Native Youth and Tribal Officer Protection Act

Bill: 117-s-3337
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Lujan, Ben Ray [D-NM]
Introduced: 2021-12-08
Policy area: Native Americans
Latest action: action_date: 2021-12-08
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2021-12-08
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Native Youth and Tribal Officer Protection Act</b></p> <p>This bill extends tribal jurisdiction over certain crimes, including violence against children and assault of tribal justice personnel. Additionally, the bill authorizes the Department of Justice to provide reimbursements and grants to tribal governments for exercising their tribal criminal jurisdiction.</p>

tv_txt: II 117th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 3337 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES December 8, 2021 Mr. Luján (for himself and Ms. Smith ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs A BILL To protect Native children and promote public safety in Indian country.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Native Youth and Tribal Officer Protection Act . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) American Indians and Alaska Natives are 2.5 times more likely to experience violent crimes and at least 2 times more likely to experience rape or sexual assault crimes. (2) The vast majority of American Indian and Alaska Native victims, 96 percent of female and 89 percent of male victims, report being victimized by a non-Indian. (3) According to a 2010 Government Accountability Office report, United States Attorneys declined to prosecute nearly 52 percent of violent crimes that occur in Indian country. (4) More than 4 in 5 American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence in their lifetime. (5) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, homicide is the third leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women between 10 and 24 years of age and the fifth leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native women between 25 and 34 years of age. (6) On some reservations, American Indian women are murdered at more than 10 times the national average. (7) Tribal prosecutors report that the majority of domestic violence cases involve children either as witnesses or victims, and the Department of Justice reports that American Indian and Alaska Native children suffer exposure to violence at some of the highest rates in the United States. (8) Childhood exposure to violence has immediate and long term effects, including increased rates of altered neurological development, poor physical and mental health, poor school performance, substance abuse, and overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system. (9) Violence against children and crimes associated with dating violence and domestic violence increase the number of instances of trauma in Tribal communities, which— (A) affects health outcomes; (B) reduces educational attainment; (C) hinders economic growth; and (D) undermines public safety. (10) Domestic violence calls are among the most dangerous calls that law enforcement receives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report shows that police officers, including Tribal police officers, are assaulted when responding to disturbance calls more often than under any other circumstances. (11) The complicated jurisdictional structure in Indian country— (A) requires a high degree of commitment and cooperation among Tribal, Federal, and State law enforcement officials; and (B) when that cooperation breaks down, results in a significant negative impact on the ability to provide public safety to Indian communities. (12) The Indian Law and Order Commission, established by Congress to review Federal criminal justice policies and practices in Indian country, issued a report in 2013 entitled A Roadmap for Making Native America Safer that recommends the restoration of the inherent authority of Tribal courts. (13) Restoring and enhancing local, Tribal capacity to address violent crimes provides for greater local control, safety, accountability, and transparency. (14) Tribal communities should be able to protect themselves from dating violence, domestic violence, child violence, and violence committed against members of the Tribal justice system. 3. Tribal jurisdiction over covered crimes Section 204 of Public Law 90–284 ( 25 U.S.C. 1304 ) (commonly known as the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 ) is amended— (1) in the section heading— (A) by striking of domestic violence ; and (B) by inserting covered before crimes ; (2) in subsection (a)— (A) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following: (1) Dating violence The term dating violence means any violation of the criminal law of the Indian tribe that has jurisdiction over the Indian country where the violation occurs that was committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim, as determined by the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship. ; (B) by striking paragraph (2); (C) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (3), (4), (5), (6), and (7) as paragraphs (5), (7), (9), (10), (11), and (12), respectively; (D) by inserting before paragraph (5) (as so redesignated) the following: (1) Assault of tribal justice personnel The term assault of tribal justice personnel means any violation of the criminal law of the Indian tribe that has jurisdiction over the Indian country where the violation occurs that involves the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against an individual authorized to act for, or on behalf of, that Indian tribe or serving that Indian tribe during, or because of, the performance of duties of that individual in— (A) preventing, detecting, investigating, making arrests relating to, making apprehensions for, or prosecuting a covered crime; (B) adjudicating, participating in the adjudication of, or supporting the adjudication of a covered crime; (C) detaining, providing supervision for, or providing services for persons charged with a covered crime; or (D) incarcerating, supervising, providing treatment for, providing rehabilitation services for, or providing reentry services for persons convicted of a covered