Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act
This bill allows five Alaska Native communities in Southeast Alaska to form urban corporations and receive land entitlements.
Specifically, the bill allows the Alaska Native residents of each of the Alaska Native villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell, Alaska, to organize as Alaska Native urban corporations and to receive certain settlement land.
The bill directs the Department of the Interior to convey specified land to each urban corporation. Further, Interior must convey the subsurface estate for that land to the regional corporation for Southeast Alaska.
The land conveyed to each urban corporation must include any U.S. interest in all roads, trails, log transfer facilities, leases, and appurtenances on or related to the land conveyed to the urban corporation.
The bill also allows each urban corporation to establish a settlement trust to (1) promote the health, education, and welfare of the trust beneficiaries; and (2) preserve the Alaska Native heritage and culture of their communities.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 41 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 41
To provide for the recognition of certain Alaska Native communities and
the settlement of certain claims under the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 3, 2025
Mr. Begich introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the recognition of certain Alaska Native communities and
the settlement of certain claims under the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Unrecognized Southeast Alaska Native
Communities Recognition and Compensation Act''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to redress the omission of the
southeastern Alaska communities of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg,
Tenakee, and Wrangell from eligibility under the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) by authorizing the Alaska
Natives enrolled in the communities--
(1) to form Urban Corporations for the communities of
Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell under the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.);
and
(2) to receive certain settlement land pursuant to that
Act.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADDITIONAL NATIVE CORPORATIONS.
Section 16 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C.
1615) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee,
and Wrangell, Alaska.--
``(1) In general.--The Native residents of each of the
Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and
Wrangell, Alaska, may organize as Urban Corporations.
``(2) Effect on entitlement to land.--Nothing in this
subsection affects any entitlement to land of any Native
Corporation established before the date of enactment of this
subsection pursuant to this Act or any other provision of
law.''.
SEC. 4. SHAREHOLDER ELIGIBILITY.
Section 8 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C.
1607) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee,
and Wrangell.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall enroll to each of
the Urban Corporations for Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg,
Tenakee, or Wrangell those individual Natives who enrolled
under this Act to the Native Villages of Haines, Ketchikan,
Petersburg, Tenakee, or Wrangell, respectively.
``(2) Number of shares.--Each Native who is enrolled to an
Urban Corporation for Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee,
or Wrangell pursuant to paragraph (1) and who was enrolled as a
shareholder of the Regional Corporation for Southeast Alaska
shall receive 100 shares of Settlement Common Stock in the
respective Urban Corporation.
``(3) Natives receiving shares through inheritance.--If a
Native received shares of stock in the Regional Corporation for
Southeast Alaska through inheritance from a decedent Native who
originally enrolled to the Native Village of Haines, Ketchikan,
Petersburg, Tenakee, or Wrangell and the decedent Native was
not a shareholder in a Village Corporation or Urban
Corporation, the Native shall receive the identical number of
shares of Settlement Common Stock in the Urban Corporation for
Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, or Wrangell as the
number of shares inherited by that Native from the decedent
Native who would have been eligible to be enrolled to the
respective Urban Corporation.
``(4) Effect on entitlement to land.--Nothing in this
subsection affects any previous or future allocation of acreage
to any Regional Corporation pursuant to section 12(b) or
14(h)(8).''.
SEC. 5. DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS.
Section 7 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C.
1606) is amended--
(1) in subsection (j)--
(A) in the third sentence, by striking ``In the
case'' and inserting the following:
``(3) Thirteenth regional corporation.--In the case'';
(B) in the second sentence, by striking ``Not
less'' and inserting the following:
``(2) Minimum allocation.--Not less'';
(C) by striking ``(j) During'' and inserting the
following:
``(j) Distribution of Corporate Funds and Other Net Income.--
``(1) In general.--During''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Native villages of haines, ketchikan, petersburg,
tenakee, and wrangell.--Native members of the Native Villages
of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell who
become shareholders in an Urban Corporation for such a Native
Village shall continue to be eligible to receive distributions
under this subsection as at-large shareholders of the Regional
Corporation for Southeast Alaska.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(s) Effect of Amendatory Act.--The Unrecognized Southeast Alaska
Native Communities Recognition and Compensation Act and the amendments
made by that Act shall not affect--
``(1) the ratio for determination of revenue distribution
among Native Corporations under this section; or
``(2) the settlement agreement among Regional Corporations
or Village Corporations or other provisions of subsection (i)
or (j).''.
