PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jul 1, 1999
Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to approve any oil or gas lease or agreement that affects individually owned Navajo Indian allotted land if: (1) the owners of no less than the specified applicable percentage of the undivided interest in the Navajo Indian allotted land that is covered by the oil or gas lease or agreement consent in writing; and (2) the Secretary determines that approving the lease or agreement is in the best interest of the owners. Specifies the applicable percentage as: (1) 100 percent if there are ten or fewer owners; (2) 80 percent if there are ten to 50 owners; and (3) 60 percent if there are more than 50 owners. Authorizes the Secretary to give written consent to such an oil or gas lease or agreement on behalf of an individual Indian owner if: (1) the owner is deceased and the heirs to the interest have not been determined; or (2) the heirs have been determined but one or more cannot be located. Provides that: (1) an oil or gas lease or agreement approved under this Act shall be binding on all owners of interest in the Navajo Indian allotted land and all parties to the lease or agreement to the same extent as if all of the owners had consented to the lease or agreement; and (2) an approved lease or agreement shall apply to any portion of the undivided interest in allotted lands held by an Indian tribe even though the tribe did not consent. Provides for the distribution of proceeds derived from the lease or agreement to all owners of the undivided interest in the covered land in accordance with the portion of the undivided interest owned.
People & committees
Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM] · D–NM
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Committee on Indian Affairs. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
Committee on Indian Affairs. Joint hearings held with House Resources Committee. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 106-282.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8088-8089)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Jun 20, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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