S 245 · 115th Congress 2017–2019, ended

Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination Act Amendments of 2017

Introduced Jan 30, 2017 Originated Senate Sponsor John Hoeven R-ND

Fact sheet

Latest action · Dec 18, 2018 Became Public Law No: 115-325.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

IntroducedJan 30, 2017
Passed SenateNov 29, 2017
Passed HouseDec 10, 2018
To the PresidentDec 12, 2018
Became lawDec 18, 2018

Summary

Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination Act Amendments of 2017

TITLE I--INDIAN TRIBAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND SELF-DETERMINATION ACT AMENDMENTS

(Sec. 101) This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to direct the Department of the Interior to provide Indian tribes with technical assistance in planning their energy resource development programs.

The Department of Energy (DOE) Indian energy education planning and management assistance program is expanded to make intertribal organizations eligible for grants and to allow grants to be used to increase the capacity of tribes to manage energy development and energy efficiency programs.

This bill makes tribal energy development organizations eligible for DOE energy development loan guarantees.

(Sec. 103) This bill allows leases and business agreements that pool a tribe's energy resources with other energy resources.

An energy-related tribal lease, business agreement, or right-of-way does not require Interior's approval if it complies with a tribal energy resource agreement or it is a lease with a tribal energy development organization that Interior has certified, and the term does not exceed specified limits.

The process and conditions for Interior's approval of tribal energy resource agreements are revised.

This bill revises the process for determining whether an interested party has a valid claim to be suffering an adverse environmental impact due to a tribe's noncompliance with such an agreement.

Interior must make available to a tribe the amount Interior would have expended to carry out an activity that the tribe is carrying out pursuant to a tribal energy resource agreement.

(Sec. 104) DOE must collaborate with the Directors of the National Laboratories in making the full array of DOE technical and scientific resources available for tribal energy activities and projects.

TITLE II--MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS

(Sec. 201) This bill amends the Federal Power Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to give tribes, in addition to states and municipalities, preference for the receipt of preliminary hydroelectric licenses.

(Sec. 202) This bill amends the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 to direct Interior, for land under Bureau of Land Management jurisdiction, and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), for land under Forest Service jurisdiction, to enter into agreements with tribes to carry out demonstration projects to promote biomass energy production on Indian forest land and in nearby communities by providing them with reliable supplies of woody biomass from federal lands.

Interior and USDA must enter into agreements with tribal organizations to carry out additional biomass demonstration projects.

(Sec. 203) This bill amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act to revise requirements for direct home weatherization grants to tribes.

(Sec. 204) Interior, an affected tribe, or a certified third-party appraiser under contract with the tribe must appraise mineral or energy resources involved in a transaction requiring Interior's approval.

(Sec. 205) This bill amends the Long-Term Leasing Act to allow the Navajo Nation to enter into mineral resource leases on their restricted lands without Interior's approval. The maximum term of a Navajo Nation lease that does not require Interior's approval is extended for commercial and agricultural leases.

(Sec. 206) The Crow Tribe of Montana may lease their land for a term of up to 99 years.

(Sec. 207) This bill sets forth provisions for money held by Interior in connection with the review and approval of a sale, lease, permit, or other conveyance of Indian land.

Cosponsors 7

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 30, 2017 to Feb 17, 2017, with 5 there on the day it was introduced.

Seat	Cosponsor		Signed on
D-ND	Heidi Heitkamp	Original	Jan 30, 2017
R-OK	James Lankford	Original	Jan 30, 2017
R-KS	Jerry Moran	Original	Jan 30, 2017
R-WY	John Barrasso	Original	Jan 30, 2017
R-AZ	John McCain	Original	Jan 30, 2017
R-WY	Michael B. Enzi		Feb 9, 2017
R-CO	Cory Gardner		Feb 17, 2017

Actions 28

Everything that happened, newest first.

Dec 18, 2018Became Public Law No: 115-325.
Dec 18, 2018Signed by President.
Dec 12, 2018Presented to President.
Dec 10, 2018Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H9782-9789)
Dec 10, 2018DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 245.

Show all 28 actions

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

Bill	Title	Relationship	Latest action
S 1460	Energy and Natural Resources Act of 2017	Related bill	Sep 19, 2017

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Native Americans.

Text 6

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

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Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.