43 U.S.C. § 1621 — Miscellaneous provisions

Page 480 TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS § 1621 1 So in original. See References in Text note below. 1986—Subsecs. (c), (i). Pub. L. 99–514 substituted ‘‘In- ternal Revenue Code of 1986’’ for ‘‘Internal Revenue Code of 1954’’, which for purposes of codification was translated as ‘‘title 26’’ thus requiring no change in text. 1980—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 96–487, § 1408, inserted provi- sion requiring that fair value of such land or interest in land at time of receipt be adjusted as provided in section 1016 of title 26 and proviso defining the basis of any such land attributable to an interest in a mine, well, other natural deposit, or block of timber. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 96–487, § 904, designated existing provision as par. (1), substituted ‘‘Regional Corporation or corporation established pursuant to section 1613(h)(3) of this title’’ for ‘‘Regional Corporation’’, ‘‘third parties or which are used solely for the purposes of exploration shall’’ for ‘‘third parties shall’’, ‘‘from the vesting of title pursuant to the Alaska National In- terest Lands Conservation Act or the date of issuance of an interim conveyance or patent, whichever is ear- lier, for those interests to such individual, group, or corporation’’ for ‘‘after December 18, 1971’’, and ‘‘any portion of such interest’’ for ‘‘leased or developed real property’’ and inserted ‘‘which is leased or developed for purposes other than exploration for so long as such portion is leased or being developed’’ after ‘‘laws of the State’’, and added par. (2). Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 96–487, § 1409, substituted ‘‘Native Group, corporation organized under section 1613(h)(3) of this title, or Village’’ for ‘‘Native Group, or Village’’, ‘‘(64 Stat. 967, 1100). So long as there are no substan- tial’’ for ‘‘(64 Stat. 967, 1100), and so long as there are also no substantial’’, and ‘‘such lands they shall con- tinue to receive wildland fire’’ for ‘‘such lands, con- tinue to receive forest fire’’. Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 96–487, § 1407, added subsec. (j). 1978—Subsecs. (g) to (i). Pub. L. 95–600 added subsecs. (g) to (i). 1976—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 94–204 added subsec. (f). § 1621. Miscellaneous provisions (a) Contract restrictions; percentage fee; enforce- ment; liens, executions, or judgments None of the revenues granted by section 1605 of this title, and none of the lands granted by this chapter to the Regional and Village Corporation and to Native groups and individuals shall be subject to any contract which is based on a per- centage fee of the value of all or some portion of the settlement granted by this chapter. Any such contract shall not be enforceable against any Native as defined by this chapter or any Re- gional or Village Corporation and the revenues and lands granted by this chapter shall not be subject to lien, execution or judgment to fulfill such a contract. (b) Patents for homesteads, headquarters sites, trade and manufacturing sites, or small tract sites; use and occupancy protection The Secretary is directed to promptly issue patents to all persons who have made a lawful entry on the public lands in compliance with the public land laws for the purpose of gaining title to homesteads, headquarters sites, trade and manufacturing sites, or small tract sites (43 U.S.C. 682 1), and who have fulfilled all require- ments of the law prerequisite to obtaining a pat- ent. Any person who has made a lawful entry prior to August 31, 1971, for any of the foregoing purposes shall be protected in his right of use and occupancy until all the requirements of law for a patent have been met even though the lands involved have been reserved or withdrawn in accordance with Public Land Order 4582, as amended, or the withdrawal provisions of this chapter: Provided, That occupancy must have been maintained in accordance with the appro- priate public land law: Provided further, That any person who entered on public lands in viola- tion of Public Land Order 4582, as amended, shall gain no rights. (c) Mining claims; possessory rights, protection (1) On any lands conveyed to Village and Re- gional Corporations, any person who prior to August 31, 1971, initiated a valid mining claim or location under the general mining laws and re- corded notice of said location with the appro- priate State or local office shall be protected in his possessory rights, if all requirements of the general mining laws are complied with, for a pe- riod of five years and may, if all requirements of the general mining laws are complied with, pro- ceed to patent. (2)(A)(i) Subject to valid existing rights, an unpatented mining claim or location, or portion thereof, under the general mining laws that is situated outside the boundaries of a conserva- tion system unit (as such term is defined in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act) and within the exterior boundaries of lands validly selected by a Village or Regional Cor- poration pursuant to section 