S239-119

What This Bill Does

The Crow Revenue Act directs a single exchange within 60 days if the Bull Mountains coal leaseholder offers to relinquish BLM lease MTM-97988. Interior must accept that relinquishment; the Hope Family Trust must convey roughly 4,660 acres of reservation mineral interests to the Crow Tribe; and the United States must convey roughly 4,530 acres of subsurface interests and 940 acres of surface land in the Bull Mountains to the Trust, subject to valid rights. At the Tribe's request, its new mineral interests become federal trust property and are exempt from Montana and local taxation. Before exchange, the Tribe must notify Interior that it and the Trust have agreed on a formula for sharing revenue if the Bull Mountains interests are later developed. The tracts are temporarily withdrawn from public-land entry, mining, and leasing, and benefits under the Act may not reduce other federal tribal or member benefits.

Who Benefits and How

The Crow Tribe of Montana and its members benefit from ownership, optional federal trust status, and state-tax exemption for substantial mineral interests located within the Crow Reservation. The Hope Family Trust benefits by exchanging those reservation mineral interests for larger federal subsurface and surface holdings in the Bull Mountains, plus a negotiated share of revenue if the received property is later developed.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Bull Mountains coal lessee must voluntarily relinquish its federal lease for the transaction to proceed, ending its leasehold opportunity in the exchanged tract. Bureau of Land Management and Interior trust administrators must complete the conditional exchange within 60 days, protect valid rights, process any tribal trust request, confirm revenue-sharing notice, and enforce the interim withdrawal. Montana and local tax authorities lose authority to tax the mineral interests conveyed to the Tribe, while new public-land, mining, and leasing applicants cannot acquire interim rights in the withdrawn tracts.

Key Provisions

• Requires Interior to accept the Bull Mountains lease relinquishment if the lessee offers it and coordinates all conveyances in one transaction.
• Requires the Hope Family Trust to convey approximately 4,660 acres of reservation mineral interests to the Crow Tribe.
• Requires the United States to convey the defined Bull Mountains surface and mineral interests to the Hope Family Trust.
• Exempts the Tribe's received mineral interests from state and local taxation and allows federal trust status at the Tribe's request.
• Requires advance written notice of a Tribe-Trust revenue-sharing formula and temporarily withdraws both property sets from entry, mining, and leasing.
• Protects the Tribe's and members' eligibility for other federal services, benefits, and programs.