[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 211 (Wednesday, November 1, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 64181-64182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18396]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
25 CFR Parts 15, 18, 150, 152, and 179
Office of the Secretary
43 CFR Parts 4 and 30
RIN 1076-AE59
Indian Trust Management Reform
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of the Secretary, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of reopening of comment period for proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: On August 8, 2006, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the
Office of the Secretary proposed to amend several of their regulations
related to Indian trust management (see 71 FR 45173). The purpose of
the amendments is to further fulfill the Secretary's fiduciary
responsibilities to federally recognized tribes and individual Indians
and to meet the Indian trust management policies in the
[[Page 64182]]
Indian Land Consolidation Act (ILCA), as amended by the American Indian
Probate Reform Act of 2004 (AIPRA). These amendments address Indian
trust management issues in the areas of probate, probate hearings and
appeals, tribal probate codes, life estates and future interests in
Indian land, the Indian land title of record, and conveyances of trust
or restricted land. There is also an ``Application for Consolidation by
Sale'' form that is associated with one of these amendments.
This notice reopens the comment period for an additional 60 days to
January 2, 2007. The BIA and Office of Secretary are reopening the
comment period for an additional 60 days to ensure that all interested
parties, including tribes and individual Indians, have the opportunity
to review the proposed rule and prepare their comments.
DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published on August 8,
2006 (71 FR 45173) is extended to January 2, 2007.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by the number 1076-AE59,
by any of the following methods:
--Federal rulemaking portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
--Web site at www.doitrustregs.com.
--E-mail: [email protected]. Include the number 1076-AE59
in the subject line of the message.
--Fax: (202) 208-5320. Include the number 1076-AE59 in the subject line
of the message.
--Mail: U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW., Mail Stop
4141, Washington, DC 20240.
--Hand delivery: Michele Singer, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849
C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240.
Comments on the information collection burdens, including comments
on or requests for copies of the ``Application for Consolidation by
Sale'' form, are separate from those on the substance of the rule. Send
comments on the information collection burdens to: Interior Desk
Officer 1076-AE59, Office of Management and Budget, e-mail: [email protected]; or 202/395-6566 (fax). Please also send a copy of
your comments to BIA at the location specified under the heading
ADDRESSES.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Singer, Counselor to the
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, 1849 C
Street, NW., Mail Stop 4141, Washington, DC 20240, telephone (202) 273-
4680.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In developing the final rule, the Department
will consider all comments received before January 2, 2007. Therefore,
if you submitted comments at any time before January 2, 2007, you do
not need to resubmit them.
In addition to making plain language revisions, the amendments
revise the regulations to:
Incorporate AIPRA changes to probate: AIPRA created a
uniform probate code to standardize intestate succession rules for
trust and restricted property. The uniform probate code reinforces
tribal sovereignty by eliminating the application of state laws in the
probate of trust and restricted assets while deferring to approved
tribal probate codes. AIPRA also established new mechanisms for
consolidating fractionated interests at probate and through sale of
highly fractionated tracts. The proposed amendments to probate
regulations would implement AIPRA's provisions by requiring the
additional information needed to determine heirs and devisees to be
included in the probate file, and by establishing the procedures for
directional disclaimers, purchases at probate and consolidation
agreements. These regulations continue to refer all probate cases to
OHA. The amendments streamline the OHA process by shortening deadlines
to more reasonable time periods. Amendments to life estate provisions
reflect AIPRA's change in the valuation of a life estate to be
``without regard to waste'' and base the valuation on the four-year
average Single Life Factor used by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service in
Table S of the 7520 rate schedule, without regard to gender.
Promote consolidation (reduce fractionation) of interests:
Allotments owned by Indians have become increasingly fractionated with
the probate of each generation, resulting in the division of the
allotment into smaller and smaller interests. These amendments meet the
policy expressed by Congress to reduce fractionation (i.e., the
exponential increase in the number of ownership interests in a given
parcel of land) of tribal and individual Indian interests in trust and
restricted property through the use of several tools. These tools
include the opportunities for tribes to establish a tribal land
consolidation plan; purchase interests in land within their respective
jurisdictions when offered for negotiated sale, gift, or exchange; make
a tribal tract purchase (i.e., obtain fractionated interests of non-
consenting trust and restricted owners under certain circumstances);
and unify ownership and consolidate interests in a tract through
partition. The amendments allow both tribes and individual Indians to
obtain highly fractionated interests through a new mechanism, created
by AIPRA: consolidation by sale (called ``partition of highly
fractionated lands'' in AIPRA). Additionally, the new AIPRA mechanisms
being incorporated in probate regulations will offer opportunities to
reduce fractionation through the distribution of probate property.
Improve service to beneficiaries: Amendments to the Land
Titles and Records Office (LTRO) regulations will update and
standardize LTRO title practices and recordation to ensure the
Secretary is able to accurately track and record accounting of trust
and restricted interest owners, allowing the Secretary to better serve
the beneficiaries. Amendments to the probate process are aimed at
facilitating the process to reduce the probate backlog and better serve
beneficiaries. By clarifying the requirements and processes for
probate, approval of tribal probate codes, obtaining LTRO services and
products, and conveying trust and restricted property, the Department
of the Interior improves communication and transparency, allowing
better service to beneficiaries.
Authority: Regulatory amendments to these parts are proposed
under the general authority of the American Indian Trust Fund
Management Reform Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. 4021 et seq., and the
Indian Land Consolidation Act of 2000, as amended by the American
Indian Probate Reform Act of 2004, 25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.
Dated: October 13, 2006.
Michael D. Olsen,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. E6-18396 Filed 10-31-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-W7-P