[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 22 (Thursday, February 1, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 3623-3624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-1886]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of the Secretary
25 CFR Chapter VI
Notice of Deadline for Submitting Completed Applications To Begin
Participation in the Tribal Self-Governance Program in Fiscal Year 1997
or Calendar Year 1997
AGENCY: Office of Self-Governance, Office of the Secretary, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of application deadline.
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SUMMARY: In this notice, the Office of Self-Governance (OSG)
establishes the deadline for tribes/consortia to submit completed
applications to begin participation in the tribal self-governance
program in fiscal year 1997 or calendar year 1997.
DATES: Tribes/consortia wishing to be considered for participation in
the tribal self-governance program in fiscal year 1997 or calendar year
1997 must respond to this notice, except for those which are (1)
currently involved with negotiations with the Department; (2) one of
the 54 tribal entities with signed agreements; or (3) one of the tribal
entities already included in the applicant pool as of the date of this
notice. Completed application packages must be received by the
Director, Office of Self-Governance by April 29, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Application packages for inclusion in the applicant pool
should be sent to the Director, Office of Self-Governance, U.S.
Department of the Interior, Mail Stop 2548, 1849 C Street NW,
Washington DC 20240.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dr. Kenneth D. Reinfeld, U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of
Self-Governance, 1849 C Street NW, Mail Stop 2548, Washington DC 20240,
202-219-0240.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Tribal Self-Governance Act of
1994, the Director, Office of Self-Governance may select up to 20
additional participating tribes/consortia per year for the tribal self-
governance program, and negotiate and enter into an annual written
funding agreement with each participating tribe. The Act mandates that
the Secretary submit copies of the funding agreements at least 90 days
before the proposed effective date to the appropriate committees of the
Congress and to each tribe that is served by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) agency that is serving the tribe that is a party to the
funding agreement. Initial negotiations with a tribe/consortium located
in an area and/or agency which has not previously been involved with
self-governance negotiations, will take approximately two months from
start to finish. Since agreements for an October 1 to September 30
fiscal year need to be signed and submitted by July 1, new
participating tribes would need to be selected by May 3 to allow
sufficient time for negotiations.
Background
The tribal self-governance program is designed to promote self
determination by allowing tribes to assume more control through
negotiated agreements of programs operated by the Department of the
Interior. The new law allows for negotiations to be conducted for
programs operated by BIA and for programs operated by other bureaus and
offices within the Department that are available to Indians or when
there is an
[[Page 3624]]
historical, cultural, or geographic connection to an Indian tribe.
The Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994 requires the Secretary, upon
request of a majority of self-governance tribes, to initiate procedures
under the Negotiated Rulemaking Act, 5 U.S.C. 561 et seq., to negotiate
and promulgate regulations necessary to carry out the tribal self-
governance program. The Act calls for a negotiated rulemaking committee
to be established pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 565 comprised of Federal and
tribal representatives, with a majority of the tribal representatives
representing self-governance tribes. The Act also authorizes the
Secretary to adapt negotiated rulemaking procedures to the unique
context of self-governance and the government-to-government
relationship between the United States and the Indian tribes. On
November 1, 1994, a majority of self-governance tribes wrote the
Secretary requesting the immediate initiation of negotiated rulemaking.
On February 15, 1995, the self-governance negotiated rulemaking
committee was established.
On the same date, an interim rule was published in the Federal
Register announcing the criteria for tribes to be included in an
applicant pool and the establishment of the selection process for
tribes/consortia to negotiate agreements pursuant to the Tribal Self-
Governance Act of 1994. This interim rule was added to Title 25 of the
Code of Federal Regulations at Part 1001 of Chapter VI. While it may be
changed by later rulemaking, the Act stipulates that the lack of
promulgated regulations will not limit its effect. The interim rule
allowed an additional 20 new tribes/consortia to negotiate compacts and
annual funding agreements for fiscal year 1996 and calendar year 1996
as authorized by the Act. To date, a total of 54 compacts and annual
funding agreements have been negotiated.
Purpose of Notice
This notice is intended to allow up to 20 new tribes/consortia to
be selected to negotiate compacts and annual funding agreements in
fiscal year 1997 and calendar year 1997. The interim rules established
at 25 CFR 1001.1 to 1001.5 will be used to govern the application and
selection process for tribes/consortia to begin their participation in
the tribal self-governance program in fiscal year 1997 and calendar
year 1997. Applicants should be guided by the requirements in 25 CFR
1001.1 to 1001.5 in preparing their applications. Copies of the interim
rules published in the Federal Register on February 15, 1995, may be
obtained from the information contact person identified in this notice.
The Director's decision on the actual number of tribes that will
enter negotiations will be made at a later date. Tribes already in the
applicant pool will retain their existing ranking with tribes entering
the applicant pool under these rules receiving a lower ranking. Being
in the applicant pool will not guarantee that a tribe will actually be
provided the opportunity to negotiate in any given year. However, it
does mean that a tribe will not be passed over by a tribe with a lower
ranking in the applicant pool or by a tribe not in the applicant pool,
with the exception of a tribe already in the negotiation process.
For example, if the Department determines that 20 tribes will be
afforded the opportunity to negotiate self-governance agreements in
1997, the tribes with the highest 20 rankings would be notified and
negotiations would be scheduled. The tribe ranked 21 on the list would
then have the highest ranking to negotiate a self-governance agreement
in 1998 or might enter negotiations in 1997 if one of the first 20
tribes discontinued negotiations. In such a case, the tribe that
discontinued negotiations would remain in the applicant pool with its
original ranking and would be the first to be selected in 1997 for
negotiating agreements commencing in 1998.
Dated: January 26, 1996.
William A. Sinclair,
Director, Office of Self-Governance.
[FR Doc. 96-1886 Filed 1-31-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-02-M
