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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1474 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1474

   To encourage the State of Alaska to enter into intergovernmental 
agreements with Indian tribes in the State relating to the enforcement 
of certain State laws by Indian tribes, to improve the quality of life 
   in rural Alaska, to reduce alcohol and drug abuse, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 1, 2013

  Mr. Begich (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To encourage the State of Alaska to enter into intergovernmental 
agreements with Indian tribes in the State relating to the enforcement 
of certain State laws by Indian tribes, to improve the quality of life 
   in rural Alaska, to reduce alcohol and drug abuse, 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 ``Alaska Safe Families and Villages 
Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) residents of remote Alaska villages suffer 
        disproportionately from crimes and civil disturbances rooted in 
        alcohol abuse, illicit drug use, suicide, and domestic 
        violence;
            (2) the alcohol-related suicide rate in remote Alaska 
        villages is 6 times the average in the United States and the 
        alcohol-related mortality rate is 3.5 times that of the general 
        population of the United States;
            (3) Alaska Native women suffer the highest rate of forcible 
        sexual assault in the United States and an Alaska Native woman 
        is sexually assaulted every 18 hours;
            (4) according to the Alaska Native Tribal Health 
        Consortium, one in two Alaska Native women experience physical 
        or sexual violence;
            (5) according to the 2006 Initial Report and 
        Recommendations of the Alaska Rural Justice and Law Enforcement 
        Commission, more than 95 percent of all crimes committed in 
        rural Alaska can be attributed to alcohol abuse;
            (6) the cost of drug and alcohol abuse in Alaska is 
        estimated at $525,000,000 per year;
            (7) there are more than 200 remote villages in Alaska, 
        which are ancestral homelands to Indian tribes and 
        geographically isolated by rivers, oceans, and mountains making 
        most of those villages accessible only by air;
            (8) small size and remoteness, lack of connection to a road 
        system, and extreme weather conditions often prevent or delay 
        travel, including that of law enforcement personnel, into 
        remote villages, resulting in challenging law enforcement 
        conditions;
            (9) less than \1/2\ of remote Alaska villages are served by 
        trained State law enforcement entities and several Indian 
        tribes provide peace officers or tribal police without adequate 
        training or equipment;
            (10) the lack of effective law enforcement entities in 
        remote Alaska villages contributes significantly to increased 
        crime, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, domestic violence, rates of 
        suicide, poor educational achievement, and lack of economic 
        development;
            (11) Indian tribes that operate within remote Alaska 
        villages should be empowered to participate in local culturally 
        relevant solutions to effectively provide law enforcement 
        entities in villages and access to swift judicial proceedings;
            (12) increasing capacities of local law enforcement 
        entities to achieve increased tribal involvement in State law 
        enforcement in remote villages will promote a stronger link 
        between the State and village residents, encourage community 
        involvement, and create greater local accountability with 
        respect to violence and substance abuse; and
            (13) the United States has a trust responsibility to Indian 
        tribes in the State.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to improve the delivery of justice in Alaska Native 
        villages by encouraging the State and Indian tribes to enter 
        into intergovernmental agreements relating to the enforcement 
        and adjudication of State laws relating to drug and alcohol 
        offenses; and
            (2) to enhance coordination and communication among 
        Federal, State, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Attorney general.--The term ``Attorney General'' means 
        the Attorney General of the United States.
            (2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Office of Tribal Justice.
            (3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 102 of the Federally 
        Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a).
            (4) Participating indian tribe.--The term ``participating 
        Indian tribe'' means an Indian tribe selected by the Director 
        to participate in the program.
            (5) Program.--The term ``program'' means the Alaska Safe 
        Families and Villages Self Governance Program established under 
        this Act.
            (6) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Alaska.
            (7) Tribal court.--The term ``tribal court'' means any 
        court, council, or a mechanism of any court or council 
        sanctioned by an Indian tribe for the adjudication of disputes, 
        including the violation of tribal laws, ordinances, and 
        regulations.