SEC. 6. COMPENSATION.
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 43. URBAN CORPORATIONS FOR HAINES, KETCHIKAN, PETERSBURG,
TENAKEE, AND WRANGELL.
``(a) Definition of Urban Corporation.--In this section, the term
`Urban Corporation' means each of the Urban Corporations for Haines,
Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and Wrangell.
``(b) Conveyances of Land.--
``(1) Authorization.--
``(A) Conveyances to urban corporations.--Subject
to valid existing rights and paragraphs (3), (4), (5),
and (6), the Secretary shall convey--
``(i) to the Urban Corporation for Haines,
the surface estate in 12 parcels of Federal
land comprising approximately 23,040 acres, as
generally depicted on the maps entitled `Haines
Selections', numbered 1 and 2, and dated April
19, 2023;
``(ii) to the Urban Corporation for
Ketchikan, the surface estate in 8 parcels of
Federal land comprising approximately 23,040
acres, as generally depicted on the maps
entitled `Ketchikan Selections', numbered 1
through 4, and dated April 19, 2023;
``(iii) to the Urban Corporation for
Petersburg, the surface estate in 12 parcels of
Federal land comprising approximately 23,040
acres, as generally depicted on the maps
entitled `Petersburg Selections', numbered 1
through 3, and dated April 19, 2023;
``(iv) to the Urban Corporation for
Tenakee, the surface estate in 15 parcels of
Federal land comprising approximately 23,040
acres, as generally depicted on the maps
entitled `Tenakee Selections', numbered 1
through 3, and dated April 19, 2023; and
``(v) to the Urban Corporation for
Wrangell, the surface estate in 13 parcels of
Federal land comprising approximately 23,040
acres, as generally depicted on the maps
entitled `Wrangell Selections', numbered 1
through 5, and dated April 19, 2023.
``(B) Conveyances to regional corporation for
southeast alaska.--Subject to valid existing rights, on
the applicable date on which the surface estate in land
is conveyed to an Urban Corporation under subparagraph
(A), the Secretary shall convey to the Regional
Corporation for Southeast Alaska the subsurface estate
for that land.
``(C) Congressional intent.--
``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii),
it is the intent of Congress that the Secretary
complete the interim conveyance of the surface
estate in land to an Urban Corporation under
subparagraph (A) not later than the date that
is 2 years after the applicable date of
incorporation of the Urban Corporation under
section 16(e)(1).
``(ii) Exception.--As the Secretary
determines to be necessary, the Secretary may
extend the 2-year deadline established by
clause (i) by not more than 1 year for any
individual parcel of land to allow for the
conclusion of any pending appeal of a public
easement decision for the applicable parcel
pursuant to section 17(b), subject to the
requirement that the final conveyance of the
surface estate with respect to the applicable
parcel shall be completed as soon as
practicable after the date on which the appeal
is concluded.
``(D) Finalization of entitlement.--
``(i) In general.--The conveyances under
subparagraph (A) shall be considered to be the
full and final satisfaction of the entitlement
of the southeastern Alaska communities of
Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, and
Wrangell under this Act, notwithstanding
whether the surveyed acreage of the parcels of
land described in clauses (i) through (v) of
that subparagraph is less than or more than
23,040 acres in the case of each Urban
Corporation, subject to the requirement that
the surveyed acreage shall be not less than
23,020 acres and not more than 23,060 acres.