1611 of this title or section 1613(h) of this title and that lapses, is abandoned, relinquished, or terminated, de- clared null and void, or otherwise expires, after August 31, 1971, because of failure to comply with requirements of the general mining laws (including the mining laws of the State of Alas- ka), is deemed to be null and void for the pur- poses of this paragraph. The Secretary shall promptly determine the validity of such claims or locations within conservation system units. (ii) Subject to valid existing rights and to sub- paragraph (B), the lands outside a conservation system unit included in a mining claim or loca- tion described in clause (i) shall— (I) be considered part of the lands selected pursuant to sections 1611 of this title and 1613(h) of this title by the Village or Regional Corporation described in clause (i); and (II) be eligible for conveyance pursuant to this chapter unless specifically identified and excluded from an initial selection application. (iii) Subject to valid existing rights and to subparagraph (B), any portion outside a con- servation system unit of a mining claim or loca- tion described in clause (i) that is situated with- in the exterior boundaries of lands conveyed prior to October 14, 1992, from selections under section 1611 or section 1613(h) of this title shall be conveyed pursuant to this chapter. (B) No lands shall be conveyed pursuant to this subsection if the conveyance would result in the receipt of title to lands in excess of an acreage entitlement under this chapter. (3) This section shall apply to lands conveyed by interim conveyance or patent to a Regional Corporation pursuant to this chapter which are made subject to a mining claim or claims lo- cated under the general mining laws, including lands conveyed prior to November 2, 1995. Effec- tive on November 2, 1995, the Secretary, acting Page 481 TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS § 1621 2 So in original. Probably should be capitalized. through the Bureau of Land Management and in a manner consistent with section 1613(g) of this title, shall transfer to the Regional Corporation administration of all mining claims determined to be entirely within lands conveyed to that cor- poration. Any person holding such mining claim or claims shall meet such requirements of the general mining laws and section 1744 of this title, except that any filings that would have been made with the Bureau of Land Manage- ment if the lands were within Federal ownership shall be timely made with the appropriate Re- gional Corporation. The validity of any such mining claim or claims may be contested by the Regional Corporation, in place of the United States. All contest proceedings and appeals by the mining claimants of adverse decisions made by the Regional Corporation shall be brought in Federal District Court for the District of Alas- ka. Neither the United States nor any Federal agency or official shall be named or joined as a party in such proceedings or appeals. All reve- nues from such mining claims received after No- vember 2, 1995, shall be remitted to the Regional Corporation subject to distribution pursuant to section 1606(i) of this title, except that in the event that the mining claim or claims are not totally within the lands conveyed to the Re- gional Corporation, the Regional Corporation shall be entitled only to that proportion of reve- nues, other than administrative fees, reasonably allocated to the portion of the mining claim so conveyed. The provisions of this section shall apply to Haida Corporation and the Haida Tradi- tional Use Sites, which shall be treated as a Re- gional Corporation for the purposes of this para- graph, except that any revenues remitted to Haida Corporation under this section shall not be subject to distribution pursuant to section 1606(i) of this title. (d) Purchase restrictions for personnel inappli- cable to chapter The provisions of section 11 of this title shall not apply to any land grants or other rights granted under this chapter. (e) National Wildlife Refuge System; replacement lands If land within the National Wildlife Refuge System is selected by a Village Corporation pur- suant to the provisions of this chapter, the sec- retary 2 shall add to the Refuge System other public lands in the State to replace the lands se- lected by the Village Corporation. (f) Land exchanges The Secretary, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the State of Alas- ka are authorized to exchange lands or interests therein, including Native selection rights, with the corporations organized by Native groups, Village Corporations, Regional Corporations, and the corporations organized by Natives resid- ing in Juneau, Sitka, Kodiak, and Kenai, all as defined in this chapter, and other municipalities and corporations or individuals, the State (act- ing free of the restrictions of section 6(i) of the Alaska Statehood Act), or any Federal agency for the purpose of effecting land consolidations or to facilitate the management or development of the land, or for other public purposes. Ex- changes shall be on the basis of equal value, and either