25 C.F.R. § 81.7

After receiving a tribal request for election under § 81.6, the Bureau will provide the following technical assistance.

(a) The Local Bureau Official will review and make a recommendation on the proposed document or amendment, prepare background information on the tribe, and submit to the Authorizing Official.

(b) The Authorizing Official must do all of the following:

(1) Review the proposed document or amendment and offer technical assistance to the tribe (and spokesperson, for petitions);

(2) Consult with the Office of the Solicitor to determine whether any of the provisions of the proposed document or amendment may be contrary to applicable law; and

(3) Notify the tribe (and spokesperson, for petitions) in writing of the results of the review.

(i) If the review finds that a provision is or may be contrary to applicable law, the notification must explain how the provision may be contrary to applicable law and list changes to the document that would be required to allow the Authorizing Official to approve the document as not contrary to applicable law.

(ii) The notification must be sent to the tribe (and spokesperson, for petitions) promptly but in no case less than 30 days before calling the election.

(iii) For IRA elections, the tribe may choose to proceed with the election without incorporating required changes, but the Authorizing Official may not approve election results ratifying provisions that are contrary to applicable law.

(iv) For OIWA elections, the Authorizing Official may not authorize a Secretarial election on any proposed document that contains provisions that may be contrary to applicable law.