crime. (2) Child The term child means a person who has not attained the lesser of— (A) the age of 18; and (B) except in the case of sexual abuse, the age specified by the criminal law of the Indian tribe that has jurisdiction over the Indian country where the violation occurs. (3) Child violence The term child violence means the use, threatened use, or attempted use of violence against a child proscribed by the criminal law of the Indian tribe that has jurisdiction over the Indian country where the violation occurs. (4) Covered crime The term covered crime means— (A) assault of tribal justice personnel; (B) child violence; (C) dating violence; (D) domestic violence; (E) obstruction of justice; and (F) a violation of a protection order. ; (E) by inserting after paragraph (5) (as so redesignated) the following: (6) Domestic violence The term domestic violence means any violation of the criminal law of the Indian tribe that has jurisdiction over the Indian country where the violation occurs that is committed by— (A) a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim; (B) a person with whom the victim shares a child in common; (C) a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse or intimate partner; or (D) a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic- or family-violence laws of the Indian tribe that has jurisdiction over the Indian country where the violation occurs. ; (F) by inserting after paragraph (7) (as so redesignated) the following: (8) Obstruction of justice The term obstruction of justice means any violation— (A) of the criminal law of the Indian tribe that has jurisdiction over the Indian country where the violation occurs; and (B) that involves interfering with the administration or due process of the laws of the Indian tribe, including any tribal criminal proceeding or investigation of a crime. ; (G) in paragraph (9) (as so redesignated), by striking domestic violence and inserting tribal ; (H) in paragraph (11) (as so redesignated)— (i) in the paragraph heading, by striking domestic violence and inserting tribal ; and (ii) by striking domestic violence and inserting tribal ; and (I) by adding at the end the following: (13) Violation of a protection order The term violation of a protection order means an act that— (A) occurs in the Indian country of the participating tribe; and (B) violates a provision of a protection order that— (i) prohibits or provides protection against violent or threatening acts or harassment against, sexual violence against, contact or communication with, or physical proximity to, another person; (ii) was issued against the defendant; (iii) is enforceable by the participating tribe; and (iv) is consistent with section 2265(b) of title 18, United States Code. ; (3) in subsection (b)— (A) by striking domestic violence each place the term appears and inserting tribal ; (B) in paragraph (1), by inserting , including any participating tribe in the State of Maine, before include ; and (C) in paragraph (4)— (i) in subparagraph (A)(i), by inserting , other than obstruction of justice or assault of tribal justice personnel, after offense ; and (ii) in subparagraph (B)(iii), in the matter preceding subclause (I), by striking , or dating partner and inserting , dating partner, or caregiver ; (4) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following: (c) Criminal conduct A participating tribe may exercise special tribal criminal jurisdiction over a defendant for a covered crime that occurs in the Indian country of the participating tribe. ; (5) in subsection (d), by striking domestic violence each place the term appears and inserting tribal ; and (6) by striking subsections (f) through (h) and inserting the following: (f) Grants and reimbursement to Tribal governments (1) Reimbursement (A) In general The Attorney General may reimburse Tribal government authorities (or an authorized designee of a Tribal government) for expenses incurred in exercising special tribal criminal jurisdiction. (B) Eligible expenses Eligible expenses for reimbursement shall include expenses and costs incurred in, relating to, or associated with— (i) investigating, making arrests relating to, making apprehensions for, or prosecuting covered crimes (including costs involving the purchasing, collecting, and processing of sexual assault forensic materials); (ii) detaining, providing supervision of, or providing services for persons charged with covered crimes (including costs associated with providing health care); (iii) providing indigent defense services for 1 or more persons charged with 1 or more covered crimes; and (iv) incarcerating, supervising, or providing treatment, rehabilitation, or reentry services for 1 or more persons charged with 1 or more covered crimes. (C) Procedure (i) In general Reimbursements authorized under subparagraph (A) shall be in accordance with rules promulgated by the Attorney General, after consultation with Indian tribes, and within 1 year after the date of enactment of the Native Youth and Tribal Officer Protection Act . (ii) Maximum reimbursement The rules promulgated by the Attorney General under clause (i)— (I) shall set a maximum allowable reimbursement to any Tribal government (or authorized designee of any Tribal government) in a 1-year period; and (II) may allow the Attorney General— (aa) to establish conditions under which a Tribal government (or an authorized designee of a Tribal government) may seek a waiver of the maximum allowable reimbursement requirement established under subclause (I); and (bb) waive the maximum allowable reimbursement requirement established under subclause (I) for a Tribal government (or an authorized designee of a Tribal government) if the conditions established by the Attorney General under item (aa) are met by that Tribal government (or authorized designee). (iii) Timeliness of reimbursements To the maximum extent practicable, the Attorney General shall— (I) not later than 90 days after the date on which the Attorney General receives a qualifying reimbursement request from a Tribal government (or an authorized designee of a Tribal government)— (aa) reimburse the Tribal government (or authorized designee); or (bb) notify the Tribal government (or authorized designee) of the