```

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8829 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8829

To expedite new Tribal court assessments and base support funding, and 
                          for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 25, 2024

    Ms. Omar (for herself, Ms. Davids of Kansas, and Mr. Grijalva) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To expedite new Tribal court assessments and base support funding, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Tribal Courts Support Act''.

SEC. 2. INDIAN TRIBAL JUSTICE ACT AMENDMENTS.

    The Indian Tribal Justice Act (25 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 102 (25 U.S.C. 3612), by adding at the end 
        the following:
    ``(d) Initial Annual Survey Priorities.--In the course of the 
initial annual survey for an Indian Tribe, the Office may instruct the 
non-Federal entity, which may be either a for-profit or nonprofit 
entity, which conditions under subsection (b) to prioritize, expedite, 
or both.''; and
            (2) in section 103 (25 U.S.C. 3613)--
                    (A) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 
                following:
            ``(5) The Secretary shall have discretion to adjust the 
        base support funding formula under this subsection as needed to 
        provide initial base support funding to an Indian Tribe that 
        has not received funding.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Initial Base Support Funding.--
            ``(1) The Secretary shall provide initial base support 
        funding on an expedited basis to an Indian Tribe that has not 
        previously received funding under this section.
            ``(2) In determining the initial base support funding for 
        an Indian Tribe under this subsection, the Secretary may 
        consider the local conditions listed in subsection (b) of 
        section (102) and the factors listed in subsection (c)(3) of 
        this section, to the extent such factors are available for that 
        Indian Tribe. The Secretary may not delay the initial base 
        support funding to the Indian Tribe due to the unavailability 
        of such information.''.

SEC. 3. REPORT ON BARRIERS TO TRIBAL JUSTICE SERVICES.

    Not later than 360 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Comptroller General shall conduct an audit of and issue a 
report on barriers that prevent Indian Tribes from accessing Tribal 
justice services. The report may include the following:
            (1) Recommendations that may enable timely and efficient 
        provision of services to Indian Tribes.
            (2) Information on and an analysis of the following:
                    (A) The process by which--
                            (i) Tribal court assessments are conducted 
                        by Tribal Justice Support; and
                            (ii) approved Tribal Justice Support funds 
                        are distributed to Indian Tribes.
                    (B) Whether the length of such an assessment 
                process is necessary in the initial case of a Tribe 
                seeking to establish a Tribal court and, if not, 
                whether and how such an assessment process may be 
                truncated, expedited, or segmented in the case of a 
                Tribe seeking to establish a Tribal court.
                    (C) Federal funds that may be saved and returned to 
                the Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Priority 
                Allocations due to a streamlined initial court 
                establishment assessment process.
                    (D) Whether and how the assessment process may be 
                customized to the particular judicial jurisdictions and 
                customs of each Indian Tribe.
                    (E) Whether and how a Indian Tribe may continue 
                accessing Tribal Justice Support funding and services 
                while a pending Tribal court assessment is being 
                processed.
                                 <all>
```