This bill amends longstanding federal laws governing land leases and rights-of-way on Indian trust and restricted lands to give tribes more direct control over these transactions. It expands the list of tribes covered under the 1955 Long-Term Leasing Act and removes certain lease-term restrictions that previously limited how long tribal lands could be leased for various purposes. A major change allows tribes to grant rights-of-way across their own tribal land without needing federal approval, as long as the tribe has an approved tribal regulation governing the process, including its own environmental review procedures; the Secretary of the Interior must review and approve or deny such tribal regulations within 180 days. The bill also establishes a compliance and enforcement framework, including tribal hearings and opportunities to fix violations, while clarifying that the federal government is not liable for losses from tribally granted rights-of-way and that tribes retain sovereign immunity and jurisdiction over their land. Overall, the legislation primarily affects federally recognized tribes and aims to speed up economic development, such as leasing land or approving infrastructure projects like pipelines or utility lines, by reducing federal bureaucratic delays.
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