Sponsors (3)
The bill clarifies and adjusts which restricted Indian lands can use alternative lease terms—potentially boosting income and reducing legal uncertainty for some tribal landowners—while risking reduced bargaining power for others and creating transitional administrative disputes.
Tribal landowners on newly named or included restricted Indian lands can obtain longer lease terms or more flexible leasing options, potentially increasing long-term income from their lands.
Tribal lessors and the Department of the Interior gain clearer criteria about which reservations/lands qualify for alternative lease terms, reducing legal uncertainty when negotiating or approving leases.
Some tribal owners or lessees (particularly those whose land is removed from the exceptions list) could face reduced bargaining leverage or shorter maximum lease terms, lowering potential long-term revenue.
Expanding or changing the exceptions list may trigger transitional disputes over existing leases and impose administrative burden on the Department of the Interior to reinterpret qualification rules.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Modifies the list of named restricted Indian lands in 25 U.S.C. § 415(a), changing which parcels may receive lease terms different from the default 25-year maximum.
Official title: Amend the Act of August 9, 1955 (commonly known as the "Long-Term Leasing Act"), to authorize leases of up to 99 years for land in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation and land held in trust for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and for other purposes.
Introduced January 23, 2025 by Edward John Markey · Last progress January 23, 2025
Modifies the list of named restricted Indian lands in the federal leasing statute (25 U.S.C. § 415(a)) so that the set of reservations/lands eligible for alternative maximum lease terms is changed. The amendment alters which specific tribal or restricted parcels may be subject to lease terms different from the default 25‑year maximum, affecting leases of restricted Indian lands and the agencies and owners who administer or benefit from them.