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A bill to make miscellaneous amendments to Indian laws, and for other purposes.

Public Law 101-301 · S. 1846 · 101st Congress · began in the Senate

Signed by George H. W. Bush (R) on May 24, 1990 · Native Americans

Sponsor: Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI)

Cosponsors: None

Passage votes

  • HouseUnanimous consent
  • SenateVoice vote
Data notes

The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.

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Summary

The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.

Amends various Indian laws to correct technical errors.

Amends the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 to apply the restrictions on alienation of Indian lands and provisions regarding incorporation of Indian tribes to all such lands held in trust by the United States for Indians and all lands owned by Indians that are subject to such restrictions even though a tribe may have voted not to have such restrictions apply. Revises provisions regarding the incorporation of Indian tribes to: (1) authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue a charter of incorporation to an Indian tribe upon petition by any tribe; (2) prohibit such charter from becoming operative until ratified by the governing body of such tribe; and (3) prohibit such charter from granting authority to the incorporated tribe to sell, mortgage, or lease for a period exceeding 25 years any trust or restricted lands.

Amends the Indian Education Act of 1988 to repeal provisions concerning penalization of local educational agencies subject to administrative or judicial proceedings for providing false information during audits.

Amends the Augustus F. Hawkins-Robert T. Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Amendments of 1988 to require the Executive Director of the National Advisory Council on Indian Education (NACIE) to serve on the White House Conference on Indian Education Task Force and the Chairman of NACIE to serve on the Advisory Committee of the Conference. Provides that salaries for employees of the Departments of the Interior and Education who are assigned as staff to the Task Force will be paid out of departmental funds and not from funds appropriated for the Conference. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the Conference through FY 1992.

Amends the Education Amendments of 1978 to: (1) repeal provisions concerning equal allowances for national school board training and activities; and (2) increase funding for such training and activities. Requires the Secretary, when applying provisions of such Act regarding the administrative cost account and the administrative provisions of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act concerning Indian tribes or tribal organizations that receive funds for administrative costs in operating a contract school or a school operated under the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988 and that operate programs, to ensure that such tribe or organization is fully provided with the administrative and indirect costs for operating such a school and programs, except that funds appropriated to implement such provisions regarding the account must be used only for grants for tribal elementary or secondary education programs.

Amends the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988 to require Indian tribes and tribal organizations that receive grants for tribally controlled schools to: (1) maintain a separate account for funds allocated to such schools from certain accounts included in the grant; and (2) render a separate accounting of the work done and the funds used to the Secretary at the end of the period designated for the work covered by the funds. Requires funds received from such accounts to be used for the work encompassed in the grant application and the purpose for their appropriation.

Allows Indian tribes in Wisconsin and Montana to continue operations of electronic or electromechanical facsimiles of games of chance or slot machines that were legally operated as Class III games on Indian lands before May 2, 1988, for one year as Class II games under the National Indian Gaming Regulatory Act if the Indian tribe having jurisdiction over the lands on which such gaming was operated made a request, by no later than November 16, 1988, to the State in which such gaming is operated to negotiate a tribal-State compact under that Act.

Amends the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians Act to direct the Secretary to accept as eligible to vote on any amendments to the constitution of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in Michigan: (1) all persons who were deemed eligible by the Community to vote in the most recent election for the Tribal Council; and (2) any other person certified by the Council as a member of the Community and eligible to vote in any election for the Council.

Amends the White Earth Reservation Land Settlement Act of 1985 to: (1) exempt claims relating to spousal allowance and maintenance payments under Minnesota law from consideration under such Act; and (2) authorize the Secretary to publish in the Federal Register any allotment or interest claims that are additional to the second list of such claims that has already been published.

Amends the Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act to: (1) include on the Settlement Roll children under age ten who have lived their lives on the Joint Reservation of the Hoopa Valley or Yurok Reservations and who otherwise qualify; (2) authorize the Yurok Transition Team and the Hoopa Valley Business Council to review applications, make recommendations which the Secretary shall accept unless conflicting or erroneous, and appeal the Secretary's decisions concerning the Settlement Roll; (3) require full disclosure of relevant records to the Team and to the Council; and (4) prohibit the Team, or any individual thereon, from being named as a defendant or otherwise joined in any suit in which a claim is made arising out of such Act.

Authorizes the Secretary to retain collections from the public in payment for goods and services provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Requires such collections to be credited to the appropriation account against which obligations were incurred in providing such goods and services.

Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Administration for Native Americans, to conduct a feasibility study for establishing a National Center for Native American Studies and Policy Development.

Repeals provisions allowing hearing officers appointed for Indian probate work to be appointed without regard to the Administrative Procedure Act. Deems officers appointed under such provisions who have met the qualifications for administrative law judges to have been appointed as having met such qualifications.

Amends current law providing for ascertainment of heirs of deceased Indian allottees to subject the decisions of the Secretary regarding such heirs to judicial review to the same extent as determinations rendered under provisions regarding the disposal by will of allotments held under trust.

Authorizes the Secretary to allocate a certain amount from power revenues available to the San Carlos Irrigation Project to pay for the operation and maintenance charges associated with the delivery of water from the Central Arizona Project to the San Carlos Irrigation Project.

Committees

The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.

Data notes

A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.

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Timeline

From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 14 actions.

  1. May 24, 1990Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 101-301.
  2. Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
  3. May 14, 1990PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
  4. May 10, 1990FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  5. FloorFloor · On passage Passed without objection.
  6. FloorFloor · Mr. Campbell (CO) asked unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table and consider.
  7. FloorFloor · Considered by unanimous consent.
  8. May 2, 1990FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Voice Vote.
  9. FloorFloor · The committee substitute as amended agreed to by Voice Vote.
  10. FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
  11. Nov 21, 1989CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Indian Affairs Committee
  12. Nov 14, 1989CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Senate Indian Affairs Committee
  13. Nov 7, 1989CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Indian Affairs Committee
  14. IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes

Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.

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Official record

The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.