SEC. 4. ALASKA SAFE FAMILIES AND VILLAGES SELF GOVERNANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall establish a program in 
the Office of Tribal Justice Programs of the Department of Justice, to 
be known as the ``Alaska Safe Families and Villages Self Governance 
Program'', to make grants to Indian tribes in carrying out 
intergovernmental agreements described in subsection (d).
    (b) Administration.--
            (1) In general.--Each Indian tribe desiring to participate 
        in the program shall submit to the Director an application in 
        accordance with this section.
            (2) Eligibility.--To be eligible to participate in the 
        program, an Indian tribe in the State shall--
                    (A) request participation by resolution or other 
                official action from the governing body of the Indian 
                tribe;
                    (B) have for the preceding 3 fiscal years no 
                uncorrected significant and material audit exceptions 
                regarding any Federal contract or grant;
                    (C) demonstrate to the Attorney General sufficient 
                governance capacity to conduct the program, as 
                evidenced by the history of the Indian tribe in 
                operating government services (including public 
                utilities, children's courts, law enforcement, social 
                service programs, or other activities);
                    (D) certify that the Indian tribe has entered into 
                an intergovernmental agreement with the State described 
                in subsection (d);
                    (E) meet such other criteria as the Attorney 
                General may promulgate, after providing public notice 
                and an opportunity to comment; and
                    (F) submit to the Attorney General of the State a 
                copy of the application.
            (3) Public comment.--Each application submitted under this 
        subsection shall be subject to public comment for a period of 
        not less than 30 days after the date on which a notice of the 
        application is published in a newspaper or other publication of 
        general circulation in the vicinity of the Native village of 
        the Indian tribe.
    (c) Use of Amounts.--Each participating Indian tribe shall use 
amounts--
            (1) to carry out a planning phase that may include--
                    (A) internal governmental and organizational 
                planning;
                    (B) developing written tribal law or ordinances 
                detailing the structure and procedures of the tribal 
                court;
                    (C) developing enforcement mechanisms; and
                    (D) negotiating and finalizing any 
                intergovernmental agreements necessary to carry out 
                this Act; and
            (2) to carry out activities of the Indian tribe in 
        accordance with an applicable intergovernmental agreement with 
        the State.
    (d) Intergovernmental Agreements.--
            (1) In general.--The State (including political 
        subdivisions of the State) and Indian tribes in the State are 
        encouraged to enter into intergovernmental agreements relating 
        to the enforcement of certain State laws by the Indian tribe.
            (2) Contents.--
                    (A) In general.--An intergovernmental agreement 
                described in paragraph (1) may describe the duties of 
                the State and the applicable Indian tribe relating to--
                            (i) the employment of law enforcement 
                        officers, probation, and parole officers;
                            (ii) the appointment and deputization by 
                        the State of tribal law enforcement officers as 
                        special officers to aid and assist in the 
                        enforcement of the criminal laws of the State;
                            (iii) the enforcement of punishments 
                        imposed by the Indian tribe under tribal law;
                            (iv) the transfer of enforcement duties for 
                        State drug- and alcohol-related misdemeanor 
                        offenses to the Indian tribe;
                            (v) the adjudication by the Indian tribe of 
                        State drug- and alcohol-related misdemeanor 
                        offenses;
                            (vi) the transfer of information and 
                        evidence between tribal law enforcement 
                        entities and the court system of the State;
                            (vii) the detention of offenders;
                            (viii) searches and seizures of alcohol and 
                        drugs at municipal and State airports; and
                            (ix) jurisdictional or financial matters.
                    (B) Remedies.--Subject to title II of Public Law 
                90-284 (25 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) (commonly known as the 
                ``Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968''), an 
                intergovernmental agreement described in paragraph (1) 
                may include remedies to be imposed by the applicable 
                Indian tribe relating to the enforcement of State law, 
                including--
                            (i) restorative justice, including circle 
                        sentencing;
                            (ii) community service;
                            (iii) fines;
                            (iv) forfeitures;
                            (v) commitments for treatment;
                            (vi) restraining orders;
                            (vii) emergency detentions; and
                            (viii) any other remedies agreed to by the 
                        State and Indian tribe.
    (e) Annual Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than May 1 of each year, the 
        Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on Indian 
        Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of 
        the House of Representatives an annual report that--
                    (A) describes the grants awarded under the program;
                    (B) assesses the effectiveness of the program; and
                    (C) includes any recommendations of the Attorney 
                General relating to the program.
            (2) Requirements.--Each report shall be prepared in 
        consultation with the government of each participating Indian 
        tribe and the State.
    (f) No Liability for the State of Alaska.--The State, including any 
political subdivision of the State, shall not be liable for any act or 
omission of a participating Indian tribe in carrying out this Act, 
including any act or omission of a participating Indian tribe 
undertaken pursuant to an intergovernmental agreement described in 
subsection (d).
    (g) Regulations.--The Attorney General shall promulgate such 
regulations as the Attorney General determines are necessary to carry 
out this Act.
    (h) Eligibility for Federal Programs.--
            (1) In general.--Participating Indian tribes shall be 
        eligible for the same tribal court and law enforcement programs 
        and level of funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the 
        Department of Justice as are available to other Indian tribes.
            (2) Applicability in alaska.--Nothing in this Act limits 
        the application in the State of--
                    (A) the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 (Public 
                Law 111-211; 124 Stat. 2261);
                    (B) the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act 
                of 2013 (Public law 113-4; 127 Stat. 54); or
                    (C) any amendments made by the Acts referred to in 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B).
    (i) Effect of Act.--Nothing in this Act--
            (1) limits, alters, or diminishes the civil or criminal 
        jurisdiction of the State, any subdivision of the State, or the 
        United States;
            (2) limits or diminishes the jurisdiction of any Indian 
        tribe in the State, including inherent and statutory authority 
        of the Indian tribe over child protection, child custody, and 
        domestic violence (as in effect on the day before the date of 
        enactment of this Act);
            (3) creates a territorial basis for the jurisdiction of any 
        Indian tribe in the State or otherwise creates Indian country 
        in any area of the State;
            (4) confers any criminal jurisdiction on any Indian tribe 
        in the State;
            (5) diminishes the trust responsibility of the United 
        States to Indian tribes in the State;
            (6) abridges or diminishes the sovereign immunity of any 
        Indian tribe in the State;
            (7) alters the criminal or civil jurisdiction of the 
        Metlakatla Indian Community within the Annette Islands Reserve 
        (as in effect on the date before the date of enactment of this 
        Act);
            (8) alters the authority of the State to file, in the 
        discretion of the State, a civil or criminal action for the 
        violation of State law;
            (9) limits in any manner the eligibility of the State, any 
        political subdivision of the State, or any Indian tribe in the 
        State, for any other Federal assistance under any other law; or
            (10) affects the authority of the United States or any 
        State government that has been delegated authority by the 
        United States to investigate and prosecute a criminal violation 
        in Indian country, including under section 1162 of title 18, 
        United States Code.

SEC. 5. FUNDING.

    The Attorney General shall use amounts made available to the 
Attorney General for the Office of Tribal Justice to carry out the 
program under this Act.

SEC. 6. REPEAL OF SPECIAL RULE FOR STATE OF ALASKA.

    Section 910 of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 
2013 (18 U.S.C. 2265 note; Public Law 113-4) is repealed.
                                 <all>
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