§4306a — Title 25 Indians | U.S. Code

Summary

Within one year after December 30, 2020, the Secretary, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of the Treasury must work together to create ways to boost investment in Indian communities. They must use the BIA loan guarantee program (section 1481), programs run from the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (12 U.S.C. 4703(a)), and other capital programs. They must look for what can count as collateral for loans, offer business and entrepreneur training through tribal colleges and trusted Indian organizations, and talk with Indian Tribes and the Securities and Exchange Commission about changing rules so Tribes can be treated like accredited investors under SEC rules 230.500–230.508. They must find legal or regulatory barriers to more investment (working with the Authority created by the Indian Tribal Regulatory Reform and Business Development Act of 2000), consult Tribes while doing this work, and send Congress a report at least once every 2 years about improvements, the accredited investor study, and identified barriers. When the Treasury gives help under 12 U.S.C. 4707 to Native Community Development Financial Institutions, the rule in 12 U.S.C. 4707(e) does not apply. The Government Accountability Office must do a study and give a report to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the House Committee on Natural Resources within 18 months after December 30, 2020. The study must review federal programs that help Indian communities with business, manufacturing, infrastructure (like broadband), community development, and facility construction. For each program, the GAO must assess how Tribes, people, and businesses use the program, the need for capital, any overlap or duplication, and how use compares to non-Indian communities. The GAO must also measure how much help goes to non-Indian versus Indian borrowers through loan and bond programs at several agencies (Interior, Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Energy, Small Business Administration, and the CDFI Fund), compare tax-incentive allocations for Indian and non-Indian projects (including new markets, low-income housing, investment, renewable energy incentives, and accelerated depreciation), and study possible incentives to get Tribes to invest in an Indian community development fund or bank.

Title 25, §4306a

Indians — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Not later than 1 year after December 30, 2020, the Secretary, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of the Treasury shall coordinate—

(1)to develop initiatives that—

(A)encourage, promote, and provide education regarding investments in Indian communities through—

(i)the loan guarantee program of Bureau of Indian Affairs under section 1481 of this title;

(ii)programs carried out using amounts in the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund established under section 4703(a) of title 12; and

(iii)other capital development programs;

(B)examine and develop alternatives that would qualify as collateral for financing in Indian communities; and

(C)provide entrepreneur and other training relating to economic development through tribally controlled colleges and universities and other Indian organizations with experience in providing such training;

(2)to consult with Indian Tribes and with the Securities and Exchange Commission to study, and collaborate to establish, regulatory changes necessary to qualify an Indian Tribe as an accredited investor for the purposes of section 230.500 through 230.508 of title 17, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), consistent with the goals of promoting capital formation and ensuring qualifying Indian Tribes have the ability to withstand investment loss, on a basis comparable to other legal entities that qualify as accredited investors who are not natural persons;

(3)to identify regulatory, legal, or other barriers to increasing investment, business, and economic development, including qualifying or approving collateral structures, measurements of economic strength, and contributions of Indian economies in Indian communities through the Authority established under section 4 of the Indian Tribal Regulatory Reform and Business Development Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4301 note);

(4)to ensure consultation with Indian Tribes regarding increasing investment in Indian communities and the development of the report required in paragraph (5); and

(5)not less than once every 2 years, to provide a report to Congress regarding—

(A)improvements to Indian communities resulting from such initiatives and recommendations for promoting sustained growth of the Tribal economies;

(B)results of the study and collaboration regarding the necessary changes referenced in paragraph (2) and the impact of allowing Indian Tribes to qualify as an accredited investor; and

(C)the identified regulatory, legal, and other barriers referenced in paragraph (3).

(b)For assistance provided pursuant to section 4707 of title 12 to benefit Native Community Development Financial Institutions, as defined by the Secretary of the Treasury, section 4707(e) of such title shall not apply.

(c)(1)The Government Accountability Office shall conduct a study and, not later than 18 months after December 30, 2020, submit to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a report on the findings of the study and recommendations.

(2)The study shall include an assessment of each of the following:

(A)The study shall assess current Federal capitalization and related programs and services that are available to assist Indian communities with business and economic development, including manufacturing, physical infrastructure (such as telecommunications and broadband), community development, and facilities construction for such purposes. For each of the Federal programs and services identified, the study shall assess the current use and demand by Indian Tribes, individuals, businesses, and communities of the programs, the capital needs of Indian Tribes, businesses, and communities related to economic development, the extent to which the programs and services overlap or are duplicative, and the extent that similar programs have been used to assist non-Indian communities compared to the extent used for Indian communities.

(B)The study shall assess and quantify the extent of assistance provided to non-Indian borrowers and to Indian (both Tribal and individual) borrowers (including information about such assistance as a percentage of need for Indian borrowers and for non-Indian borrowers, assistance to Indian borrowers and to non-Indian borrowers as a percentage of total applicants, and such assistance to Indian borrowers as individuals as compared to such assistance to Indian Tribes) through the loan programs, the loan guarantee programs, or bond guarantee programs of the—

(i)Department of the Interior;

(ii)Department of Agriculture;

(iii)Department of Housing and Urban Development;

(iv)Department of Energy;

(v)Small Business Administration; and

(vi)Community Development Financial Institutions Fund of the Department of the Treasury.

(C)The study shall assess and quantify the extent of the assistance and allocations afforded for non-Indian projects and for Indian projects pursuant to each of the following tax incentive programs:

(i)New market tax credit.

(ii)Low income housing tax credit.

(iii)Investment tax credit.

(iv)Renewable energy tax incentives.

(v)Accelerated depreciation.

(D)The study shall assess various alternative incentives that could be provided to enable and encourage Tribal governments to invest in an Indian community development investment fund or bank.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 4 of the Indian Tribal Regulatory Reform and Business Development Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4301 note), referred to in subsec. (a)(3), is section 4 of Pub. L. 106–447, which is set out as a note under section 4301 of this title.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 8 of Pub. L. 106–464, which was classified to section 4307 of this title, was redesignated section 10 of Pub. L. 106–464 by Pub. L. 116–261, § 3(d)(1), Dec. 30, 2020, 134 Stat. 3308.

§4306a Indian Community Development Initiatives