``(ii) Adjustments.--If the total surveyed
acreage of land conveyed to an Urban
Corporation under subparagraph (A) is less than
23,020 acres or more than 23,060 acres, the
Secretary, the Secretary of Agriculture, and
the Urban Corporation shall negotiate in good
faith to make a mutually agreeable adjustment
to the parcels of Federal land described in
clauses (i) through (v) of subparagraph (A) to
ensure that not less than and not more than
23,040 acres of land is conveyed to the Urban
Corporation.
``(2) Withdrawal.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to valid existing
rights, the Federal land described in paragraph (1) is
withdrawn from all forms of--
``(i) entry, appropriation, or disposal
under the public land laws;
``(ii) location, entry, and patent under
the mining laws; and
``(iii) disposition under all laws
pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing or
mineral materials.
``(B) Termination.--The withdrawal under
subparagraph (A) shall remain in effect until the date
on which the Federal land is conveyed under paragraph
(1).
``(3) Treatment of land conveyed.--Except as otherwise
provided in this section, any land conveyed to an Urban
Corporation under paragraph (1)(A) shall be--
``(A) considered to be land conveyed by the
Secretary under section 14(h)(3); and
``(B) subject to all laws (including regulations)
applicable to entitlements under section 14(h)(3),
including section 907(d) of the Alaska National
Interest Lands Conservation Act (43 U.S.C. 1636(d)).
``(4) Public easements.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (C), the
conveyance and patents for the land under paragraph
(1)(A) shall be subject to the reservation before the
conveyance of public easements under section 17(b).
``(B) Termination.--No public easement reserved on
land conveyed under paragraph (1)(A) shall be
terminated by the Secretary without publication of
notice of the proposed termination in the Federal
Register.
``(C) Reservation of easements.--In the conveyance
and patent for any parcel of land under paragraph
(1)(A) for which the easement reservation process has
not been completed by the date that is 2 years after
the applicable date of incorporation of the Urban
Corporation under section 16(e)(1), or, in the case of
an appeal of a public easement under section 17(b), by
the date that is 3 years after the applicable date of
incorporation, the Secretary shall--
``(i) convey the parcel of land; and
``(ii) as part of the conveyance and patent
for the parcel of land under clause (i),
reserve the right of the Secretary to amend the
conveyance and patent to include reservations
of public easements under section 17(b) until
the date of completion of the easement
reservation process.
``(D) State of alaska easements.--Nothing in this
Act modifies, changes, or terminates the rights-of-way
granted to the State under--
``(i) section 4407 of the SAFETEA-LU
(Public Law 109-59; 119 Stat. 1777); or
``(ii) the 2006 memorandum of understanding
between the State and the Forest Service to
implement that section.
``(5) Hunting, fishing, recreation, and access.--
``(A) In general.--Any land conveyed under
paragraph (1)(A), including access to the land through
roadways, trails, and forest roads, shall remain open
and available to subsistence uses, noncommercial
recreational hunting and fishing, and other
noncommercial recreational uses by the public under
applicable law--
``(i) without liability on the part of the
Urban Corporation, except for willful acts of
the Urban Corporation, to any user as a result
of the use; and
``(ii) subject to--
``(I) any reasonable restrictions
that may be imposed by the Urban
Corporation on the public use--
``(aa) to ensure public
safety;
``(bb) to minimize
conflicts between recreational
and commercial uses;
``(cc) to protect cultural
resources;
``(dd) to conduct
scientific research; or
``(ee) to provide
environmental protection; and
``(II) the condition that the Urban
Corporation post on any applicable
property, in accordance with State law,
notices of the restrictions on use.
``(B) Effect.--Access provided to any individual or
entity under subparagraph (A) shall not--
``(i) create an interest in any third party
in the land conveyed under paragraph (1)(A); or
``(ii) provide standing to any third party
in any review of, or challenge to, any
determination by the Urban Corporation with
respect to the management or development of the
land conveyed under paragraph (1)(A), except as
against the Urban Corporation for the
management of public access under subparagraph
(A).
