Lumbee Recognition Act

Lumbee Recognition Act

This bill amends the Act of June 7, 1956, to extend federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and make its members eligible for the services and benefits provided to members of federally recognized tribes.

Members of the tribe residing in Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland Counties in North Carolina are deemed to be within the delivery area for such services.

The Department of Health and Human Services must develop, in consultation with the tribe, a determination of needs to provide the services for which members of the tribe are eligible.

The Department of the Interior may take land into trust for the tribe.

North Carolina must exercise jurisdiction over all criminal offenses committed, and all civil actions that arise, on North Carolina lands owned by, or held in trust for, the Lumbee Tribe or any dependent Indian community of the tribe unless jurisdiction is transferred to the United States pursuant to an agreement between the tribe and the state.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2352 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2352

 To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 4, 2017

Mr. Pittenger introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the recognition of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, 
                        and for other purposes.

    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 ``Lumbee Recognition Act''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

    The Act of June 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 254, chapter 375), is amended--
            (1) by striking section 2;
            (2) in the first sentence of the first section, by striking 
        ``That the Indians'' and inserting the following:

``SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF LUMBEE INDIANS.

    ``The Indians'';
            (3) in the preamble--
                    (A) by inserting before the first undesignated 
                clause the following:

``SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    ``Congress finds that--'';
                    (B) by designating the undesignated clauses as 
                paragraphs (1) through (4), respectively, and indenting 
                appropriately;
                    (C) by striking ``Whereas'' each place it appears;
                    (D) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon at the 
                end of each of paragraphs (1) and (2) (as so 
                designated); and
                    (E) in paragraph (4) (as so designated), by 
                striking ``: Now, therefore,'' and inserting a period;
            (4) by moving the enacting clause so as to appear before 
        section 1 (as so designated);
            (5) by striking the last sentence of section 3 (as 
        designated by paragraph (2));
            (6) by inserting before section 3 (as designated by 
        paragraph (2)) the following:

``SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this Act:
            ``(1) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            ``(2) Tribe.--The term `Tribe' means the Lumbee Tribe of 
        North Carolina or the Lumbee Indians of North Carolina.''; and
            (7) by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 4. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.

    ``(a) In General.--Federal recognition is extended to the Tribe (as 
designated as petitioner number 65 by the Office of Federal 
Acknowledgment).
    ``(b) Applicability of Laws.--All laws and regulations of the 
United States of general application to Indians and Indian tribes shall 
apply to the Tribe and its members.
    ``(c) Petition for Acknowledgment.--Notwithstanding section 3, any 
group of Indians in Robeson and adjoining counties, North Carolina, 
whose members are not enrolled in the Tribe (as determined under 
section 5(d)) may petition under part 83 of title 25 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations for acknowledgment of tribal existence.

``SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL SERVICES.

    ``(a) In General.--The Tribe and its members shall be eligible for 
all services and benefits provided by the Federal Government to 
federally recognized Indian tribes.
    ``(b) Service Area.--For the purpose of the delivery of Federal 
services and benefits described in subsection (a), those members of the 
Tribe residing in Robeson, Cumberland, Hoke, and Scotland counties in 
North Carolina shall be deemed to be residing on or near an Indian 
reservation.
    ``(c) Determination of Needs.--On verification by the Secretary of 
a tribal roll under subsection (d), the Secretary and the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall--
            ``(1) develop, in consultation with the Tribe, a 
        determination of needs to provide the services for which 
        members of the Tribe are eligible; and
            ``(2) after the tribal roll is verified, each submit to 
        Congress a written statement of those needs.
    ``(d) Tribal Roll.--
            ``(1) In general.--For the purpose of the delivery of 
        Federal services and benefits described in subsection (a), the 
        tribal roll in effect on the date of enactment of this section 
        shall, subject to verification by the Secretary, define the 
        service population of the Tribe.
            ``(2) Verification limitation and deadline.--The 
        verification by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall--
                    ``(A) be limited to confirming compliance with the 
                membership criteria set out in the constitution of the 
                Tribe adopted on November 16, 2001; and
                    ``(B) be completed not later than 2 years after the 
                date of enactment of this section.

``SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION TO TAKE LAND INTO TRUST.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary may take into trust for the 
benefit of the Tribe land of the Tribe.
    ``(b) Treatment of Certain Land.--An application to take into trust 
land located within Robeson County, North Carolina, under this section 
shall be treated by the Secretary as an `on reservation' trust 
acquisition under part 151 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (or 
a successor regulation).

``SEC. 7. JURISDICTION OF STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA.

    ``(a) In General.--With respect to land located within the State of 
North Carolina that is owned by, or held in trust by the United States 
for the benefit of, the Tribe, or any dependent Indian community of the 
Tribe, the State of North Carolina shall exercise jurisdiction over--
            ``(1) all criminal offenses that are committed; and
            ``(2) all civil actions that arise.
    ``(b) Transfer of Jurisdiction.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary 
        may accept on behalf of the United States, after consulting 
        with the Attorney General of the United States, any transfer by 
        the State of North Carolina to the United States of any portion 
        of the jurisdiction of the State of North Carolina described in 
        subsection (a) pursuant to an agreement between the Tribe and 
        the State of North Carolina.
            ``(2) Restriction.--A transfer of jurisdiction described in 
        paragraph (1) may not take effect until 2 years after the 
        effective date of the agreement described in that paragraph.
    ``(c) Effect.--Nothing in this section affects the application of 
section 109 of the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 
1919).''.
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