25 U.S.C. § 167 — Trust status of lease payments

(a) Definition of Secretary. In this section, "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Interior. (b) Treatment of lease payments. (1) In general: When the Secretary reviews and approves — under any other federal law — a sale, lease, permit, or other transfer of an interest in land held in trust or restricted status for an Indian tribe or individual, any advance payment, bid deposit, or other earnest money the Secretary receives in connection with that review must be placed in the trust fund system as soon as it's received, before final approval, for the benefit of the tribe or individual whose land generated it. This happens automatically unless the tribe or individual asks otherwise, and except as described in paragraph (2). (2) Restriction: If the advance payment or deposit came from a competitive bidding process, only the money actually paid by the winning bidder goes into the trust fund system — not money from other, unsuccessful bidders. (c) Use of funds. (1) In general: Once the Secretary approves the contract or other document for the sale, lease, permit, or transfer, all the money held in trust under subsection (b) — plus any income it earned while invested — gets paid out to the tribe or individual landowners. (2) Administration: If the Secretary does NOT approve the contract or document, that same money (plus earned income) instead goes to whoever the applicable regulations, advertisement, or other notice governing the proposed transfer says should receive it, in the amount and on the terms those materials set out. (d) Applicability. This section applies to any advance payment, bid deposit, or other earnest money the Secretary receives in connection with reviewing and approving such a sale, lease, permit, or transfer on or after December 18, 2018.