Self-Governance PROGRESS Act Negotiated Rulemaking Committee; Notice of Meeting, 19666-19667 [2023-06878]
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regulations at 25 CFR part 162, Federal
courts have applied a balancing test to
determine whether State and local
taxation of non-Indians on the
reservation is preempted. White
Mountain Apache Tribe v. Bracker, 448
U.S. 136, 143 (1980). The Bracker
balancing test, which is conducted
against a backdrop of ‘‘traditional
notions of Indian self-government,’’
requires a particularized examination of
the relevant State, Federal, and Tribal
interests. We hereby adopt the Bracker
analysis from the preamble to the
surface leasing regulations, 77 FR at
72447–48, as supplemented by the
analysis below.
The strong Federal and Tribal
interests against State and local taxation
of improvements, leaseholds, and
activities on land leased under the
Department’s leasing regulations apply
equally to improvements, leaseholds,
and activities on land leased pursuant to
Tribal leasing regulations approved
under the HEARTH Act. Congress’s
overarching intent was to ‘‘allow Tribes
to exercise greater control over their
own land, support self-determination,
and eliminate bureaucratic delays that
stand in the way of homeownership and
economic development in Tribal
communities.’’ 158 Cong. Rec. H. 2682
(May 15, 2012). The HEARTH Act was
intended to afford Tribes ‘‘flexibility to
adapt lease terms to suit [their] business
and cultural needs’’ and to ‘‘enable
[Tribes] to approve leases quickly and
efficiently.’’ H. Rep. 112–427 at 6
(2012).
Assessment of State and local taxes
would obstruct these express Federal
policies supporting Tribal economic
development and self-determination,
and also threaten substantial Tribal
interests in effective Tribal government,
economic self-sufficiency, and territorial
autonomy. See Michigan v. Bay Mills
Indian Community, 572 U.S. 782, 810
(2014) (Sotomayor, J., concurring)
(determining that ‘‘[a] key goal of the
Federal Government is to render Tribes
more self-sufficient, and better
positioned to fund their own sovereign
functions, rather than relying on Federal
funding’’). The additional costs of State
and local taxation have a chilling effect
on potential lessees, as well as on a
Tribe that, as a result, might refrain from
exercising its own sovereign right to
impose a Tribal tax to support its
infrastructure needs. See id. at 810–11
(finding that State and local taxes
greatly discourage Tribes from raising
tax revenue from the same sources
because the imposition of double
taxation would impede Tribal economic
growth).
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Similar to BIA’s surface leasing
regulations, Tribal regulations under the
HEARTH Act pervasively cover all
aspects of leasing. See 25 U.S.C.
415(h)(3)(B)(i) (requiring Tribal
regulations be consistent with BIA
surface leasing regulations).
Furthermore, the Federal government
remains involved in the Tribal land
leasing process by approving the Tribal
leasing regulations in the first instance
and providing technical assistance,
upon request by a Tribe, for the
development of an environmental
review process. The Secretary also
retains authority to take any necessary
actions to remedy violations of a lease
or of the Tribal regulations, including
terminating the lease or rescinding
approval of the Tribal regulations and
reassuming lease approval
responsibilities. Moreover, the Secretary
continues to review, approve, and
monitor individual Indian land leases
and other types of leases not covered
under the Tribal regulations according
to the Part 162 regulations.
Accordingly, the Federal and Tribal
interests weigh heavily in favor of
preemption of State and local taxes on
lease-related activities and interests,
regardless of whether the lease is
governed by Tribal leasing regulations
or Part 162. Improvements, activities,
and leasehold or possessory interests
may be subject to taxation by the
Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the
Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado.
Bryan Newland,
Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023–06875 Filed 3–31–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4337–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
[234A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.
999900]
Self-Governance PROGRESS Act
Negotiated Rulemaking Committee;
Notice of Meeting
Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, the
Self-Governance PROGRESS Act
Negotiated Rulemaking Committee
(Committee), will hold the eighth public
meeting to negotiate and advise the
Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) on a
proposed rule to implement the
Practical Reforms and Other Goals To
Reinforce the Effectiveness of Self-
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00062
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Governance and Self-Determination for
Indian Tribes Act of 2019 (PROGRESS
Act).
