This subpart provides the process and timelines for negotiating a self-governance compact with the Department and an AFA with any bureau.

(a) For a newly selected or currently participating Tribe/Consortium negotiating an initial AFA with any bureau, see §§ 1000.173 through 1000.179.

(b) For a participating Tribe/Consortium negotiating a successor AFA with any bureau, see §§ 1000.180 through 1000.182.

A self-governance compact is an executed document that affirms the government-to-government relationship between a self-governance Tribe and the United States. The compact differs from an AFA in that parts of the compact apply to all bureaus within the Department of the Interior rather than a single bureau.

A model format for self-governance compacts appears in appendix A. A self-governance compact should generally include the following:

(a) The authority and purpose;

(b) Terms, provisions, and conditions of the compact;

(c) Obligations of the Tribe and the United States; and

(d) Other provisions.

Yes, the Secretary and a self-governance Tribe/Consortium may negotiate into the model compact contained in appendix A additional terms relating to the government-to-government relationship between the Tribe(s) and the United States. For BIA programs, a Tribe/Consortium and the Secretary may agree to include any term in a contract and funding agreement under Title I in the model compact contained in appendix A to this part.

Yes, at the Tribe's/Consortium's option.

(a) Yes, all provisions in compacts that were negotiated with BIA before January 16, 2001, shall remain in effect for BIA programs only after January 16, 2001, provided that each compact contains provisions:

(1) That are authorized by the Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994;

(2) Are in compliance with other applicable Federal laws; and,

(3) Are consistent with this part.

(b) BIA will notify the Tribe/Consortium in writing when BIA asserts that a provision or provisions of that Tribe's/Consortium's previously negotiated compact is not in compliance with the terms and conditions of this part. BIA and the Tribe/Consortium will renegotiate the provision within 60 days of the Tribe's/Consortium's receipt of the notification.

(c) If renegotiation is not successful within 60 days of the notice being provided, BIA's determination is final for the bureau and enforceability of the provisions shall be subject to the appeals process described in subpart R of this part. Pending a final appeal through the appeals process, BIA's determination shall be stayed.

There are two phases of the negotiation process:

(a) The information phase; and

(b) The negotiation phase.

Any Tribe/Consortium that has been admitted to the program or to the applicant pool may initiate the information phase.

No, a Tribe/Consortium may go directly to the negotiation phase.

A Tribe/Consortium initiates the information phase by submitting a letter of interest to the bureau administering a program that the Tribe/Consortium may want to include in its AFA. A letter of interest may be mailed, telefaxed, or hand-delivered to:

(a) The Director, OSG, if the request is for information about BIA programs;

(b) The non-BIA bureau's self-governance representative identified in the Secretary's annual section 405(c) listing in the Federal Register, if the request is for information concerning programs of non-BIA bureaus.

A letter of interest is the initial indication of interest submitted by the Tribe/Consortium informing the bureau of the Tribe's/Consortium's interest in seeking information for the possible negotiation of one or more bureau programs. For non-BIA bureaus, the program and budget information request should relate to the program and activities identified in the Secretary's section 405(c) list in the Federal Register or a section 403(c) request. A letter of interest should identify the following:

(a) As specifically as possible, the program a Tribe/Consortium is interested in negotiating under an AFA;

(b) A preliminary brief explanation of the cultural, historical, or geographic significance to the Tribe/Consortium of the program, if applicable;

(c) The scope of activity that a Tribe/Consortium is interested in including in an AFA;

(d) Other information that may assist the bureau in identifying the programs that are included or related to the Tribe's/Consortium's request;

(e) A request for information that indicates the type and/or description of information that will assist the Tribe/Consortium in pursuing the negotiation process;

(f) A designated Tribal contact;

(g) A request for information on any funds that may be available within the bureau or other known possible sources of funding for planning and negotiating an AFA;

(h) A request for information on any funds available within the bureau or from other sources of funding that the Tribe/Consortium may include in the AFA for planning or performing programs or activities; and

(i) Any requests for technical assistance to be provided by the bureau in preparing documents of materials that may be required for the Tribe/Consortium in the negotiation process.

A letter of interest may be submitted at any time. To meet the negotiation deadlines below, letters should be submitted to the appropriate non-BIA bureaus by March 1; letters should be submitted to BIA by April 1 for fiscal year Tribes/Consortia or May 1 for calendar year Tribes/Consortia.

(a) Within 15 calendar days of receipt of a Tribe's/Consortium's letter of interest, the bureau will notify the Tribe/Consortium about who will be designated as the bureau's representative to be responsible for responding to the Tribal requests for information. The bureau representative shall act in good faith in fulfilling the following responsibilities:

(1) Providing all budget and program information identified in paragraph (b) of this section, from each organizational level of the bureau(s); and

(2) Notifying any other bureau requiring notification and participation under this part.

(b) Within 30 calendar days of receipt of the Tribe's/Consortium's letter of interest:

(1) To the extent that such reasonably related information is available, the bureau representative is to provide the information listed in paragraph (c) of this section, if available and consistent with the bureau's budgetary process;

(2) A written explanation of why the information is not available or not being provided to the Tribe's/Consortium's contact and the date by which other available information will be provided; or

(3) If applicable, a written explanation of why the program is unavailable for negotiation.

