II 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Alaska Safe Families 

5 and Villages Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) residents of remote Alaska villages suffer 

2 disproportionately from crimes and civil disturbances 

3 rooted in alcohol abuse, illicit drug use, suicide, and 

4 domestic violence; 

5 (2) the alcohol-related suicide rate in remote 

6 Alaska villages is 6 times the average in the United 

7 States and the alcohol-related mortality rate is 3.5 

8 times that of the general population of the United 

9 States; 

10 (3) Alaska Native women suffer the highest 

11 rate of forcible sexual assault in the United States 

12 and an Alaska Native woman is sexually assaulted 

13 every 18 hours; 

14 (4) according to the Alaska Native Tribal 

15 Health Consortium, one in two Alaska Native 

16 women experience physical or sexual violence; 

17 (5) according to the 2006 Initial Report and 

18 Recommendations of the Alaska Rural Justice and 

19 Law Enforcement Commission, more than 95 per20 cent of all crimes committed in rural Alaska can be 

21 attributed to alcohol abuse; 

22 (6) the cost of drug and alcohol abuse in Alaska 

23 is estimated at $525,000,000 per year; 

24 (7) there are more than 200 remote villages in 

25 Alaska, which are ancestral homelands to Indian 


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1 tribes and geographically isolated by rivers, oceans, 

2 and mountains making most of those villages acces3 sible only by air; 

4 (8) small size and remoteness, lack of connec5 tion to a road system, and extreme weather condi6 tions often prevent or delay travel, including that of 

7 law enforcement personnel, into remote villages, re8 sulting in challenging law enforcement conditions; 

(9) less than 1 9 ⁄2 of remote Alaska villages are 

10 served by trained State law enforcement entities and 

11 several Indian tribes provide peace officers or tribal 

12 police without adequate training or equipment; 

13 (10) the lack of effective law enforcement enti14 ties in remote Alaska villages contributes signifi15 cantly to increased crime, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, 

16 domestic violence, rates of suicide, poor educational 

17 achievement, and lack of economic development; 

18 (11) Indian tribes that operate within remote 

19 Alaska villages should be empowered to participate 

20 in local culturally relevant solutions to effectively 

21 provide law enforcement entities in villages and ac22 cess to swift judicial proceedings; 

23 (12) increasing capacities of local law enforce24 ment entities to achieve increased tribal involvement 

25 in State law enforcement in remote villages will proVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:33 Aug 09, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1474.IS S1474

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1 mote a stronger link between the State and village 

2 residents, encourage community involvement, and 

3 create greater local accountability with respect to vi4 olence and substance abuse; and 

5 (13) the United States has a trust responsi6 bility to Indian tribes in the State. 

7 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

8 (1) to improve the delivery of justice in Alaska 

9 Native villages by encouraging the State and Indian 

10 tribes to enter into intergovernmental agreements 

11 relating to the enforcement and adjudication of 

12 State laws relating to drug and alcohol offenses; and 

13 (2) to enhance coordination and communication 

14 among Federal, State, tribal, and local law enforce15 ment agencies. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Attorney 

19 General’’ means the Attorney General of the United 

20 States. 

21 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

22 the Director of the Office of Tribal Justice. 

23 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

24 has the meaning given the term in section 102 of the 


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1 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 

2 (25 U.S.C. 479a). 

3 (4) PARTICIPATING INDIAN TRIBE.—The term 

4 ‘‘participating Indian tribe’’ means an Indian tribe 

5 selected by the Director to participate in the pro6 gram. 

7 (5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

8 the Alaska Safe Families and Villages Self Govern9 ance Program established under this Act. 

10 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

11 of Alaska. 

12 (7) TRIBAL COURT.—The term ‘‘tribal court’’ 

13 means any court, council, or a mechanism of any 

14 court or council sanctioned by an Indian tribe for 

15 the adjudication of disputes, including the violation 

16 of tribal laws, ordinances, and regulations. 

