Provides Tribes with More Control Over Land Use
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, recently introduced the Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act (HEARTH Act) of 2011 (S. 703). The HEARTH Act clears the way for any Indian tribe to pursue homeownership and other economic development opportunities on tribe lands held in trust by the United States. Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka (D-HI), and Senators John Thune (R-SD), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Jon Tester (D- MT) and Tom Udall (D-NM) have cosponsored the legislation.
“For far too long, bureaucratic red tape has prevented Indian tribes from pursuing economic development and homeownership opportunities on tribal trust lands,” said Barrasso. “I’ve introduced legislation that will reduce Washington barriers and make it easier for tribes to have more control over the surface leasing process for tribal lands. The HEARTH Act will provide our nation’s Indian tribes with new tools with which to expedite the productive and beneficial use of their lands.”
The HEARTH Act would create a voluntary, alternative land leasing process available to any Indian tribe (including the Eastern Shoshone Tribe and the Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming) that chooses to pursue it. In the end the tribe would have the authority to negotiate and enter into surface leases of tribal trust lands with a primary term of 25 years, and up to two renewal terms of 25 years each (or a primary term of up 75 years for residential, recreational, religious or educational purposes) without the approval of the Secretary of the Interior.
This bill would also require the Indian tribe to develop tribal leasing regulations, including a streamlined environmental review process, and obtain the Secretary’s approval of these regulations, prior to entering into leases under the Act.
The HEARTH act is modeled after legislation passed by Congress in 2000 which gave similar leasing authority to the Navajo Nation.
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