party to the exchange may pay or accept cash in order to equalize the value of the prop- erty exchanged: Provided, That when the parties agree to an exchange and the appropriate Sec- retary determines it is in the public interest, such exchanges may be made for other than equal value. (g) National Wildlife Refuge System lands subject of patents; Federal reservation of first re- fusal rights; provision in patents for con- tinuing application of laws and regulations governing Refuge If a patent is issued to any Village Corpora- tion for land in the National Wildlife Refuge System, the patent shall reserve to the United States the right of first refusal if the land is ever sold by the Village Corporation. Notwith- standing any other provision of this chapter, every patent issued by the Secretary pursuant to this chapter—which covers lands lying within the boundaries of a National Wildlife Refuge on December 18, 1971, shall contain a provision that such lands remain subject to the laws and regu- lations governing use and development of such Refuge. (h) Withdrawals of public lands; termination date (1) All withdrawals made under this chapter, except as otherwise provided in this subsection, shall terminate within four years of December 18, 1971: Provided, That any lands selected by Vil- lage or Regional Corporations or by a Native group under section 1611 of this title shall re- main withdrawn until conveyed pursuant to sec- tion 1613 of this title. (2) The withdrawal of lands made by section 1610(a)(2) and section 1615 of this title shall ter- minate three years from December 18, 1971. (3) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any withdrawals made under section 1616 of this title. (4) The Secretary is authorized to terminate any withdrawal made by or pursuant to this chapter whenever he determines that the with- drawal is no longer necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter. (i) Administration of withdrawn lands; con- tracting and other authority of Secretaries not impaired by withdrawal Prior to a conveyance pursuant to section 1613 of this title, lands withdrawn by or pursuant to sections 1610, 1613, and 1615 of this title shall be subject to administration by the Secretary, or by the Secretary of Agriculture in the case of National Forest lands, under applicable laws and regulations, and their authority to make con- tracts and to grant leases, permits, rights-of- way, or easements shall not be impaired by the withdrawal. (j) Interim conveyances and underselections (1) Where lands to be conveyed to a Native, Native Corporation, or Native group pursuant to this chapter as amended and supplemented have not been surveyed, the same may be conveyed by the issuance of an ‘‘interim conveyance’’ to Page 482 TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS § 1621 3 See References in Text note below. the party entitled to the lands. Subject to valid existing rights and such conditions and reserva- tions authorized by law as are imposed, the force and effect of such an interim conveyance shall be to convey to and vest in the recipient exactly the same right, title, and interest in and to the lands as the recipient would have received had he been issued a patent by the United States. Upon survey of lands covered by an in- terim conveyance a patent thereto shall be issued to the recipient. The boundaries of the lands as defined and conveyed by the interim conveyance shall not be altered but may then be redescribed, if need be, in reference to the plat of survey. The Secretary shall make appropriate adjustments to insure that the recipient re- ceives his full entitlement. Where the term ‘‘patent,’’ or a derivative thereof, is used in this chapter unless the context precludes such con- struction, it shall be deemed to include ‘‘interim conveyance,’’ and the conveyances of land to Natives and Native Corporations provided for this chapter shall be as fully effectuated by the issuance of interim conveyances as by the issuance of patents. (2) Where lands selected and conveyed, or to be conveyed to a Village Corporation are insuffi- cient to fulfill the Corporation’s entitlement under section 1611(b), 1613(a), 1615(b), or 1615(d) of this title, the Secretary is authorized to with- draw twice the amount of unfulfilled entitle- ment and provide the Village Corporation nine- ty days from receipt of notice from the Sec- retary to select from the lands withdrawn the land it desires to fulfill its entitlement. In mak- ing the withdrawal, the Secretary shall first withdraw public lands that were formerly with- drawn for selection by the concerned Village Corporation by or pursuant to section 1610(a)(1), 1610(a)(3), 1615(a), or 1615(d) of this title. Should such lands no longer be available, the Secretary may withdraw public lands that are vacant, un- reserved, and unappropriated, except that the Secretary may withdraw public lands which had been previously withdrawn pursuant to section 1616(d) of this title. Any subsequent selection by the Village Corporation shall be in the manner provided in this chapter for such original selec- tions. (3) In lieu of withdrawal under