Title: Alaska Tribal Public Safety Empowerment Act
Policy area: Native Americans

Summary:
Alaska Tribal Public Safety Empowerment Act
This bill expands the civil and criminal jurisdiction of certain Indian tribes over Alaska Natives and non-Alaska Natives in Alaska.
Specifically, the bill recognizes and affirms that any Indian tribe in Alaska occupying an Alaska Native village may exercise (1) criminal and civil jurisdiction over Alaska Natives in the village; and (2) full civil jurisdiction over Alaska Natives and non-Alaska Natives in the village with respect to issuing and enforcing protection orders, excluding violators of protection orders from the village, and using other appropriate mechanisms to address matters in the village related to protection orders.
The bill also directs the Department of Justice to establish a pilot program to provide certain Indian tribes with (1) general civil jurisdiction over Alaska Natives and non-Alaska Natives present in the Alaska Native village occupied by such tribe; and (2) criminal jurisdiction over Alaska Natives and non-Alaska Natives with respect to specific crimes, such as domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2616 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2616

To provide civil and criminal jurisdiction over Alaska Natives and non-
    Alaska Natives for certain Indian tribes in the State of Alaska.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 16, 2019

 Ms. Murkowski introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide civil and criminal jurisdiction over Alaska Natives and non-
    Alaska Natives for certain Indian tribes in the State of Alaska.

    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 Tribal Public Safety 
Empowerment Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) according to the report of the Indian Law and Order 
        Commission established by section 15 of the Indian Law 
        Enforcement Reform Act (25 U.S.C. 2812), Alaska Native women--
                    (A) are overrepresented in the domestic violence 
                victim population by 250 percent;
                    (B) in the State of Alaska, comprise--
                            (i) 19 percent of the population of the 
                        State; but
                            (ii) 47 percent of reported rape victims in 
                        the State; and
                    (C) as compared to the populations of other Indian 
                tribes, suffer the highest rates of domestic and sexual 
                violence;
            (2) most Alaska Native villages are located in remote areas 
        that--
                    (A) are often inaccessible by road; and
                    (B) have no local law enforcement presence;
            (3) the Commission referred to in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) determined that the Alaska Department of Public 
                Safety--
                            (i) has primary responsibility for law 
                        enforcement in rural Alaska; but
                            (ii) provides only 1 to 1.4 field officers 
                        per 1,000,000 acres; and
                    (B) recommended that ``devolving authority to 
                Alaska Native communities is essential for addressing 
                local crime. Their governments are best positioned to 
                effectively arrest, prosecute, and punish, and they 
                should have the authority to do so, or to work out 
                voluntary agreements with each other, and with local 
                governments and the State on mutually beneficial 
                terms''; and
            (4) the unique legal relationship of the United States to 
        Indian tribes creates a Federal trust responsibility to assist 
        Tribal governments in safeguarding the lives of Indian women.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Alaska native.--The term ``Alaska Native'' means an 
        individual who--
                    (A) is a member of an Indian tribe;
                    (B) is eligible for membership in an Indian tribe; 
                or
                    (C) is regarded as an Alaska Native by the 
                community in which the individual resides.
            (2) 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. 5130).
            (3) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Alaska.
            (4) Village.--The term ``village'' means the Alaska Native 
        Village Statistical Area covering all or any portion of a 
        Native village (as defined in section 3 of the Alaska Native 
        Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602)).

SEC. 4. TRIBAL JURISDICTION IN ALASKA.

