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TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2003

The following is the General Provisions Portion of S.Amdt.1, otherwise known as the Omnibus appropriations act for 2003, as printed in the Congressional Record. January 15, 2003.

Note: Only those sections that are Indian related are reprinted below.

SEC. 111. Advance payments made under this title to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal consortia pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.) or the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.) may be invested by the Indian tribe, tribal organization, or consortium before such funds are expended for the purposes of the grant, compact, or annual funding agreement so long as such funds are--

    (1) invested by the Indian tribe, tribal organization, or consortium only in obligations of the United States, or in obligations or securities that are guaranteed or insured by the United States, or mutual (or other) funds registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and which only invest in obligations of the United States or securities that are guaranteed or insured by the United States; or

    (2) deposited only into accounts that are insured by an agency or instrumentality of the United States, or are fully collateralized to ensure protection of the funds, even in the event of a bank failure.

    SEC. 112. Appropriations made in this Act under the headings Bureau of Indian Affairs and Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians and any available unobligated balances from prior appropriations Acts made under the same headings, shall be available for expenditure or transfer for Indian trust management activities pursuant to the Trust Management Improvement Project High Level Implementation Plan.

    SEC. 113. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for the purpose of reducing the backlog of Indian probate cases in the Department of the Interior, the hearing requirements of chapter 10 of title 25, United States Code, are deemed satisfied by a proceeding conducted by an Indian probate judge, appointed by the Secretary without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing the appointments in the competitive service, for such period of time as the Secretary determines necessary: Provided, That the basic pay of an Indian probate judge so appointed may be fixed by the Secretary without regard to the provisions of chapter 51, and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, governing the classification and pay of General Schedule employees, except that no such Indian probate judge may be paid at a level which exceeds the maximum rate payable for the highest grade of the General Schedule, including locality pay.

    SEC. 114. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to redistribute any Tribal Priority Allocation funds, including tribal base funds, to alleviate tribal funding inequities by transferring funds to address identified, unmet needs, dual enrollment, overlapping service areas or inaccurate distribution methodologies. No tribe shall receive a reduction in Tribal Priority Allocation funds of more than 10 percent in fiscal year 2003. Under circumstances of dual enrollment, overlapping service areas or inaccurate distribution methodologies, the 10 percent limitation does not apply.

    SEC. 115. Funds appropriated for the Bureau of Indian Affairs for postsecondary schools for fiscal year 2003 shall be allocated among the schools proportionate to the unmet need of the schools as determined by the Postsecondary Funding Formula adopted by the Office of Indian Education Programs.

    SEC. 116. (a) The Secretary of the Interior shall take such action as may be necessary to ensure that the lands comprising the Huron Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas (as described in section 123 of Public Law 106-291) are used only in accordance with this section.

    (b) The lands of the Huron Cemetery shall be used only: (1) for religious and cultural uses that are compatible with the use of the lands as a cemetery; and (2) as a burial ground.

SEC. 120. TRIBAL SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. (a) DEFINITIONS.--In this section:

    (1) CONSTRUCTION.--The term ``construction'', with respect to a tribally controlled school, includes the construction or renovation of that school.

    (2) INDIAN TRIBE.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the meaning given that term in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)).

    (3) SECRETARY.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior.

    (4) TRIBALLY CONTROLLED SCHOOL.--The term ``tribally controlled school'' has the meaning given that term in section 5212 of the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2511).

    (5) DEPARTMENT.--The term ``Department'' means the Department of the Interior.

    (6) DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.--The term ``demonstration program'' means the Tribal School Construction Demonstration Program.

    (b) IN GENERAL.--The Secretary shall carry out a demonstration program for fiscal years 2003 through 2007 to provide grants to Indian tribes for the construction of tribally controlled schools.

    (1) IN GENERAL.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, in carrying out the demonstration program under subsection (b), the Secretary shall award a grant to each Indian tribe that submits an application that is approved by the Secretary under paragraph (2). The Secretary shall ensure that an Indian tribe that agrees to fund all future operation and maintenance costs of the tribally controlled school constructed under the demonstration program from other than federal funds receives the highest priority for a grant under this section.

    (2) GRANT APPLICATIONS.--An application for a grant under the section shall--

    (A) include a proposal for the construction of a tribally controlled school of the Indian tribe that submits the application; and

    (B) be in such form as the Secretary determines appropriate.

    (3) GRANT AGREEMENT.--As a condition to receiving a grant under this section, the Indian tribe shall enter into an agreement with the Secretary that specifies--

    (A) the costs of construction under the grant;

    (B) that the Indian tribe shall be required to contribute towards the cost of the construction a tribal share equal to 50 percent of the costs; and

    (C) any other term or condition that the Secretary determines to be appropriate.

    (4) ELIGIBILITY.--Grants awarded under the demonstration program shall be used only for construction or replacement of a tribally controlled school.

    (c) EFFECT OF GRANT.--A grant received under this section shall be in addition to any other funds received by an Indian tribe under any other provision of law. The receipt of a grant under this section shall not affect the eligibility of an Indian tribe receiving funding, or the amount of funding received by the Indian tribe, under the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2501 et seq.) or the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.).

    (d) REPORT.--At the conclusion of the five-year demonstration program, the Secretary shall report to Congress as to whether the demonstration program has achieved its purposes of providing additional tribes fair opportunities to construct tribally controlled schools, accelerating construction of needed educational facilities in Indian Country, and permitting additional funds to be provided for the Department's priority list for construction of replacement educational facilities.

    Sec. 123. No funds contained in this Act shall be used to approve the transfer of lands on South Fox Island, Michigan until Congress has authorized such transfer.

    SEC. 131. (a) IN GENERAL.--Nothing in section 134 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 (115 Stat. 443) affects the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Sac and Fox Nation v. Norton, 240 F.3d 1250 (2001).

    (b) USE OF CERTAIN INDIAN LAND.--Nothing in this section permits the conduct of gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) on land described in section 123 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (114 Stat. 944), or land that is contiguous to that land, regardless of whether the land or contiguous land has been taken into trust by the Secretary of the Interior.