``(6) Miscellaneous.--
``(A) Special use authorizations.--
``(i) In general.--On the conveyance of
land to an Urban Corporation under paragraph
(1)(A)--
``(I) any guiding or outfitting
special use authorization issued by the
Forest Service for the use of the
conveyed land shall terminate; and
``(II) as a condition of the
conveyance and consistent with section
14(g), the Urban Corporation shall
issue the holder of the special use
authorization terminated under
subclause (I) an authorization to
continue the authorized use, subject to
the terms and conditions that were in
the special use authorization issued by
the Forest Service, for--
``(aa) the remainder of the
term of the authorization; and
``(bb) 1 additional
consecutive 10-year renewal
period.
``(ii) Notice of commercial activities.--
The Urban Corporation, and any holder of a
guiding or outfitting authorization under this
subparagraph, shall have a mutual obligation,
subject to the guiding or outfitting
authorization, to inform the other party of any
commercial activities prior to engaging in the
activities on the land conveyed to the Urban
Corporation under paragraph (1)(A).
``(iii) Negotiation of new terms.--Nothing
in this paragraph precludes the Urban
Corporation and the holder of a guiding or
outfitting authorization from negotiating a new
mutually agreeable guiding or outfitting
authorization.
``(iv) Liability.--Neither the Urban
Corporation nor the United States shall bear
any liability, except for willful acts of the
Urban Corporation or the United States,
regarding the use and occupancy of any land
conveyed to the Urban Corporation under
paragraph (1)(A), as provided in any outfitting
or guiding authorization under this paragraph.
``(B) Mutual use agreement for roads and
facilities.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary of
Agriculture shall seek to enter into a binding
mutual use agreement for--
``(I) the use of National Forest
System roads and related transportation
facilities (including marine access
facilities, log transfer facilities,
sort yards, and associated log rafting
and storage areas) in the Tongass
National Forest by the Urban
Corporation and designees of the Urban
Corporation; and
``(II) the use of the roads and
related transportation facilities
(including marine access facilities,
log transfer facilities, sort yards,
and associated log rafting and storage
areas) of the Urban Corporation by the
Forest Service and designees of the
Forest Service.
``(ii) Terms and conditions.--The binding
mutual use agreement under clause (i)--
``(I) shall provide that the use of
road and transportation facilities
infrastructure by a third party shall
not begin until the date on which the
third party signs a mutual use
agreement entered into with the Urban
Corporation;
``(II) shall provide that the State
(including entities and designees of
the State) shall be authorized to use
the roads and related transportation
facilities of the Urban Corporation on
substantially similar terms as are
provided by the Urban Corporation to
the Forest Service;
``(III) shall include restrictions
on, and fees for, the use of the
National Forest System roads and
related transportation facilities in
existence as of the date of enactment
of this section, as necessary, that are
reasonable and comparable to the
restrictions and fees imposed by the
Forest Service for the use of the roads
and related transportation facilities;
``(IV) shall not restrict or limit
any access to the roads and related
transportation facilities of the Urban
Corporation or the Forest Service that
may be otherwise provided by valid
existing rights and agreements in
existence as of the date of enactment
of this section; and
``(V) shall provide for periodic
updates to the mutual use agreement if
the terms and conditions of the updated
mutual use agreement are consistent
with the terms and conditions described
in subclauses (I) through (IV).
``(iii) Intent of congress.--It is the
intent of Congress that the mutual use
agreement under clause (i) shall be entered
into as soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of this section and in any case by
not later than 1 year after the date of
incorporation of the Urban Corporation.
``(iv) Continued access.--Beginning on the
date on which the land is conveyed to the Urban
Corporation under paragraph (1)(A) and ending
on the effective date of a binding mutual use
agreement entered into under clause (i), the
Urban Corporation shall provide and allow
administrative access to roads and related
transportation facilities on the land under
substantially similar terms as are provided by
the Forest Service as of the date of enactment
of this section.