paragraph (2), land may be segregated from all other forms of appropriation for the purposes described in that paragraph if— (A) the Secretary and the Village Corpora- tion enter into an agreement identifying the land for selection; and (B) the Village Corporation files an applica- tion for selection of the land. (k) National forest land patents; conditions Any patents to lands under this chapter which are located within the boundaries of a national forest shall contain such conditions as the Sec- retary deems necessary to assure that: (1) the sale of any timber from such lands shall, for a period of five years, be subject to the same restrictions relating to the export of timber from the United States as are applica- ble to national forest lands in Alaska under rules and regulations of the Secretary of Agri- culture; and (2) such lands are managed under the prin- ciple of sustained yield and under manage- ment practices for protection and enhance- ment of environmental quality no less strin- gent than such management practices on adja- cent national forest lands for a period of twelve years. (l) Land selection limitation; proximity to home rule or first class city and Ketchikan Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, no Village or Regional Corporation shall select lands which are within two miles from the boundary, as it exists on December 18, 1971, of any home rule or first class city (excluding bor- oughs) or which are within six miles from the boundary of Ketchikan. (m) Licenses held by Alaska Native regional cor- porations An Alaska Native regional corporation orga- nized pursuant to this chapter, or an affiliate thereof, that holds a Federal Communications Commission license in the personal communica- tions service as of the date of enactment of this section 3 and has either paid for such license in full or has complied with the payment schedules for such license shall be permitted to transfer or assign without penalty such license to any transferee or assignee. No economic penalties shall apply to any transfer or assignment au- thorized under this section. Any amounts owed to the United States for the initial grant of such licenses shall become immediately due and pay- able upon the consummation of any such trans- fer or assignment. Any application for such a transfer or assignment shall be deemed granted if not denied by the Commission within 90 days of the date on which it was initially filed. Any provision of law or regulation to the contrary is hereby amended. (Pub. L. 92–203, § 22, Dec. 18, 1971, 85 Stat. 713; Pub. L. 94–204, § 17, Jan. 2, 1976, 89 Stat. 1156; Pub. L. 96–487, title XIV, § 1410, Dec. 2, 1980, 94 Stat. 2496; Pub. L. 102–415, § 14, Oct. 14, 1992, 106 Stat. 2121; Pub. L. 104–42, title I, § 102, Nov. 2, 1995, 109 Stat. 353; Pub. L. 105–333, § 7, Oct. 31, 1998, 112 Stat. 3133; Pub. L. 106–259, title VIII, § 8149, Aug. 9, 2000, 114 Stat. 706; Pub. L. 108–452, title II, § 208, Dec. 10, 2004, 118 Stat. 3586.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 682 of this title, referred to in subsec. (b), probably means section 682a of this title which was re- pealed by Pub. L. 94–579, title VII, § 702, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2787. The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(2)(A)(i), is Pub. L. 96–487, Dec. 2, 1980, 94 Stat. 2371. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3101 of Title 16, Conservation, and Tables. Section 6(i) of the Alaska Statehood Act, referred to in subsec. (f), is section 6(i) of Pub. L. 85–508, which is set out as a note preceding section 21 of Title 48, Terri- tories and Insular Possessions. The date of enactment of this section, referred to in subsec. (m), probably means the date of enactment of Pub. L. 106–259, which enacted subsec. (m) of this sec- tion and was approved Aug. 9, 2000. Page 483 TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS § 1625 AMENDMENTS 2004—Subsec. (j)(3). Pub. L. 108–452 added par. (3). 2000—Subsec. (m). Pub. L. 106–259, which directed the addition of subsec. (m) at the end of section 1621 of Pub- lic Law 92–204, was executed by adding subsec. (m) at the end of this section, which is section 22 of Pub. L. 92–203, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. 1998—Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 105–333 substituted ‘‘Re- gional Corporation’’ for ‘‘regional corporation’’ wher- ever appearing and inserted at end ‘‘The provisions of this section shall apply to Haida Corporation and the Haida Traditional Use Sites, which shall be treated as a Regional Corporation for the purposes of this para- graph, except that any revenues remitted to Haida Cor- poration under this section shall not be subject to dis- tribution pursuant to section 1606(i) of this title.’’ 1995—Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 104–42 added par. (3). 1992—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–415 designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2). 