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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 19 / Monday, February 1, 2021 / Proposed Rules Ms.
Vickie Hanvey, Program Policy Analyst, Office of Self-Governance, Office of the Assistant SecretaryIndian Affairs;
telephone: 918 9310745; email:
Vickie.hanvey@bia.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

I. Background On October 21, 2020, the PROGRESS
Act was signed into law. See Public Law 116180. The PROGRESS Act amends subchapter I of the Indian SelfDetermination and Education Assistance Act ISDEAA, 25 U.S.C.
5301 et seq., which addresses Indian Self-Determination, and subchapter IV
of the ISDEAA which addresses DOIs Tribal Self-Governance Program. The PROGRESS Act calls for a negotiated rulemaking committee to be established under 5 U.S.C. 565, with membership consisting only of representatives of Federal and Tribal governments, with the Office of Self-Governance serving as the lead agency for the DOI. The PROGRESS 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 Indian Tribes.
This notice is published in accordance with the Negotiated Rulemaking Act of 1996 NRA 5 U.S.C.
561 et seq.; FACA; and the PROGRESS
Act.
II. Scope of the Proposed Rule To Be Negotiated The PROGRESS Act requires DOI to establish the negotiated rulemaking committee to develop proposed regulations to implement subchapter IV, regarding the Self-Governance Program.
See Public Law 116180, Section 413.
Current regulations implementing the Self-Governance Program are found at 25 CFR part 1000, Annual Funding Agreements under the Tribal SelfGovernment Act Amendments to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Act. It is anticipated that the proposed rule will revise those regulations at 25 CFR part 1000 to amend, delete, and add provisions as appropriate to implement the PROGRESS Act.
III. The Committee and Process for Negotiated Rulemaking The Committee will be charged with developing proposed regulations for the Secretarys implementation of the PROGRESS Acts provisions regarding the DOIs Self-Governance Program. In negotiated rulemaking, recommended provisions of a proposed rule are
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developed by a committee composed of at least one representative of the Federal Government and representatives of the interests that will be significantly affected by the rule. In compliance with FACA and the NRA, the DOI will use the following procedures for this negotiated rulemaking. The DOI may modify them in response to comments received on this notice of intent or during the negotiation process.
A. Committee Formation The Committee will be formed in full compliance with the requirements of FACA and the NRA, and operate in full compliance with the NRA and the guidelines of its charter.
B. Composition of Committee The Secretary is seeking nominations for representatives to serve on the Committee who can represent the interests listed in Section C, and who have a demonstrated ability to communicate well with groups about the interests they will represent. The Committee membership will consist of approximately 15, but not more than 25
members in accordance with the NRA.
Tribal Committee membership must:
Include only representatives of the interests described below;
Include representatives with a demonstrated ability to communicate well with groups about the interests they will represent; and Include Tribal representatives appointed by the Secretary that are:
Elected officials of Tribal governments acting in their official capacities;
Or their designated employees with authority to act on their behalf in their official capacities;
Representative of Tribes with a geographical balance; and A majority of whom are representative of Indian Tribes with existing self-governance funding agreements.
Comply with the FACA.
FACA regulations require the membership of a FACA committee to be fairly balanced in its member in terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be performed. See 41
CFR 1023.30. In making membership decisions, the Secretary will consider whether the interest represented by a nominee will be affected significantly by the final products of the Committee, which may include reports and/or proposed regulations; whether that interest is already adequately represented by nominees; and whether the potential addition would adequately represent that interest.
Federally registered lobbyists are ineligible to serve on all FACA and non-

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FACA boards, committees, or councils in an individual capacity. The term individual capacity refers to individuals who are appointed to exercise their own individual best judgment on behalf of the government, such as when they are designated Special Government Employees, rather than being appointed to represent a particular interest.
C. Interests Identified Under Section 562 of the NRA, interest means, with respect to an issue or matter, multiple parties which have a similar point of view or which are likely to be affected in a similar manner. A limited number of identifiable interests will be significantly affected by the rule. Those parties are Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations as defined in section 4l of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act that are currently participating in the Tribal Self-Governance Program and those that are not currently participating in, but are interested in participating in Tribal Self-Governance Program.
The DOI is accepting comments identifying other interests that may be significantly affected by the final products of the Committee, which may include reports and/or proposed regulations, until the date listed in the DATES section of this notice of intent.
D. Committee Member Responsibilities The Committee is expected to meet approximately 35 times and each meeting is expected to last multiple hours for a consecutive 23 days each.
The initial meeting will be held by teleconference and/or web conference;
later meetings may be held either virtually or in person. The Committees work is expected to occur over the course of 612 months, and it is the Secretarys intent to publish the proposed rule for notice and comment by the statutory deadline of July 21, 2022 within 18 months of the anticipated date of the Committees establishment. However, the Committee may continue its work for up to two years.
Because of the scope and complexity of the tasks at hand, Committee members must be able to invest considerable time and effort in the negotiated rulemaking process.
Committee members must be able to attend all Committee meetings, work on Committee work groups, consult with their constituencies between Committee meetings, and negotiate in good faith toward a consensus on issues before the Committee. Because of the complexity of the issues under consideration, as
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