119 S3383 IS: Unlocking Native Lands and Opportunities for Commerce and Key Economic Developments Act of 2025
U.S. Senate
2025-12-08
text/xml
EN
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II
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3383
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 8 (legislative day, December 4), 2025
Mr. Schatz (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs
A BILL
To amend the Act of August 9, 1955, to make improvements to that Act, and for other purposes.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Unlocking Native Lands and Opportunities for Commerce and Key Economic Developments Act of 2025”.
2.

Modification of tribal leases and rights-of-way across Indian land
(a)

Leases of trust or restricted lands
The first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (69 Stat. 539, chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 415) (commonly known as the “Long-Term Leasing Act”), is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a), in the second sentence, by inserting “, land held in trust for any other Indian tribe, band, pueblo, village, community, component hand, or component reservation individually included (including parenthetically) on the most recent list published by the Secretary pursuant to section 104(a) of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131(a))” after “Chehalis Reservation”;
(2)
by striking “That (a) any” and inserting the following:
“1.

Leases of trust or restricted lands
(a)

Authorized purposes; term; approval by Secretary
Any”; and
(3)
in subsection (h)(1)—
(A)
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “and the term of the lease does not exceed—” and inserting a period; and
(B)
by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B).
(b)

Technical correction
Section 2 of the Act of August 9, 1955 (69 Stat. 539, chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 415a) (commonly known as the “Long-Term Leasing Act”), is amended by inserting “of the Interior” after “Secretary” each place it appears.
(c)

Modifications of rights-of-Way across Indian land
The Act of February 5, 1948 (62 Stat. 17, chapter 45), is amended—
(1)
in the first section (62 Stat. 17, chapter 45; 25 U.S.C. 323), by striking “That the Secretary of the Interior be, and he is hereby, empowered to” and inserting the following:
“1.

Rights-of-way for all purposes across Indian Land
(a)

Rights-of-Way
The Secretary of the Interior may”;
(2)
in section 2 (62 Stat. 18, chapter 45; 25 U.S.C. 324), by striking “organized under the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984), as amended; the Act of May 1, 1936 (49 Stat. 1250); or the Act of June 26, 1936 (49 Stat. 1967),”; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following:
“8.

Tribal grants of rights-of-way
(a)

Rights-of-Way
(1)

In general
Subject to paragraph (2), an Indian tribe may grant a right-of-way over and across the Tribal land of the Indian tribe for any purpose.
(2)

Authority
A right-of-way granted under paragraph (1) shall not require the approval of the Secretary of the Interior or a grant by the Secretary of the Interior under the section 1 if the right-of-way granted under paragraph (1) is executed in accordance with a Tribal regulation approved by the Secretary of the Interior under subsection (b).
(b)

Review of Tribal regulations
(1)

Tribal regulation submission and approval
(A)

Submission
An Indian tribe seeking to grant a right-of-way under subsection (a) shall submit for approval a Tribal regulation governing the granting of rights-of-way over and across the Tribal land of the Indian tribe.
(B)

Approval
Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of the Interior shall have the authority to approve or disapprove any Tribal regulation submitted under subparagraph (A).
(2)

Considerations for approval
(A)

In general
The Secretary of the Interior shall approve a Tribal regulation submitted under paragraph (1)(A), if the Tribal regulation—
(i)
is consistent with any regulations (or successor regulations) issued by the Secretary of the Interior under section 4;
(ii)
provides for an environmental review process that includes—
(I)
the identification and evaluation of any significant impacts the proposed action may have on the environment; and
(II)
a process for ensuring—
- (aa)
that the public is informed of, and has a reasonable opportunity to comment on, any significant environmental impacts of the proposed action identified by the Indian tribe under subclause (I); and
- (bb)
the Indian tribe provides a response to each relevant and substantive public comment on the significant environmental impacts identified by the Indian tribe under subclause (I) before the Indian tribe approves the right-of-way.
(B)

Statutory exemptions
The Secretary of the Interior, in making an approval decision under this subsection, shall not be subject to—
(i)
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.);
(ii)
section 306108 of title 54, United States Code; or
(iii)
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
(3)

Review process
(A)