DATES:
• Meeting: The meeting is open to the
public and to be held both in-person
and virtually on Thursday, April 20,
2023, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Standard Time. Please see
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION below for
details on how to participate.
• Comments: Interested persons are
invited to submit comments on or before
May 21, 2023. Please see ADDRESSES
below for details on how to submit
written comments.
ADDRESSES: Send your written
comments to the Designated Federal
Officer, Vickie Hanvey, by any of the
following methods:
• Preferred method: Email to
comments@bia.gov with ‘‘PROGRESS
Act’’ in subject line.
• Mail, hand-carry or use an
overnight courier service to the
Designated Federal Officer, Ms. Vickie
Hanvey, Office of Self-Governance,
Office of the Assistant Secretary—
Indian Affairs, 1849 C Street NW, Mail
Stop 3624, Washington, DC 20240.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Vickie Hanvey, Designated Federal
Officer, comments@bia.gov, (918) 931–
0745.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
meeting is being held under the
authority of the PROGRESS Act (Pub. L.
116–180), the Negotiated Rulemaking
Act (5 U.S.C. 561 et seq.), and the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5
U.S.C. Appendix 10). The Committee is
to negotiate and reach consensus on
recommendations for a proposed rule
that will replace the existing regulations
at 25 CFR part 1000. The Committee
will be charged with developing
proposed regulations for the Secretary’s
implementation of the PROGRESS Act’s
provisions regarding the Department of
the Interior’s (DOI) Self-Governance
Program. See Public Law 116–180.
The PROGRESS Act amends
subchapter I of the Indian SelfDetermination and Education
Assistance Act (ISDEAA), 25 U.S.C.
5301 et seq., which addresses Indian
Self-Determination, and subchapter IV
of the ISDEAA, which addresses DOI’s
Tribal Self-Governance Program. The
PROGRESS Act also authorizes the
Secretary to adapt negotiated
rulemaking procedures to the unique
context of self-governance and the
government-to-government relationship
between the United States and Indian
Tribes. The Federal Register notice
published on May 18, 2022 (87 FR
30256) discussed the issues to be
E:\FR\FM\03APN1.SGM
03APN1
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 63 / Monday, April 3, 2023 / Notices
negotiated and the members of the
Committee.
Meeting Agenda/Accessibility: These
meetings are open to the public.
Detailed information about the
Committee, including meeting agendas
can be accessed at https://www.bia.gov/
service/progress-act. Topics for this
meeting will include Committee priority
setting, possible subcommittees and
assignments, subcommittee reports,
negotiated rulemaking process, schedule
and agenda setting for future meetings,
Committee caucus, and public
comment. The Committee meetings will
begin at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard
Time on Thursday, April 20, 2023.
Members of the public wishing to attend
the meeting should visit https://
teams.microsoft.com/l/meetupjoin/
19%3ameeting_NmU5MGQ0NDUtZTdk
Mi00MzExLWIxMmEtMjc4NjE5
NzM5NTll%40thread.v2/0?context=
%7B%22Tid%22%3A%220693b5ba4b18-4d7b-9341f32f400a5494%22%2C%22Oid
%22%3A%2213321130-a12b-42908bcf-30387057bd7b%22%2C%22
IsBroadcastMeeting
%22%3Atrue%2C%22role%22%3A
%22a%22%7D&btype=a&role=a for
virtual access. The public meeting will
be held at the Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service located at 250 E St
SW, Washington, DC 20219.
Special Accommodations: Please
make requests in advance for sign
language interpreter services, assistive
listening devices, or other reasonable
accommodations. We ask that you
contact the person listed in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this notice at least seven (7) business
days prior to the meeting to give DOI
sufficient time to process your request.
All reasonable accommodation requests
are managed on a case-by-case basis.
Individuals in the United States who
are deaf, blind, hard of hearing, or have
a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY,
TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services.
Individuals outside the United States
should use the relay services offered
within their country to make
international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States.
