A bill pertaining to the inheritance of trust or restricted or fee land on the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation, North Dakota and South Dakota, and for other purposes.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
Declares that only the members of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe of North Dakota and South Dakota shall be entitled to receive by devise or descent any interest in trust or restricted or fee land within the boundaries of the Lake Traverse Indian Reservation. Sets forth the line of descent for eligible heirs when any member of the tribe owning such land dies without a will or leaves an unapproved will. Provides that any nonmember of the tribe shall only be entitled to take a life estate interest in such land whether or not a will was approved by the Secretary of the Interior or the laws of the State. Declares that if a decedent has devised an interest in trust or restricted or fee land to a person prohibited from acquiring such interest, the interest in such land shall escheat to the tribe. Provides that no person shall be entitled by devise or descent to take any interest in less than two and one-half acres in trust or restricted or fee land or in a sum less than twenty-five dollars. Declares that such interests shall escheat to the tribe. Authorizes the Secretary, upon the request of the tribe and whenever the tribe holds at least a 50-percent undivided interest in trust or restricted land, to partition the allotment of such land to the advantage of the heirs. Provides that whenever the tribe exercises its power of eminent domain relative to certain condemnation proceedings, the interests in such lands shall be held in trust by the United States. Declares that any property within the reservation in the possession of the United States not properly claimed by the rightful owner for seven consecutive years shall escheat to the tribe. Requires the Secretary to submit to the tribe, by December 31 of each year, a list of abandoned or unclaimed property of persons enrolled or eligible for enrollment in the tribe. Assesses a five percent tax against the value of any estate of any person who dies possessed of any interest in trust or restricted or fee land.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on December 4, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 4, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
THOMAS DASCHLE (D-SD) introduced it on December 4, 1980. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 4, 1980, 16716 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16716 days ago, on December 4, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers