109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2000
To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide for
equitable allotment of land to Alaska Native veterans.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 10, 2005
Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself and Mr. STEVENS) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources
A BILL
To amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to provide for
equitable allotment of land to Alaska Native veterans.
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 `Alaska Native Veterans Land Allotment Equity
Act'.
SEC. 2. OPEN SEASON FOR CERTAIN ALASKA NATIVE VETERANS FOR ALLOTMENTS.
Section 41 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1629g)
is amended--
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking `In General' and inserting
`Alaska Native Veteran Allotments';
(B) by striking paragraphs (1) through (4) and inserting the following:
`(A) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS- Any person described in paragraph (1) or (2)
of subsection (b) shall be eligible to receive an allotment under the
Act of May 17, 1906 (34 Stat. 197, chapter 2469), of not more than 2
parcels of Federal land, the total area of which shall not exceed 160
acres.
`(B) FILING DEADLINE- An allotment shall be filed for an eligible recipient
not later than 3 years after the date on which the Secretary promulgates
regulations pursuant to section 3 of the Alaska Native Veterans Land
Allotment Equity Act.
`(2) LAND AVAILABLE FOR ALLOTMENTS-
`(A) IN GENERAL- An allotment under this section shall be selected from
land that is--
`(II) owned by the United States;
`(ii) selected by, or conveyed to, the State of Alaska, if the State
voluntarily relinquishes or conveys to the United States the land
for the allotment; or
`(iii) selected by, or conveyed to, a Native Corporation, if the Native
Corporation voluntarily relinquishes or conveys to the United States
the land for the allotment.
`(B) RELINQUISHMENT BY NATIVE CORPORATION- If a Native Corporation relinquishes
land under subparagraph (A)(iii), the Native Corporation may select
appropriate Federal land, as determined by the Secretary, the area of
which is equal to the area of the land relinquished by the Native Corporation,
to replace the relinquished land.
`(C) EXCLUSIONS- An allotment under this section shall not be selected
from land that is located within--
`(i) a right-of-way of the TransAlaska Pipeline; or
`(ii) an inner or outer corridor of such a right-of-way.
`(3) ALTERNATIVE ALLOTMENTS- A person described in paragraph (1) or (2)
of subsection (b) who qualifies for an allotment under this section on
land described in paragraph (2)(C) may select an alternative allotment
from land that is--
`(A) located within the boundaries land described in paragraph (2)(C);
and
`(B)(i)(I) withdrawn under section 11(a)(1)(C); and
`(II) not selected, or relinquished after selection, under section 11(a)(3);
`(ii) contiguous to an outer boundary of land withdrawn under section
11(a)(1)(C), unless that land is within a National Park; or
`(iii) vacant, unappropriated, and unreserved.'; and
(C) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as paragraphs (4) and (5),
respectively;
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the
following:
`(B) is a veteran who served during the period beginning August 5, 1964,
and ending May 7, 1975.';
(B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
`(2) DECEASED INDIVIDUALS- If an individual who would otherwise have been
eligible for an allotment under this section dies before applying for
an allotment, an heir of the individual may apply for, and receive, an
allotment under this section, on behalf of the estate of the individual.';
(C) in paragraph (3), by inserting before the period at the end the
following: `, other than an heir who applies for, and receives, an allotment
on behalf of the estate of a deceased individual under paragraph (2).';
(3) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as subsections (f) and (g),
respectively; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
`(d) Approval of Allotments-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Subject to any valid right in existence on the date of
enactment of the Alaska Native Veterans Land Allotment Equity Act, and
except as provided in paragraph (3), not later than January 31, 2010,
the Secretary shall--
`(A) approve any application for an allotment filed in accordance with
subsection (a); and
`(B) issue a certificate of allotment under any term, condition, or
restriction as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
`(2) NOTIFICATION- Not later than October 31, 2007, on receipt of an application
for an allotment under this section, the Secretary shall provide to any
person or entity that has an interest in land described in subsection
(a)(2) that is potentially adverse to the interest of the applicant notice
of the right of the person or entity, not later than 90 days after the
date of receipt of the notice--
`(A) to initiate a private contest of the allotment; or
`(B) to file a protest against the allotment in accordance with procedures
established by the Secretary.
`(3) ACTION BY SECRETARY- If a private contest or protest relating to
an application for an allotment is initiated or filed under paragraph
(2), the Secretary shall not issue a certificate to the allotment under
paragraph (1)(B) until a final determination has been made with respect
to the private contest or protest.
`(e) Reselection- A person that selected an allotment under this section
may withdraw that selection and reselect land in accordance with this section
after the date of enactment of the Alaska Native Veterans Land Allotment
Equity Act, if the land originally selected--
`(1) was selected before the date of enactment of the Alaska Native Veterans
Land Allotment Equity Act; and
`(2) as of the date of enactment of that Act, was not conveyed to the
person.'.
SEC. 3. REGULATIONS.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of the Interior shall promulgate final regulations to carry out the amendments
made by this Act.
END