Public Comments During Meeting:
Depending on the number of people
who want to comment and the time
available, the amount of time for
individual oral comments may be
limited. Requests to address the
Committee during the meeting will be
accommodated in the order the requests
are received. Individuals who wish to
expand upon their oral statements, or
those who had wished to speak but
could not be accommodated on the
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:14 Mar 31, 2023
Jkt 259001
agenda, may submit written comments
to the Designated Federal Officer up to
30 days following the meeting. Written
comments may be sent to Vickie Hanvey
listed in the ADDRESSES section above.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 10.
Bryan Newland,
Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023–06878 Filed 3–31–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4337–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
[234A2100DD/AAKC001030/
A0A501010.999900]
HEARTH Act Approval of Lac Courte
Oreilles Band of Lake Superior
Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
Leasing Ordinance
Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA) approved the Lac Courte Oreilles
Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Indians of Wisconsin Leasing Ordinance
under the Helping Expedite and
Advance Responsible Tribal
Homeownership Act of 2012 (HEARTH
Act). With this approval, the Tribe is
authorized to enter into agricultural,
business, residential, wind and solar,
public, religious, educational,
recreational, cultural, and other
purposes leases without further BIA
approval.
DATES: BIA issued the approval on
March 28, 2023
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Carla Clark, Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Division of Real Estate Services, 1001
Indian School Road NW, Albuquerque,
NM 87104, carla.clark@bia.gov, (702)
484–3233.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
I. Summary of the HEARTH Act
The HEARTH Act makes a voluntary,
alternative land leasing process
available to Tribes, by amending the
Indian Long-Term Leasing Act of 1955,
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19667
25 U.S.C. 415. The HEARTH Act
authorizes Tribes to negotiate and enter
into business leases of Tribal trust lands
with a primary term of 25 years, and up
to two renewal terms of 25 years each,
without the approval of the Secretary of
the Interior (Secretary). The HEARTH
Act also authorizes Tribes to enter into
leases for residential, recreational,
religious or educational purposes for a
primary term of up to 75 years without
the approval of the Secretary.
Participating Tribes develop Tribal
Leasing regulations, including an
environmental review process, and then
must obtain the Secretary’s approval of
those regulations prior to entering into
leases. The HEARTH Act requires the
Secretary to approve Tribal regulations
if the Tribal regulations are consistent
with the Department of the Interior’s
(Department) leasing regulations at 25
CFR part 162 and provide for an
environmental review process that
meets requirements set forth in the
HEARTH Act. This notice announces
that the Secretary, through the Assistant
Secretary—Indian Affairs, has approved
the Tribal regulations for the Lac Courte
Oreilles Band of Lake Superior
Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin.
II. Federal Preemption of State and
Local Taxes
The Department’s regulations
governing the surface leasing of trust
and restricted Indian lands specify that,
subject to applicable Federal law,
permanent improvements on leased
land, leasehold or possessory interests,
and activities under the lease are not
subject to State and local taxation and
may be subject to taxation by the Indian
Tribe with jurisdiction. See 25 CFR
162.017. As explained further in the
preamble to the final regulations, the
Federal government has a strong interest
in promoting economic development,
self-determination, and Tribal
sovereignty. 77 FR 72440, 72447–48
(December 5, 2012). The principles
supporting the Federal preemption of
State law in the field of Indian leasing
and the taxation of lease-related
interests and activities applies with
equal force to leases entered into under
Tribal leasing regulations approved by
the Federal government pursuant to the
HEARTH Act.
Section 5 of the Indian Reorganization
Act, 25 U.S.C. 5108, preempts State and
local taxation of permanent
improvements on trust land.
Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis
Reservation v. Thurston County, 724
F.3d 1153, 1157 (9th Cir. 2013) (citing
Mescalero Apache Tribe v. Jones, 411
U.S. 145 (1973)). Similarly, section 5108
preempts State taxation of rent
E:\FR\FM\03APN1.SGM
03APN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 63 (Monday, April 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19666-19667]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06878]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
[234A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900]
Self-Governance PROGRESS Act Negotiated Rulemaking Committee;
Notice of Meeting
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the
Self-Governance PROGRESS Act Negotiated Rulemaking Committee
(Committee), will hold the eighth public meeting to negotiate and
advise the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) on a proposed rule to
implement the Practical Reforms and Other Goals To Reinforce the
Effectiveness of Self-Governance and Self-Determination for Indian
Tribes Act of 2019 (PROGRESS Act).