In general
Not later than 180 days after the date on which the Indian tribe submits a Tribal regulation to the Secretary of the Interior under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary of the Interior shall—
(i)
review the Tribal regulation;
(ii)
approve or disapprove the Tribal regulation; and
(iii)
notify the Indian tribe that submitted the Tribal regulation of the approval or disapproval.
(B)

Written documentation
If the Secretary of the Interior disapproves a Tribal regulation submitted under paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary of the Interior shall include with the disapproval notification under subparagraph (A)(iii) written documentation describing the basis for the disapproval.
(C)

Extension
The Secretary of the Interior may, after consultation with the Indian tribe that submitted a Tribal regulation under paragraph (1)(A), extend the 180-day period described in subparagraph (A).
(4)

Federal environmental review
Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (3), if an Indian tribe carries out a project or activity funded by a Federal agency, the Indian tribe may rely on the environmental review process of the applicable Federal agency rather than any Tribal environmental review process required under this subsection.
(c)

Documentation
An Indian tribe granting a right-of-way under subsection (a) shall provide to the Secretary of the Interior—
(1)
a copy of the right-of-way, including any amendments or renewals; and
(2)
if the right-of-way allows for compensation to be made directly to the Indian tribe, documentation of payments that are sufficient, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, as to enable the Secretary of the Interior to discharge the trust responsibility of the United States under subsection (d).
(d)

Trust responsibility
(1)

In general
The United States shall not be liable for losses sustained by any party to a right-of-way granted under subsection (a).
(2)

Authority of the Secretary
(A)

In general
Pursuant to the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to fulfill the trust obligation of the United States to the applicable Indian tribe under Federal law (including regulations), the Secretary of the Interior may, on reasonable notice from the applicable Indian tribe and at the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, enforce the provisions of, or cancel, any right-of-way granted by the Indian tribe under subsection (a).
(B)

Authority
The enforcement or cancellation of a right-of-way under subparagraph (A) shall be conducted using regulatory procedures issued under section 6.
(e)

Compliance
(1)

In general
An interested party, after exhaustion of any applicable Tribal remedies, may submit a petition to the Secretary of the Interior, at such time and in such form as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, to review the compliance of an applicable Indian tribe with a Tribal regulation approved by the Secretary of the Interior under subsection (b).
(2)

Violations
If the Secretary of the Interior determines that a Tribal regulation was violated after conducting a review under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Interior may take any action the Secretary of the Interior determines to be necessary to remedy the violation, including rescinding the approval of the Tribal regulation and reassuming responsibility for approving rights-of-way through the trust land of the applicable Indian tribe.
(3)

Documentation
If the Secretary of the Interior determines that a Tribal regulation was violated after conducting a review under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Interior shall—
(A)
provide written documentation, with respect to the Tribal regulation that has been violated, to the appropriate interested party and Indian tribe;
(B)
provide the applicable Indian tribe with a written notice of the alleged violation; and
(C)
prior to the exercise of any remedy, including rescinding the approval for the applicable Tribal regulation or reassuming responsibility for approving rights-of-way through the trust land of the applicable Indian tribe, provide the applicable Indian tribe with—
(i)
a hearing that is on the record; and
(ii)
a reasonable opportunity to cure the alleged violation.
(f)

Savings clause
Nothing in this section affects the application of any Tribal regulations issued under Federal environmental law.
(g)

Effect of Tribal regulations
An approved Tribal regulation under subsection (b) shall not preclude an Indian tribe from, in the discretion of the Indian tribe, consenting to the grant of a right-of-way by the Secretary of the Interior under the section 1.
(h)

Terms of right-of-Way
The compensation for, and terms of, a right-of-way granted under subsection (a) will be determined by—
(1)
negotiations by the Indian tribe; or
(2)
the regulations of the Indian tribe.
(i)

Jurisdiction
The grant of a right-of-way under subsection (a) does not waive the sovereign immunity of the Indian tribe or diminish the jurisdiction of that Indian tribe over the Tribal land subject to the right-of-way, unless otherwise provided in—
(1)
the grant of the right-of-way; or
(2)
the regulations of the Indian tribe.”.