§ 1629e. — Settlement Trust option.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 43USC1629e]
TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS
CHAPTER 33--ALASKA NATIVE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT
Sec. 1629e. Settlement Trust option
(a) Conveyance of corporate assets
(1)(A) A Native Corporation may convey assets (including stock or
beneficial interests therein) to a Settlement Trust in accordance with
the laws of the State (except to the extent that such laws are
inconsistent with this section and section 1629b of this title).
(B) The approval of the shareholders of the corporation in the form
of a resolution shall be required to convey all or substantially all of
the assets of the corporation to a Settlement Trust. A conveyance in
violation of this clause shall be void ab initio and shall not be given
effect by any court.
(2) No subsurface estate in land shall be conveyed to a Settlement
Trust. A conveyance of title to, or any other interest in, subsurface
estate in violation of this subparagraph shall be void ab initio and
shall not be given effect by any court.
(3) Conveyances made pursuant to this subsection--
(A) shall be subject to applicable laws respecting fraudulent
conveyance and creditors rights; and
(B) shall give rise to dissenters rights to the extent provided
under the laws of the State only if the rights of beneficiaries in
the Settlement Trust receiving a conveyance are inalienable.
(4) The provisions of this subsection shall not prohibit a Native
Corporation from engaging in any conveyance, reorganization, or
transaction not otherwise prohibited under the laws of the State or the
United States.
(b) Authority and limitations of a Settlement Trust
(1) The purpose of a Settlement Trust shall be to promote the
health, education, and welfare of its beneficiaries and preserve the
heritage and culture of Natives. A Settlement Trust shall not--
(A) operate as a business;
(B) alienate land or any interest in land received from the
settlor Native Corporation (except if the recipient of the land is
the settlor corporation or the land is conveyed for a homesite by
the Trust to a beneficiary of the Trust who is also a legal resident
under Alaska law of the Native village of the settlor corporation
and the conveyance does not exceed 1.5 acres); or
(C) discriminate in favor of a group of individuals composed
only or principally of employees, officers, or directors of the
settlor Native Corporation.
An alienation of land or an interest in land in violation of this
paragraph shall be void ab initio and shall not be given effect by any
court.
(2) A Native Corporation that has established a Settlement Trust
shall have exclusive authority to--
(A) appoint the trustees of the trust, and
(B) remove the trustees of the trust for cause.
Only a natural person shall be appointed a trustee of a Settlement
Trust. An appointment or removal of a trustee in violation of this
paragraph shall be void ab initio and shall not be given effect by any
court.
(3) A Native Corporation that has established a Settlement Trust may
expand the class of beneficiaries to include holders of Settlement
Common Stock issued after the establishment of the trust without
compensation to the original beneficiaries.
(4) A Settlement Trust shall not be held to violate any laws against
perpetuities.
(c) Savings
(1) The provisions of this chapter shall continue to apply to any
land or interest in land received from the Federal Government pursuant
to this chapter and later conveyed to a Settlement Trust as if the land
or interest in land were still held by the Native Corporation that
conveyed the land or interest in land.
(2) No timber resources subject to section 1606(i) of this title
conveyed to a Settlement Trust shall be sold, exchanged, or otherwise
conveyed except as necessary to--
(A) dispose of diseased or dying timber or to prevent the spread
of disease or insect infestation;
(B) prevent or suppress fire; or
(C) ensure public safety.
The revenue, if any, from such timber harvests shall be subject to
section 1606(i) of this title as if such conveyance had not occurred.
(3) The conveyance of assets (including stock or beneficial
interests) pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall not affect
the applicability or enforcement (including specific performance) of a
valid contract, judgment, lien, or other obligation (including an
obligation arising under section 1606(i) of this title) to which such
assets, stock, or beneficial interests were subject immediately prior to
such conveyance.
(4) A claim based upon paragraph (1), (2), or (3) shall be
enforceable against the transferee Settlement Trust holding the land,
interest in land, or other assets (including stock or beneficial
interests) in question to the same extent as such claim would have been
enforceable against the transferor Native Corporation, and valid
obligations arising under section 1606(i) of this title as well as
claims with respect to a conveyance in violation of a valid contract,
judgment, lien, or other obligation shall also be enforceable against
the transferor corporation.
(5) Except as provided in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4), once a
Native Corporation has made, pursuant to subsection (a) of this section,
a conveyance to a Settlement Trust that does not--
(A) render it--
(i) unable to satisfy claims based upon paragraph (1), (2),
or (3); or
(ii) insolvent; or
(B) occur when the Native Corporation is insolvent;
the assets so conveyed to the Settlement Trust shall not be subject to
attachment, distraint, or sale on execution of judgment or other process
or order of any court, except with respect to the lawful debts or
obligations of the Settlement Trust.
(6) No transferee Settlement Trust shall make a distribution or
conveyance of assets (including cash, stock, or beneficial interests)
that would render it unable to satisfy a claim made pursuant to
paragraph (1), (2), or (3). A distribution or conveyance made in
violation of this paragraph shall be void ab initio and shall not be
given effect by any court.
(7) Except where otherwise expressly provided, no provision of this
section shall be construed to require shareholder approval of an action
where shareholder approval would not be required under the laws of the
State.
(8) A beneficiary's interest in a settlement trust and the
distributions thereon shall be subject to creditor action (including
without limitation, levy attachment, pledge, lien, judgment execution,
assignment, and the insolvency and bankruptcy laws) only to the extent
that Settlement Common Stock and the distributions thereon are subject
to such creditor action under section 1606(h) of this title.
(Pub. L. 92-203, Sec. 39, as added Pub. L. 100-241, Sec. 10, Feb. 3,
1988, 101 Stat. 1804; amended Pub. L. 105-333, Sec. 13, Oct. 31, 1998,
112 Stat. 3135; Pub. L. 106-559, title III, Sec. 302, Dec. 21, 2000, 114
Stat. 2782.)
Amendments
2000--Subsec. (c)(8). Pub. L. 106-559 added par. (8).
1998--Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 105-333 inserted ``or the land is
conveyed for a homesite by the Trust to a beneficiary of the Trust who
is also a legal resident under Alaska law of the Native village of the
settlor corporation and the conveyance does not exceed 1.5 acres'' after
``settlor corporation''.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1602, 1629b, 1636 of this
title.