reason why the Attorney General was unable to issue the reimbursement; and (II) not later than 30 days after the date on which a Tribal government (or an authorized designee of a Tribal government) reaches the annual maximum allowable reimbursement for the Tribal government (or authorized designee) established by the Attorney General under clause (ii)(I), notify the Tribal government (or authorized designee) that the Tribal government has reached its annual maximum allowable reimbursement. (2) Grants The Attorney General may award grants to the governments of Indian tribes (or to authorized designees of those governments)— (A) to strengthen tribal criminal justice systems to assist Indian tribes in exercising special tribal criminal jurisdiction, including for— (i) law enforcement, including the capacity of law enforcement, court personnel, or other non-law enforcement entities that have no Federal or State arrest authority agencies but have been designated by an Indian tribe as responsible for maintaining public safety within the territorial jurisdiction of the Indian tribe, to enter information into and obtain information from national crime information databases; (ii) prosecution; (iii) trial and appellate courts, including facilities maintenance, renovation, rehabilitation, and construction; (iv) supervision and probation systems; (v) detention and correctional facilities, including facilities maintenance, renovation, rehabilitation, and construction; (vi) treatment, rehabilitation, and reentry programs and services; (vii) culturally appropriate services and assistance for victims and their families; and (viii) criminal codes and rules of criminal procedure, appellate procedure, and evidence; (B) to provide indigent criminal defendants with the effective assistance of licensed defense counsel, at no cost to the defendant, in criminal proceedings in which a participating tribe prosecutes covered crimes; (C) to ensure that, in criminal proceedings in which a participating tribe exercises special tribal criminal jurisdiction, jurors are summoned, selected, and instructed in a manner consistent with all applicable requirements; and (D) to accord victims of covered crimes rights that are similar to the rights of a crime victim described in section 3771(a) of title 18, United States Code, consistent with tribal law and custom. (g) Supplement, not supplant Amounts made available under subsection (f)(2) shall supplement and not supplant any other Federal, State, or local government amounts made available to carry out activities described in this section. (h) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 to carry out subsection (f) and to provide training, technical assistance, data collection, and evaluation of the criminal justice systems of participating tribes. (i) Use of funds Of the funds appropriated under this section for each fiscal year— (1) not less than 25 percent, but not more than 40 percent, shall be used for the purposes described in subsection (f)(1); and (2) not less than 25 percent shall be used for the purposes described in subsection (f)(2). . 4. Increased interagency coordination (a) In general The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the Secretaries ) shall coordinate with the Attorney General to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that Federal programs to support Tribal justice systems and to support provision of victim services for Indians are working effectively together to serve the needs of Indian Tribes and Indians (as the terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 )). (b) Coordination of Federal Indian facilities with national domestic violence hotline grantees The Secretaries shall ensure that information for contacting any toll-free telephone hotline operated by recipients of a grant authorized by section 313 of the Family Violence Protective Services Act ( 42 U.S.C. 10413 ) is posted and readily visible in each publicly accessible Federal facility utilized by— (1) the Indian Health Service; (2) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; or (3) the Bureau of Indian Education. (c) Coordination on training Federal indian program employees To recognize and respond to domestic violence The Secretaries (acting through the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, the Director of the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Director of the Indian Health Service) shall coordinate with the Director of the Office on Violence Against Women of the Department of Justice and the Associate Commissioner for the Family and Youth Services Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that training materials on recognizing and responding to domestic violence are available to Tribal and Federal employees of— (1) the Indian Health Service; (2) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and (3) the Bureau of Indian Education. 5. Report (a) In general The Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs), the Secretary of Health and Human Services (acting through the Director of the Indian Health Service), and the Attorney General shall jointly submit a report to— (1) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate; and (2) the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. (b) Contents of the report The report required under subsection (a) shall include a description of the degree of effectiveness of— (1) Federal programs that are intended to build the capacity of criminal justice systems of Indian tribes to investigate and prosecute offenses relating to dating violence, domestic violence, and child violence (as defined in section 204(a) of Public Law 90–284 ( 25 U.S.C. 1304(a) ) (commonly known as the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 )) and related conduct; (2) the coordination activities required under section 4, including compliance with the posting of domestic violence victim service access information required under section 4(b); and (3) the interagency employee training material development required under section 4(c). (c) Timing The Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Attorney General shall submit the report required under subsection (a) by not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act.