An act to permit any Indian to transfer by will restricted lands of such Indian to his or her heirs or lineal descendants, and for other purposes.
Public Law 96-363 · S. 2223 · 96th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Jimmy Carter (D) on Sep 26, 1980 · Native Americans
Sponsor: Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ)
Cosponsors: None
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
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.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Permits any Indian to transfer, by will, restricted lands of such Indian to his or her lineal descendants or to any other Indian for whom the Secretary of the Interior determines that the United States may hold land in trust. Repeals provisions requiring the payment of fees from heirs of Indian property. Authorizes the Secretary to cancel any unpaid fees assessed prior to this repeal.
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.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 13 actions.
- Sep 26, 1980Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public Law 96-363.
- Sep 18, 1980PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- Sep 17, 1980PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Sep 16, 1980Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to House amendment.
- Sep 15, 1980FloorFloor · Measure passed House, amended.
- Sep 4, 1980CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Natural Resources Committee
- May 28, 1980CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Natural Resources Committee
- May 22, 1980FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate, amended.
- May 15, 1980CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Indian Affairs Committee
- Jan 25, 1980CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Indian Affairs Committee
- 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.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.