17 SEC. 4. ALASKA SAFE FAMILIES AND VILLAGES SELF GOV18 ERNANCE PROGRAM. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall estab20 lish a program in the Office of Tribal Justice Programs 

21 of the Department of Justice, to be known as the ‘‘Alaska 

22 Safe Families and Villages Self Governance Program’’, to 

23 make grants to Indian tribes in carrying out intergovern24 mental agreements described in subsection (d). 

25 (b) ADMINISTRATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each Indian tribe desiring 

2 to participate in the program shall submit to the Di3 rector an application in accordance with this section. 

4 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to participate 

5 in the program, an Indian tribe in the State shall— 

6 (A) request participation by resolution or 

7 other official action from the governing body of 

8 the Indian tribe; 

9 (B) have for the preceding 3 fiscal years 

10 no uncorrected significant and material audit 

11 exceptions regarding any Federal contract or 

12 grant; 

13 (C) demonstrate to the Attorney General 

14 sufficient governance capacity to conduct the 

15 program, as evidenced by the history of the In16 dian tribe in operating government services (in17 cluding public utilities, children’s courts, law 

18 enforcement, social service programs, or other 

19 activities); 

20 (D) certify that the Indian tribe has en21 tered into an intergovernmental agreement with 

22 the State described in subsection (d); 

23 (E) meet such other criteria as the Attor24 ney General may promulgate, after providing 


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1 public notice and an opportunity to comment; 

2 and 

3 (F) submit to the Attorney General of the 

4 State a copy of the application. 

5 (3) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Each application sub6 mitted under this subsection shall be subject to pub7 lic comment for a period of not less than 30 days 

8 after the date on which a notice of the application 

9 is published in a newspaper or other publication of 

10 general circulation in the vicinity of the Native vil11 lage of the Indian tribe. 

12 (c) USE OF AMOUNTS.—Each participating Indian 

13 tribe shall use amounts— 

14 (1) to carry out a planning phase that may in15 clude— 

16 (A) internal governmental and organiza17 tional planning; 

18 (B) developing written tribal law or ordi19 nances detailing the structure and procedures 

20 of the tribal court; 

21 (C) developing enforcement mechanisms; 

22 and 

23 (D) negotiating and finalizing any inter24 governmental agreements necessary to carry out 

25 this Act; and 


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1 (2) to carry out activities of the Indian tribe in 

2 accordance with an applicable intergovernmental 

3 agreement with the State. 

4 (d) INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The State (including polit6 ical subdivisions of the State) and Indian tribes in 

7 the State are encouraged to enter into intergovern8 mental agreements relating to the enforcement of 

9 certain State laws by the Indian tribe. 

10 (2) CONTENTS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—An intergovernmental 

12 agreement described in paragraph (1) may de13 scribe the duties of the State and the applicable 

14 Indian tribe relating to— 

15 (i) the employment of law enforcement 

16 officers, probation, and parole officers; 

17 (ii) the appointment and deputization 

18 by the State of tribal law enforcement offi19 cers as special officers to aid and assist in 

20 the enforcement of the criminal laws of the 

21 State; 

22 (iii) the enforcement of punishments 

23 imposed by the Indian tribe under tribal 

24 law; 


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1 (iv) the transfer of enforcement duties 

2 for State drug- and alcohol-related mis3 demeanor offenses to the Indian tribe; 

4 (v) the adjudication by the Indian 

5 tribe of State drug- and alcohol-related 

6 misdemeanor offenses; 

7 (vi) the transfer of information and 

8 evidence between tribal law enforcement 

9 entities and the court system of the State; 

10 (vii) the detention of offenders; 

11 (viii) searches and seizures of alcohol 

12 and drugs at municipal and State airports; 

13 and 

14 (ix) jurisdictional or financial matters. 