DATES:
Meeting: The meeting is open to the public and to be held
both in-person and virtually on Thursday, April 20, 2023, from 9:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Please see SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION below for details on how to participate.
Comments: Interested persons are invited to submit
comments on or before May 21, 2023. Please see ADDRESSES below for
details on how to submit written comments.
ADDRESSES: Send your written comments to the Designated Federal
Officer, Vickie Hanvey, by any of the following methods:
Preferred method: Email to [email protected] with
``PROGRESS Act'' in subject line.
Mail, hand-carry or use an overnight courier service to
the Designated Federal Officer, Ms. Vickie Hanvey, Office of Self-
Governance, Office of the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs, 1849 C
Street NW, Mail Stop 3624, Washington, DC 20240.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vickie Hanvey, Designated Federal
Officer, [email protected], (918) 931-0745.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This meeting is being held under the
authority of the PROGRESS Act (Pub. L. 116-180), the Negotiated
Rulemaking Act (5 U.S.C. 561 et seq.), and the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (5 U.S.C. Appendix 10). The Committee is to negotiate and
reach consensus on recommendations for a proposed rule that will
replace the existing regulations at 25 CFR part 1000. The Committee
will be charged with developing proposed regulations for the
Secretary's implementation of the PROGRESS Act's provisions regarding
the Department of the Interior's (DOI) Self-Governance Program. See
Public Law 116-180.
The PROGRESS Act amends subchapter I of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA), 25 U.S.C. 5301 et
seq., which addresses Indian Self-Determination, and subchapter IV of
the ISDEAA, which addresses DOI's Tribal Self-Governance Program. The
PROGRESS Act also authorizes the Secretary to adapt negotiated
rulemaking procedures to the unique context of self-governance and the
government-to-government relationship between the United States and
Indian Tribes. The Federal Register notice published on May 18, 2022
(87 FR 30256) discussed the issues to be
[[Page 19667]]
negotiated and the members of the Committee.
Meeting Agenda/Accessibility: These meetings are open to the
public. Detailed information about the Committee, including meeting
agendas can be accessed at https://www.bia.gov/service/progress-act.
Topics for this meeting will include Committee priority setting,
possible subcommittees and assignments, subcommittee reports,
negotiated rulemaking process, schedule and agenda setting for future
meetings, Committee caucus, and public comment. The Committee meetings
will begin at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, April 20,
2023. Members of the public wishing to attend the meeting should visit
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetupjoin/19%3ameeting_NmU5MGQ0NDUtZTdkMi00MzExLWIxMmEtMjc4NjE5NzM5NTll%40thread.v2/0?context=%7B%22Tid%22%3A%220693b5ba-4b18-4d7b-9341-f32f400a5494%22%2C%22Oid%22%3A%2213321130-a12b-4290-8bcf-30387057bd7b%22%2C%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3Atrue%2C%22role%22%3A%22a%22%7D&btype=a&role=a for virtual access. The public meeting will be held
at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service located at 250 E St
SW, Washington, DC 20219.
Special Accommodations: Please make requests in advance for sign
language interpreter services, assistive listening devices, or other
reasonable accommodations. We ask that you contact the person listed in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice at least
seven (7) business days prior to the meeting to give DOI sufficient
time to process your request. All reasonable accommodation requests are
managed on a case-by-case basis.
Individuals in the United States who are deaf, blind, hard of
hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or
TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals
outside the United States should use the relay services offered within
their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in
the United States.
Public Comments During Meeting: Depending on the number of people
who want to comment and the time available, the amount of time for
individual oral comments may be limited. Requests to address the
Committee during the meeting will be accommodated in the order the
requests are received. Individuals who wish to expand upon their oral
statements, or those who had wished to speak but could not be
accommodated on the agenda, may submit written comments to the
Designated Federal Officer up to 30 days following the meeting. Written
comments may be sent to Vickie Hanvey listed in the ADDRESSES section
above.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 10.
Bryan Newland,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2023-06878 Filed 3-31-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4337-15-P