II 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3365 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve the treatment 

of pension and employee benefit plans maintained by tribal governments. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 

Ms. CANTWELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve 

the treatment of pension and employee benefit plans 

maintained by tribal governments. 

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

3 SECTION 1. TREATMENT OF PENSION AND EMPLOYEE BEN4 EFIT PLANS MAINTAINED BY TRIBAL GOV5 ERNMENTS. 

6 (a) AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE

7 CODE OF 1986.— 

8 (1) QUALIFIED PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEE.— 

9 Section 72(t)(10)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code 


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1 of 1986 (defining qualified public safety employee) is 

2 amended by— 

3 (A) striking ‘‘or political subdivision of a 

4 State’’ and inserting ‘‘, political subdivision of 

5 a State, or Indian tribe’’; and 

6 (B) striking ‘‘such State or political sub7 division’’ and inserting ‘‘such State, political 

8 subdivision, or tribe’’. 

9 (2) GOVERNMENTAL PLAN.—The last sentence 

10 of section 414(d) of such Code (defining govern11 mental plan) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘The 

12 term ‘governmental plan’ includes a plan established 

13 or maintained for its employees by an Indian tribal 

14 government (as defined in section 7701(a)(40)), a 

15 subdivision of an Indian tribal government (deter16 mined in accordance with section 7871(d)), an agen17 cy, instrumentality, or subdivision of an Indian trib18 al government, or an entity established under Fed19 eral, State, or tribal law which is wholly owned or 

20 controlled by any of the foregoing.’’. 

21 (3) DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER.—Section 

22 414(p)(1)(B)(ii) of such Code (defining domestic re23 lations order) is amended by inserting ‘‘or tribal’’ 

24 after ‘‘State’’. 


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1 (4) EXEMPT GOVERNMENTAL DEFERRED COM2 PENSATION PLAN.—Section 3121(v)(3) of such Code 

3 (defining governmental deferred compensation plan) 

4 is amended by inserting ‘‘by an Indian tribal govern5 ment or subdivision thereof,’’ after ‘‘political subdivi6 sion thereof,’’. 

7 (5) GRANDFATHER OF CERTAIN DEFERRED

8 COMPENSATION PLANS.—Section 457 of the Internal 

9 Revenue Code is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(h) CERTAIN TRIBAL GOVERNMENT PLANS GRAND12 FATHERED.—Plans established before the date of enact13 ment of this subsection and maintained by an Indian tribal 

14 government (as defined in section 7701(a)(40)), a subdivi15 sion of an Indian tribal government (determined in accord16 ance with section 7871(d)), an agency, instrumentality, or 

17 subdivision of an Indian tribal government, or an entity 

18 established under Federal, State, or tribal law which is 

19 wholly owned or controlled by any of the foregoing, in com20 pliance with subsection (b) or (f) shall be treated as if 

21 established by an eligible employer under subsection 

22 (e)(1)(A).’’. 

23 (b) AMENDMENTS TO THE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT

24 INCOME SECURITY ACT OF 1974.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The last sentence of section 

2 3(32) of the Employee Retirement Income Security 

3 Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1002(32)) is amended to 

4 read as follows: ‘‘The term ‘governmental plan’ in5 cludes a plan established or maintained for its em6 ployees by an Indian tribal government (as defined 

7 in section 7701(a)(40) of the Internal Revenue Code 

8 of 1986), a subdivision of an Indian tribal govern9 ment (determined in accordance with section 

10 7871(d) of such Code), an agency, instrumentality, 

11 or subdivision of an Indian tribal government, or an 

12 entity established under Federal, State, or tribal law 

13 which is wholly owned or controlled by any of the 

14 foregoing.’’. 

15 (2) DOMESTIC RELATIONS ORDER.—Section 

16 206(d)(3)(B)(ii)(II) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 

17 1056(d)(3)(B)(ii)(II)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or 

18 tribal’’ after ‘‘State’’. 

19 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

20 (A) Section 4021(b) of such Act (29 

21 U.S.C. 1321(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

22 the end of paragraph (12), by striking the pe23 riod at the end of paragraph (13) and inserting 

24 ‘‘; or’’, and by inserting after paragraph (13) 

25 the following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(14) established or maintained for its employ2 ees by an Indian tribal government (as defined in 

3 section 7701(a)(40) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

4 1986), a subdivision of an Indian tribal government 

5 (determined in accordance with section 7871(d) of 

6 such Code), an agency, instrumentality, or subdivi7 sion of an Indian tribal government, or an entity es8 tablished under Federal, State, or tribal law which 

9 is wholly owned or controlled by any of the fore10 going.’’. 

11 (B) Section 4021(b)(2) of such Act (29 

12 U.S.C. 1321(b)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘, or 

13 which is described in the last sentence of sec14 tion 3(32)’’ and inserting a comma. 

15 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

16 this section shall apply to years beginning after the date 

17 of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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