(c) Information to be made available to the Tribe's/Consortium's contact, subject to the conditions of paragraph (b) of this section, includes:

(1) Information regarding program, budget, staffing, and locations of the offices administering the program and related administrative support program identified by the Tribe/Consortium,

(2) Information contained in the previous year, present year, and next year's budget proposed by the President at the national program level and the regional/local level.

(3) When appropriate, the bureau will be available to meet the Tribal representatives to explain the budget information provided.

(4) Information used to support budget allocations for the programs identified (e.g., full time equivalents and other relevant factors).

(5) Information used to operate and/or evaluate a program, such as statutory and regulatory requirements and program standards.

(6) If applicable, information regarding how a program is administered by more than one bureau, including a point of contact for information for the other bureau(s); and

(7) Other information requested by the Tribe/Consortium in its letter of interest.

(d) If a bureau fails to provide reasonably related information requested by a Tribe/Consortium, the Tribe/Consortium may appeal the failure in accordance with subpart R of this part. These requests shall be considered for a fee waiver under the Freedom of Information Act.

(a) To initiate the negotiation phase, an authorized official of the newly selected Tribe/Consortium submits a written request to negotiate an AFA as indicated in the following table:

(b) The Tribal/Consortium official must submit the information required by paragraph (a) of this section by the deadline shown in the following table:

(a) Within 15 days of receiving a Tribe's/Consortium's request to negotiate, the bureau will take the steps in this section. If more than one bureau is involved, a lead bureau must be designated to conduct negotiations.

(b) If the program is contained on the section 405(c) list, the bureau will identify the lead negotiator(s) and awarding official(s) for executing the AFA.

(c) If the program is potentially of a special geographic, cultural, or historic significance to a Tribe/Consortium, the bureau will schedule a pre-negotiation meeting with the Tribe/Consortium as soon as possible. The purpose of the meeting is to assist the bureau in determining if the program is available for negotiation.

(d) Within 10 days after convening a meeting under paragraph (c) of this section:

(1) If the program is available for negotiation, the bureau will identify the lead negotiator(s) and awarding official(s); or

(2) If the program is unavailable for negotiation, the bureau will give to the Tribe/Consortium a written explanation of why the program is unavailable for negotiation.

(a) Within 30 days of receiving a written request to negotiate, the bureau and the Tribe/Consortium will agree to a date to conduct an initial negotiation meeting. Subsequent meetings will be held with reasonable frequency at reasonable times.

(b) Tribe/Consortium and bureau lead negotiators must:

(1) Be authorized to negotiate on behalf of their government; and

(2) Involve all necessary persons in the negotiation process.

(c) Once negotiations have been successfully completed, the bureau and Tribe/Consortium will prepare and either execute or disapprove an AFA within 30 days or by a mutually agreed upon date.

The negotiation meetings referred to in § 1000.175 must address at a minimum the following:

(a) The specific Tribe/Consortium proposal(s) and intentions;

(b) Legal or program issues that the bureau or the Tribe/Consortium identify as concerns;

(c) Options for negotiating programs and related budget amounts, including mutually agreeable options for developing alternative formats for presenting budget information to the Tribe/Consortium;

(d) Dates for conducting and concluding negotiations;

(e) Protocols for conducting negotiations;

(f) Responsibility for preparation of a written summary of the discussions; and

(g) Who will prepare an initial draft of the AFA.

(a) After all parties have signed the AFA, a copy is sent to the Tribe/Consortium.

(b) The Secretary forwards copies of the AFA to:

(1) The House Subcommittee on Native Americans and Insular Affairs; and

(2) The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs;

(c) For BIA programs, the AFA is also forwarded to each Indian Tribe/Consortium served by the BIA Agency that serves any Tribe/Consortium that is a party to the AFA.

The effective date is not earlier than 90 days after the AFA is submitted to the Congressional committees under § 1000.177(b).

(a) If the Tribe/Consortium and bureau representatives do not reach agreement during the negotiation phase by the mutually agreed to date for completing negotiations, the Tribe/Consortium and the bureau may each make a last and best offer to the other party.

(b) If a last and best offer is not accepted within 15 days, the bureau will provide a written explanation to the Tribe/Consortium explaining its reasons for not entering into an AFA for the requested program, together with the applicable statement prescribed in subpart R of this part, concerning appeal or review rights.

(c) The Tribe/Consortium has 30 days from receipt of the bureau's written explanation to file an appeal. Appeals are handled in accordance with subpart R of this part.

A successor AFA is a funding agreement negotiated after a Tribe's/Consortium's initial agreement with a bureau for continuing to perform a particular program. The parties to the AFA should generally use the terms of the existing AFA to expedite and simplify the exchange of information and the negotiation process.

Although a written request is desirable to document the precise request and date of the request, a written request is not mandatory. If either party anticipates a significant change in an existing program in the AFA, it should notify the other party of the change at the earliest possible date so that the other party may plan accordingly.

The Tribe/Consortium and the bureau use the procedures in §§ 1000.173-1000.179.