15 (B) REMEDIES.—Subject to title II of 

16 Public Law 90–284 (25 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) 

17 (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Civil Rights 

18 Act of 1968’’), an intergovernmental agreement 

19 described in paragraph (1) may include rem20 edies to be imposed by the applicable Indian 

21 tribe relating to the enforcement of State law, 

22 including— 

23 (i) restorative justice, including circle 

24 sentencing; 

25 (ii) community service; 


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1 (iii) fines; 

2 (iv) forfeitures; 

3 (v) commitments for treatment; 

4 (vi) restraining orders; 

5 (vii) emergency detentions; and 

6 (viii) any other remedies agreed to by 

7 the State and Indian tribe. 

8 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than May 1 of 

10 each year, the Attorney General shall submit to the 

11 Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the 

12 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

13 Representatives an annual report that— 

14 (A) describes the grants awarded under 

15 the program; 

16 (B) assesses the effectiveness of the pro17 gram; and 

18 (C) includes any recommendations of the 

19 Attorney General relating to the program. 

20 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Each report shall be pre21 pared in consultation with the government of each 

22 participating Indian tribe and the State. 

23 (f) NO LIABILITY FOR THE STATE OF ALASKA.—The 

24 State, including any political subdivision of the State, shall 

25 not be liable for any act or omission of a participating 


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1 Indian tribe in carrying out this Act, including any act 

2 or omission of a participating Indian tribe undertaken 

3 pursuant to an intergovernmental agreement described in 

4 subsection (d). 

5 (g) REGULATIONS.—The Attorney General shall pro6 mulgate such regulations as the Attorney General deter7 mines are necessary to carry out this Act. 

8 (h) ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL PROGRAMS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Participating Indian tribes 

10 shall be eligible for the same tribal court and law en11 forcement programs and level of funding from the 

12 Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of 

13 Justice as are available to other Indian tribes. 

14 (2) APPLICABILITY IN ALASKA.—Nothing in 

15 this Act limits the application in the State of— 

16 (A) the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010 

17 (Public Law 111–211; 124 Stat. 2261); 

18 (B) the Violence Against Women Reau19 thorization Act of 2013 (Public law 113–4; 127 

20 Stat. 54); or 

21 (C) any amendments made by the Acts re22 ferred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

23 (i) EFFECT OF ACT.—Nothing in this Act— 


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1 (1) limits, alters, or diminishes the civil or 

2 criminal jurisdiction of the State, any subdivision of 

3 the State, or the United States; 

4 (2) limits or diminishes the jurisdiction of any 

5 Indian tribe in the State, including inherent and 

6 statutory authority of the Indian tribe over child 

7 protection, child custody, and domestic violence (as 

8 in effect on the day before the date of enactment of 

9 this Act); 

10 (3) creates a territorial basis for the jurisdiction 

11 of any Indian tribe in the State or otherwise creates 

12 Indian country in any area of the State; 

13 (4) confers any criminal jurisdiction on any In14 dian tribe in the State; 

15 (5) diminishes the trust responsibility of the 

16 United States to Indian tribes in the State; 

17 (6) abridges or diminishes the sovereign immu18 nity of any Indian tribe in the State; 

19 (7) alters the criminal or civil jurisdiction of the 

20 Metlakatla Indian Community within the Annette Is21 lands Reserve (as in effect on the date before the 

22 date of enactment of this Act); 

23 (8) alters the authority of the State to file, in 

24 the discretion of the State, a civil or criminal action 

25 for the violation of State law; 


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1 (9) limits in any manner the eligibility of the 

2 State, any political subdivision of the State, or any 

3 Indian tribe in the State, for any other Federal as4 sistance under any other law; or 

5 (10) affects the authority of the United States 

6 or any State government that has been delegated au7 thority by the United States to investigate and pros8 ecute a criminal violation in Indian country, includ9 ing under section 1162 of title 18, United States 

10 Code. 

11 SEC. 5. FUNDING. 

12 The Attorney General shall use amounts made avail13 able to the Attorney General for the Office of Tribal Jus14 tice to carry out the program under this Act. 

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

16 Section 910 of the Violence Against Women Reau17 thorization Act of 2013 (18 U.S.C. 2265 note; Public Law 

18 113–4) is repealed. 

Æ 


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