    (a) Alaska Natives.--Subject to title II of the Civil Rights Act of 
1968 (25 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) (commonly known as the ``Indian Civil 
Rights Act of 1968''), and regardless of the holder of title in and to 
any applicable land, Congress recognizes and affirms that any Indian 
tribe in the State occupying a village may exercise, as part of the 
inherent authority of the Indian tribe--
            (1) criminal and civil jurisdiction over all Alaska Natives 
        present in the village; and
            (2) full civil jurisdiction within the village--
                    (A) to issue and enforce protection orders 
                involving any individual, including the authority to 
                enforce such an order through a civil contempt 
                proceeding;
                    (B) to exclude violators from the village; and
                    (C) to use other appropriate mechanisms to address 
                matters arising anywhere in the village that are the 
                subject of protection orders.
    (b) Pilot Program for Jurisdiction Over Individuals Who Are Not 
Alaska Natives.--
            (1) Establishment.--Subject to title II of the Civil Rights 
        Act of 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) (commonly known as the 
        ``Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968''), and regardless of the 
        holder of title in and to any applicable land, there is 
        established a pilot program under which the Attorney General 
        shall select for each calendar year not more than five Indian 
        tribes selected under paragraph (2) to exercise the civil and 
        criminal jurisdiction described in paragraph (5) over all 
        individuals present in the village occupied by the Indian tribe 
        who are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Indian tribe 
        under subsection (a)(1).
            (2) Selection of qualifying indian tribes.--The Attorney 
        General, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, 
        shall select Indian tribes to participate in the pilot program 
        established by paragraph (1), subject to--
                    (A) the condition that preference shall be given to 
                Indian tribes occupying villages--
                            (i) the populations of which are 
                        predominantly Alaska Native; or
                            (ii) that lack a permanent State law 
                        enforcement presence; and
                    (B) such other criteria as the Attorney General 
                considers to be appropriate to achieve the purposes of 
                this Act.
            (3) Qualifying intertribal consortia.--Any two or more 
        qualifying Indian tribes, or a tribal organization (as defined 
        in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
        Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) that is acting on behalf of 
        two or more qualifying Indian tribes--
                    (A) may elect to participate jointly in the pilot 
                program under this subsection by providing shared 
                resources to carry out the purposes of the pilot 
                program; and
                    (B) on making an election pursuant to subparagraph 
                (A), shall be considered to be a single Indian tribe 
                for purposes of the maximum number of participants in 
                the pilot program under paragraphs (1) and (4).
            (4) Maximum number of participants.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph 
                (B), the Attorney General may select not more than 30 
                Indian tribes to participate in the pilot program under 
                this subsection.
                    (B) Exception.--The limitation under subparagraph 
                (A) shall not apply if the Attorney General submits to 
                the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the 
                Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
                Representatives a notice of the intention to select any 
                additional Indian tribe by not later than the date that 
                is 180 days before the date of selection.
            (5) Description of jurisdiction.--Congress recognizes and 
        affirms that an Indian tribe selected to participate in the 
        pilot program under this subsection may exercise the inherent 
        authority of the Indian tribe over all individuals described in 
        paragraph (1) through--
                    (A) general civil jurisdiction; and
                    (B) subject to paragraph (6), criminal jurisdiction 
                with respect to (as defined in applicable Tribal law)--
                            (i) the crimes of--
                                    (I) domestic violence;
                                    (II) dating violence;
                                    (III) violation of a protective 
                                order;
                                    (IV) sexual violence;
                                    (V) stalking;
                                    (VI) sex trafficking;
                                    (VII) obstruction of justice; and
                                    (VIII) assault of a law enforcement 
                                or correctional officer;
                            (ii) any crime against a child; and
                            (iii) any crime involving the possession, 
                        transportation, or sale of alcohol or drugs 
                        where that possession, transportation, or sale 
                        is prohibited by an applicable Federal, State, 
                        or Tribal law.
            (6) Rights of defendants.--In exercising the jurisdiction 
        described in paragraph (5)(B), an Indian tribe participating in 
        the pilot program under this subsection shall provide to each 
        defendant all rights described in section 204(d) of the Civil 
        Rights Act of 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1304(d)) (commonly known as the 
        ``Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968'').
    (c) Memoranda of Agreement.--An Indian tribe participating in the 
pilot program under subsection (b), the State, the Attorney General, 
and the Secretary of the Interior may enter into such memoranda of 
agreement as are necessary and appropriate--
            (1) to coordinate respective law enforcement activities;
            (2) to share equipment and other resources;
            (3) to establish cross-deputization arrangements;
            (4) to coordinate appropriate training activities; and
            (5) to address any other matters that will facilitate the 
        successful implementation of the pilot program.
    (d) Report to Congress.--Not later than 5 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the 
Secretary of the Interior, shall submit to Congress a report describing 
the results of the pilot program under subsection (b), including 
legislative recommendations to facilitate improved law enforcement in 
villages.

SEC. 5. SPECIAL FULL FAITH AND CREDIT FOR PROTECTION ORDERS.

    Section 2265(e) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``For purposes'' and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(1) In general.--For purposes''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Applicability to alaska.--Paragraph (1) applies to 
        all Indian tribes in the State of Alaska, regardless of--
                    ``(A) the definition of the term `Indian country' 
                contained in section 1151; or
                    ``(B) the population of the Native village (as 
                defined in section 3 of the Alaska Native Claims 
                Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602)) occupied by such an 
                Indian tribe.''.

SEC. 6. EFFECT.

    Nothing in this Act--
            (1) diminishes the jurisdiction of the State or the Federal 
        Government, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, 
        over any criminal or civil matter;
            (2) creates or eliminates any area of Indian country (as 
        defined in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code) in the 
        State; or
            (3) diminishes any authority of an Indian tribe in the 
        State under any other law, including--
                    (A) the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 
                U.S.C. 12291 et seq.); and
                    (B) the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act 
                of 2013 (Public Law 113-4; 34 U.S.C. 10101 note) and 
                the amendments made by that Act.
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