’’; 24 6 † S 1322 ES (2) in section 2 (62 Stat. 18, chapter 45; 25 1 U.S.C. 324), by striking ‘‘organized under the Act 2 of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984), as amended; the 3 Act of May 1, 1936 (49 Stat. 1250); or the Act of 4 June 26, 1936 (49 Stat. 1967),’’; and 5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘SEC. 8. TRIBAL GRANTS OF RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 7 ‘‘(a) RIGHTS-OF-WAY.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 9 an Indian tribe may grant a right-of-way over and 10 across the Tribal land of the Indian tribe for any 11 purpose. 12 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY.—A right-of-way granted 13 under paragraph (1) shall not require the approval 14 of the Secretary of the Interior or a grant by the 15 Secretary of the Interior under the section 1 if the 16 right-of-way granted under paragraph (1) is exe- 17 cuted in accordance with a Tribal regulation ap- 18 proved by the Secretary of the Interior under sub- 19 section (b). 20 ‘‘(b) REVIEW OF TRIBAL REGULATIONS.— 21 ‘‘(1) TRIBAL REGULATION SUBMISSION AND AP- 22 PROVAL.— 23 ‘‘(A) SUBMISSION.—An Indian tribe seek- 24 ing to grant a right-of-way under subsection (a) 25 7 † S 1322 ES shall submit for approval a Tribal regulation 1 governing the granting of rights-of-way over 2 and across the Tribal land of the Indian tribe. 3 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL.—Subject to paragraph 4 (2), the Secretary of the Interior shall have the 5 authority to approve or disapprove any Tribal 6 regulation submitted under subparagraph (A). 7 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS FOR APPROVAL.— 8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 9 Interior shall approve a Tribal regulation sub- 10 mitted under paragraph (1)(A), if the Tribal 11 regulation— 12 ‘‘(i) is consistent with any regulations 13 (or successor regulations) issued by the 14 Secretary of the Interior under section 4; 15 ‘‘(ii) provides for an environmental re- 16 view process that includes— 17 ‘‘(I) the identification and eval- 18 uation of any significant impacts the 19 proposed action may have on the envi- 20 ronment; and 21 ‘‘(II) a process for ensuring— 22 ‘‘(aa) that the public is in- 23 formed of, and has a reasonable 24 opportunity to comment on, any 25 8 † S 1322 ES significant environmental impacts 1 of the proposed action identified 2 by the Indian tribe under sub- 3 clause (I); and 4 ‘‘(bb) the Indian tribe pro- 5 vides a response to each relevant 6 and substantive public comment 7 on the significant environmental 8 impacts identified by the Indian 9 tribe under subclause (I) before 10 the Indian tribe approves the 11 right-of-way. 12 ‘‘(B) STATUTORY EXEMPTIONS.—The Sec- 13 retary of the Interior, in making an approval 14 decision under this subsection, shall not be sub- 15 ject to— 16 ‘‘(i) the National Environmental Pol- 17 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 18 ‘‘(ii) section 306108 of title 54, 19 United States Code; or 20 ‘‘(iii) the Endangered Species Act of 21 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 22 ‘‘(3) REVIEW PROCESS.— 23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 24 days after the date on which the Indian tribe 25 9 † S 1322 ES submits a Tribal regulation to the Secretary of 1 the Interior under paragraph (1)(A), the Sec- 2 retary of the Interior shall— 3 ‘‘(i) review the Tribal regulation; 4 ‘‘(ii) approve or disapprove the Tribal 5 regulation; and 6 ‘‘(iii) notify the Indian tribe that sub- 7 mitted the Tribal regulation of the ap- 8 proval or disapproval. 9 ‘‘(B) WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION.—If the 10 Secretary of the Interior disapproves a Tribal 11 regulation submitted under paragraph (1)(A), 12 the Secretary of the Interior shall include with 13 the disapproval notification under subparagraph 14 (A)(iii) written documentation describing the 15 basis for the disapproval. 16 ‘‘(C) EXTENSION.—The Secretary of the 17 Interior may, after consultation with the Indian 18 tribe that submitted a Tribal regulation under 19 paragraph (1)(A), extend the 180-day period 20 described in subparagraph (A). 21 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.— 22 Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (3), if an In- 23 dian tribe carries out a project or activity funded by 24 a Federal agency, the Indian tribe may rely on the 25 10 † S 1322 ES environmental review process of the applicable Fed- 1 eral agency rather than any Tribal environmental re- 2 view process required under this subsection. 3 ‘‘(c) DOCUMENTATION.