25 CFR Chapter I - BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

This document announces details for Tribal consultation sessions to discuss the advance notice of proposed rulemaking on Licensed Indian Traders, which the Department of the Interior (Department) published on December 9, 2016. The Department is interested in whether to address the Indian trader regulations and, if so, how.

The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC or the Commission) is establishing this rule in Chapter III of title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This rule describes the procedures and policies adopted by the Commission pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974. Under the Act, a Federal agency must publish notice, in the Federal Register, of any systems of records that it intends to create as well as procedures regarding the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of the records within those systems. The Commission previously published notice of the creation of two systems of records, namely the Indian Gaming Individuals Record System and the Management Contract Individuals Record System. The regulations set forth here update the Commission's previously published procedures and serve to streamline how the Commission processes its Privacy Act requests.

This rule provides for annual adjustments to the level of civil monetary penalties contained in Bureau of Indian Affairs (Bureau) regulations to account for inflation under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance.

The Secretary of the Interior has selected proposed members to form the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Accountability Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (Committee) which will recommend revisions to the existing regulations to implement the Secretary's responsibility to define the standards, assessments, and accountability system for Bureau-funded schools, as required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Representatives were nominated by Tribes whose students attend Bureau-funded schools. After considering nominations, the Secretary proposes to appoint the persons named in this notice as Tribal Committee members. Tribes, Tribal organizations, and individual Tribal members may submit comments on the proposed Tribal Committee membership, apply for Tribal membership on the Committee, or submit other nominations for Tribal membership on the Committee. The Secretary also proposes to appoint Federal representatives to the Committee as listed.

The Department of the Interior (Department) is considering whether to propose an administrative rule that would comprehensively update 25 CFR part 140 (Licensed Indian Traders) in an effort to modernize the implementation of the Indian Trader statutes consistent with the Federal policies of Tribal self-determination and self-governance. The current regulations were promulgated in 1957 and have not been comprehensively updated since 1965. The purpose of this advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) is to solicit public comments on whether and how the Department should update 25 CFR part 140, including how the Indian Trader regulations might be updated to govern who trades on Indian land and how the regulations can better promote Tribal self-determination regarding trade on Indian lands. In this ANPRM, the Department also announces dates and locations for Tribal consultations and public meetings to consider this issue.

On June 20, 2016, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced Tribal consultation on potential updates to probate regulations and announced that it would accept written comments until August 1, 2016. We are reopening the comment period to allow additional time for Tribal and public comment and will accept all comments received before January 4, 2017.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is adopting as final the interim final rule published on June 30, 2016, adjusting the level of civil monetary penalties contained in Indian Affairs regulations with an initial “catch-up” adjustment under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance. The Department of the Interior (Department) did not receive any significant adverse comments during the public comment period on the interim final rule, and therefore adopts the rule as final without change.

This final rule updates the Tribal Transportation Program regulations (formerly the Indian Reservation Roads Program) to comply with statutory updates. The Tribal Transportation Program is a program to address the surface transportation needs of Tribes. This rule reflects statutory changes in the delivery options for the program, clarifies the requirements for proposed roads and access roads to be added to, or remain in, the inventory, revises certain sections that were provided for informational purposes, and makes technical corrections.

The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) amends various regulations previously issued. The NIGC moved its headquarters and needs to update the address. The agency also revises two headings by shortening them.

This interim final rule establishes a Court of Indian Offenses (also known as CFR Court) for the Wind River Indian Reservation until the agency can promulgate a final rule that considers comments received.

The purpose of this document is to propose amendments to the procedures followed by the National Indian Gaming Commission (Commission) when processing a request under the Privacy Act of 1974. The proposed amendments make the following changes to the current regulations. These changes will serve to update certain Commission information, streamline how the Commission processes its Privacy Act requests, and aligns those processes with its procedures for processing Freedom of Information Act requests.

On November 9, 2015, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) published a notice of intent requesting comments and nominations for Tribal representatives for the Accountability Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (Committee). The comment period for that notice of intent closed December 24, 2015. On April 14, 2016, the BIE reopened the comment and nomination period with a new deadline of May 31, 2016. The BIE is further extending the comment period for Tribes to nominate individuals for membership on the Committee. The BIE also solicits comments on the proposal to establish the Committee, including comments on additional interests not identified in this notice of intent and comments on the expansion of the scope of the Committee. The BIE is also correcting a drafting error in the April 14, 2016 Notice that omitted from Section III the central purpose of the Committee under the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which requires the Secretary of the Interior, using a negotiated rulemaking process, to develop regulations for implementation no later than the 2017-2018 academic year. It also requires the Secretary to define the standards, assessments, and accountability system consistent with Section 1111 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) for the schools funded by BIE on a national, regional, or tribal basis.

The Department of the Interior (Department) is hosting training sessions on its regulations implementing the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) for federally recognized Indian Tribes and for State court and child welfare agency personnel. This document announces the dates and locations of the training sessions.

In compliance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance, this rule adjusts the level of the civil monetary penalty, contained in the National Indian Gaming Commission's (NIGC or Commission) regulation, with an initial “catch-up” adjustment.

This rule adjusts the level of civil monetary penalties contained in Indian Affairs regulations with an initial “catch-up” adjustment under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance.

Congress authorized the Director of the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) to enter into agreements with third parties to lease the land or facilities of a Bureau-operated school in exchange for funding that benefits the school. This proposed rule establishes standards for the appropriate use of lands and facilities under a lease agreement, provisions for establishment and administration of mechanisms for the acceptance of consideration for the use and benefit of a school, accountability standards to ensure ethical conduct, and provisions for monitoring the amount and terms of consideration received, the manner in which the consideration is used, and any results achieved by such use.

The Department of the Interior (“Department”) plans to conduct two Tribal consultation sessions with federally recognized Tribes across the country. These meetings will provide a forum for Tribes to share insights and make recommendations related to the probate of Indian estates.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) previously published a final rule “Leasing of Osage Reservation Lands for Oil and Gas Mining” on May 11, 2015, but due to a court order enjoining the final rule and subsequent remand, that version of the rule never became effective. This final rule amends the Code of Federal Regulations to reinstate the version of the rule that was in effect prior to the 2015 final rule because that prior version of the rule remains operative.

This rule deletes the requirement for fee-to-trust applicants to furnish title evidence that meets the “Standards for the Preparation of Title Evidence in Land Acquisitions by the United States” issued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and replaces the requirement with a more targeted requirement for title evidence, because adherence to the DOJ standards is not required for acquisitions of land in trust for individual Indians or Indian tribes.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is confirming the interim final rule published on March 1, 2016, extending the deadline for filing an application for burial assistance to 180 days to address hardships resulting from the current short timeframe. The Department of the Interior (Department) did not receive any significant adverse comments during the public comment period on the interim final rule, and therefore confirms the rule without change.