1980—Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 96–487 substituted provision authorizing Secretary to convey lands by interim con- veyance when the lands have not been surveyed, upon survey to issue a patent and redescribe the lands if nec- essary, and, where lands selected and conveyed, or to be conveyed, to a Village Corporation are insufficient to fulfill the Corporation’s entitlement, to withdraw twice the amount of unfulfilled entitlement and provide the Village Corporation 90 days from receipt of notice to select from the lands withdrawn the land it desires to fulfill its entitlement for provision authorizing the Secretary, in any area of Alaska for which protraction diagrams do not exist, which does not conform to the United States Land Survey System, or which has not been adequately surveyed to permit selection, to take such actions as are necessary to accomplish the pur- poses of this chapter. 1976—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 94–204 authorized State of Alaska to make direct exchanges of land between it and Native Corporations, authorized State to transfer min- eral interests, notwithstanding section 6(i) of the Alas- ka Statehood Act, to Federal agencies in such ex- changes, and authorized exchanges on a basis other than equal value, by agreement of the parties or if deemed in the public interest. § 1622. Annual reports to Congress until 1984; submission in 1985 of report of status of Na- tives, summary of actions taken, and rec- ommendations The Secretary shall submit to the Congress annual reports on implementation of this chap- ter. Such reports shall be filed by the Secretary annually until 1984. At the beginning of the first session of Congress in 1985 the Secretary shall submit, through the President, a report of the status of the Natives and Native groups in Alas- ka, and a summary of actions taken under this chapter, together with such recommendations as may be appropriate. (Pub. L. 92–203, § 23, Dec. 18, 1971, 85 Stat. 715.) § 1623. Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the pro- visions of this chapter. (Pub. L. 92–203, § 24, Dec. 18, 1971, 85 Stat. 715.) § 1624. Regulations; issuance; publication in Fed- eral Register The Secretary is authorized to issue and pub- lish in the Federal Register, pursuant to sub- chapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, such regula- tions as may be necessary to carry out the pur- poses of this chapter. (Pub. L. 92–203, § 25, Dec. 18, 1971, 85 Stat. 715.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION ‘‘Subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5’’ substituted for ‘‘the Administrative Procedure Act’’ on authority of Pub. L. 89–554, § 7(b), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 631, the first section of which enacted Title 5, Government Organiza- tion and Employees. § 1625. Securities laws exemption (a) Laws; termination date of exempt status A Native Corporation shall be exempt from the provisions, as amended, of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (54 Stat. 789) [15 U.S.C. 80a–1 et seq.], the Securities Act of 1933 (48 Stat. 74) [15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.], and the Securities Ex- change Act of 1934 (48 Stat. 881) [15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.] until the earlier of the day after— (1) the date on which the corporation issues shares of stock other than Settlement Com- mon Stock in a transaction where— (A) the transaction or the shares are not otherwise exempt from Federal securities laws; and (B) the shares are issued to persons or en- tities other than— (i) individuals who held shares in the corporation on February 3, 1988; (ii) Natives; (iii) descendants of Natives; (iv) individuals who have received shares of Settlement Common Stock by inherit- ance pursuant to section 1606(h)(2) of this title; (v) Settlement Trusts; or (vi) entities established for the sole ben- efit of Natives or descendants of Natives; or (2) the date on which alienability restric- tions are terminated; or (3) the date on which the corporation files a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to either the Securities Act of 1933 [15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.] or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 [15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.]. (b) Status of Native Corporations after termi- nation date No provision of this section shall be construed to require or imply that a Native Corporation shall, or shall not, be subject to provisions of the Acts listed in subsection (a) after any of the dates described in subsection (a). (c) Annual report to shareholders; shareholders of record (1) A Native Corporation that, but for this sec- tion, would be subject to the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 [15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.] shall annually prepare and transmit to its shareholders a report that contains substan- tially all the information required to be in- cluded in an annual report to shareholders by a corporation subject to that Act. (2) For purposes of determining the applica- bility of the registration requirements of the Se- curities Exchange Act of 1934 on or after the date described in subsection (a), holders of Set-