—An Indian tribe granting a 4 right-of-way under subsection (a) shall provide to the Sec- 5 retary of the Interior— 6 ‘‘(1) a copy of the right-of-way, including any 7 amendments or renewals; and 8 ‘‘(2) if the right-of-way allows for compensation 9 to be made directly to the Indian tribe, documenta- 10 tion of payments that are sufficient, as determined 11 by the Secretary of the Interior, as to enable the 12 Secretary of the Interior to discharge the trust re- 13 sponsibility of the United States under subsection 14 (d). 15 ‘‘(d) TRUST RESPONSIBILITY.— 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The United States shall 17 not be liable for losses sustained by any party to a 18 right-of-way granted under subsection (a). 19 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY.— 20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to the au- 21 thority of the Secretary of the Interior to fulfill 22 the trust obligation of the United States to the 23 applicable Indian tribe under Federal law (in- 24 cluding regulations), the Secretary of the Inte- 25 11 † S 1322 ES rior may, on reasonable notice from the applica- 1 ble Indian tribe and at the discretion of the 2 Secretary of the Interior, enforce the provisions 3 of, or cancel, any right-of-way granted by the 4 Indian tribe under subsection (a). 5 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY.—The enforcement or 6 cancellation of a right-of-way under subpara- 7 graph (A) shall be conducted using regulatory 8 procedures issued under section 6. 9 ‘‘(e) COMPLIANCE.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An interested party, after 11 exhaustion of any applicable Tribal remedies, may 12 submit a petition to the Secretary of the Interior, at 13 such time and in such form as determined by the 14 Secretary of the Interior, to review the compliance of 15 an applicable Indian tribe with a Tribal regulation 16 approved by the Secretary of the Interior under sub- 17 section (b). 18 ‘‘(2) VIOLATIONS.—If the Secretary of the Inte- 19 rior determines that a Tribal regulation was violated 20 after conducting a review under paragraph (1), the 21 Secretary of the Interior may take any action the 22 Secretary of the Interior determines to be necessary 23 to remedy the violation, including rescinding the ap- 24 proval of the Tribal regulation and reassuming re- 25 12 † S 1322 ES sponsibility for approving rights-of-way through the 1 trust land of the applicable Indian tribe. 2 ‘‘(3) DOCUMENTATION.—If the Secretary of the 3 Interior determines that a Tribal regulation was vio- 4 lated after conducting a review under paragraph (1), 5 the Secretary of the Interior shall— 6 ‘‘(A) provide written documentation, with 7 respect to the Tribal regulation that has been 8 violated, to the appropriate interested party and 9 Indian tribe; 10 ‘‘(B) provide the applicable Indian tribe 11 with a written notice of the alleged violation; 12 and 13 ‘‘(C) prior to the exercise of any remedy, 14 including rescinding the approval for the appli- 15 cable Tribal regulation or reassuming responsi- 16 bility for approving rights-of-way through the 17 trust land of the applicable Indian tribe, pro- 18 vide the applicable Indian tribe with— 19 ‘‘(i) a hearing that is on the record; 20 and 21 ‘‘(ii) a reasonable opportunity to cure 22 the alleged violation. 23 13 † S 1322 ES ‘‘(f) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section af- 1 fects the application of any Tribal regulations issued 2 under Federal environmental law. 3 ‘‘(g) EFFECT OF TRIBAL REGULATIONS.—An ap- 4 proved Tribal regulation under subsection (b) shall not 5 preclude an Indian tribe from, in the discretion of the In- 6 dian tribe, consenting to the grant of a right-of-way by 7 the Secretary of the Interior under the section 1. 8 ‘‘(h) TERMS OF RIGHT-OF-WAY.—The compensation 9 for, and terms of, a right-of-way granted under subsection 10 (a) will be determined by— 11 ‘‘(1) negotiations by the Indian tribe; or 12 ‘‘(2) the regulations of the Indian tribe. 13 ‘‘(i) JURISDICTION.—The grant of a right-of-way 14 under subsection (a) does not waive the sovereign immu- 15 nity of the Indian tribe or diminish the jurisdiction of that 16 Indian tribe over the Tribal land subject to the right-of- 17 way, unless otherwise provided in— 18 ‘‘(1) the grant of the right-of-way; or 19 ‘‘(2) the regulations of the Indian tribe.’’. 20 Passed the Senate November 21, 2024. Attest: Secretary. 118TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 1322 AN ACT To amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to modify the authorized purposes and term period of tribal leases, and for other purposes.