``(C) Effect on other laws.--
``(i) In general.--Nothing in this section
delays the duty of the Secretary to convey land
to--
``(I) the State under Public Law
85-508 (commonly known as the `Alaska
Statehood Act') (48 U.S.C. note prec.
21); or
``(II) a Native Corporation under--
``(aa) this Act; or
``(bb) the Alaska Land
Transfer Acceleration Act (43
U.S.C. 1611 note; Public Law
108-452).
``(ii) Statehood entitlement.--
``(I) In general.--Statehood
selections under Public Law 85-508
(commonly known as the `Alaska
Statehood Act') (48 U.S.C. note prec.
21) are not displaced by the parcels of
land described in clauses (i) through
(v) of paragraph (1)(A).
``(II) Boundary adjustments.--In
the event of a dispute between an area
selected as a Statehood selection and a
parcel of land referred to in subclause
(I), the Secretary shall work with the
Urban Corporation and the State in good
faith to adjust the boundary of the
parcel to exclude any area selected as
a Statehood selection.
``(iii) Conveyances.--The Secretary shall
promptly proceed with the conveyance of all
land necessary to fulfill the final entitlement
of all Native Corporations in accordance with--
``(I) this Act; and
``(II) the Alaska Land Transfer
Acceleration Act (43 U.S.C. 1611 note;
Public Law 108-452).
``(iv) Fish and wildlife.--Nothing in this
section enlarges or diminishes the
responsibility and authority of the State with
respect to the management of fish and wildlife
on public land in the State.
``(D) Maps.--
``(i) Availability.--Each map referred to
in paragraph (1)(A) shall be available in the
appropriate offices of the Secretary and the
Secretary of Agriculture.
``(ii) Corrections.--The Secretary, in
consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture,
may make any necessary correction to a clerical
or typographical error in a map referred to in
paragraph (1)(A).
``(7) Escrow funds.--Beginning on the date of enactment of
this section, the escrow requirements of section 2 of Public
Law 94-204 (43 U.S.C. 1613 note) shall apply to proceeds
(including interest) derived from the land withdrawn under
paragraph (2).
``(c) Conveyance of Roads, Trails, Log Transfer Facilities, Leases,
and Appurtenances.--
``(1) In general.--The land conveyed to an Urban
Corporation under subsection (b)(1)(A) shall include all right,
title, and interest of the United States in all roads, trails,
log transfer facilities, leases, and appurtenances on or
related to the land conveyed to the Urban Corporation.
``(2) Conditions.--The land conveyed to an Urban
Corporation under subsection (b)(1)(A) shall be subject to all
valid existing rights in accordance with section 14(g),
including any reciprocal rights-of-way, easements, or
agreements for the use of the roads, trails, log transfer
facilities, leases, and appurtenances conveyed under subsection
(b)(1)(A).
``(3) Continuation of agreements.--
``(A) In general.--On or before the date on which
land is conveyed to an Urban Corporation under
subsection (b)(1)(A), the Secretary shall provide to
the Urban Corporation notice of all reciprocal rights-
of-way, easements, and agreements for use of the roads,
trails, log transfer facilities, leases, and
appurtenances on or related to the land in existence as
of the date of enactment of this section.
``(B) Requirement.--In accordance with section
14(g), any right-of-way, easement, or agreement
described in subparagraph (A) shall continue unless the
right-of-way, easement, or agreement--
``(i) expires under its own terms; or
``(ii) is mutually renegotiated.
``(d) Settlement Trust.--
``(1) In general.--Each Urban Corporation may establish a
settlement trust in accordance with section 39 for the purposes
of promoting the health, education, and welfare of the trust
beneficiaries, and preserving the Native heritage and culture,
of the community of Haines, Ketchikan, Petersburg, Tenakee, or
Wrangell, as applicable.
``(2) Proceeds and income.--The proceeds and income from
the principal of a trust established under paragraph (1)
shall--
``(A) first be applied to the support of those
enrollees, and the descendants of the enrollees, who
are elders or minor children; and
``(B) thereafter to the support of all other
enrollees.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
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