[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2298 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2298

To provide for enforcement of title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, 
           commonly known as the ``Indian Civil Rights Act''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 14, 1998

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for enforcement of title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, 
           commonly known as the ``Indian Civil Rights Act''.

    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 ``Indian Civil Rights Enforcement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (25 U.S.C. 
        1301 et seq.) (commonly known as the ``Indian Civil Rights 
        Act'') was enacted to protect the civil rights of individuals 
        who interact with tribal governments and other tribal 
        organizations;
            (2) individuals who interact with tribal governments and 
        other tribal organizations continue to suffer civil rights 
        abuses, including unfair dismissals from employment with a 
        tribal government or other tribal organization, election 
        irregularities, and improper use of law enforcement authority;
            (3) a 1991 report of the United States Commission on Civil 
        Rights found that the enforcement of rights guaranteed by the 
        Act commonly known as the ``Indian Civil Rights Act'' continued 
        to be impeded by reluctance among Indian tribes to waive tribal 
        immunity;
            (4) Congress has considered the impediments to enforcing 
        the Act commonly known as the ``Indian Civil Rights Act'' for a 
        period preceding the date of enactment of this Act of more than 
        10 years;
            (5) under article III of the Constitution of the United 
        States, individuals have the opportunity to seek action in a 
        district court of the United States after exhausting remedies 
        in tribal courts for enforcement of the Act commonly known as 
        the ``Indian Civil Rights Act''; and
            (6) to provide for the opportunity referred to in paragraph 
        (5), tribal immunity should be waived.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' means any 
        Indian tribe or band with a governing body duly recognized by 
        the Secretary of the Interior.
            (2) Tribal government.--The term ``tribal government'' 
        means a governing body of an Indian tribe referred to in 
        paragraph (1).
            (3) Tribal immunity.--The term ``tribal immunity'' means 
        the immunity of an Indian tribe from jurisdiction of the 
        courts, judicial review of an action of that Indian tribe, and 
        other remedies.
            (4) Tribal organization.--The term ``tribal organization'' 
        has the meaning given that term in section 4(l) of the Indian 
        Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
        450b(l)).

SEC. 4. INDIAN CIVIL RIGHTS ACT ENFORCEMENT.

    Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (commonly known as the 
``Indian Civil Rights Act'') (25 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 204. ENFORCEMENT.

    ``(a) In General.--The district courts of the United States shall 
have jurisdiction in any civil rights action alleging a failure to 
comply with rights secured by the requirements of this title.
    ``(b) Compliance.--Upon exhaustion of remedies in a tribal court of 
appropriate jurisdiction (if any) to seek compliance with rights 
secured under this title as are timely and reasonable, an aggrieved 
individual may bring an action against an Indian tribe (including a 
tribal organization (as that term is defined in section 4(l) of that 
Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(l)) or official of that Indian tribe)) in a 
district court of the United States, or the Attorney General of the 
United States may bring such an action against an Indian tribe for--
            ``(1) a declaratory judgment; or
            ``(2) equitable relief (including injunctive relief) 
        against an Indian tribe, to the extent necessary to enforce the 
        rights secured under this title.
    ``(c) Treatment of Findings of Tribal Court.--
            ``(1) In general.--In a civil action brought under 
        subsection (b), the district court shall adopt any findings of 
        fact made by the tribal court involved (if any) with respect to 
        the action, unless the district court determines that--
                    ``(A) the tribal court did not operate 
                independently from the legislative or executive 
                authority of the Indian tribe involved;
                    ``(B) the tribal court was not authorized to 
                determine matters of law and fact, or the tribal court 
                did not fully determine those matters;
                    ``(C) the tribal court permitted a person or entity 
                subject to this title to assert a defense of immunity 
                in a declaratory action or an action to seek equitable 
                relief;
                    ``(D) the tribal court failed to resolve the merits 
                of the factual dispute involved;
                    ``(E) the tribal court employed a factfinding 
                procedure that was not adequate to afford a full and 
                fair hearing;
                    ``(F) the tribal court did not adequately develop 
                facts that are material to the case;
                    ``(G) the tribal court failed to provide a full, 
                fair, and adequate hearing; or
                    ``(H) the factual determinations of the tribal 
                court are not fairly supported by the record.
            ``(2) De novo review.--In any action described in paragraph 
        (1), if the court finds that a condition described in 
        subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), or (H) of that 
        paragraph applies, the district court shall conduct a de novo 
        review of the allegations contained in the complaint.
    ``(d) Waiver of Tribal Immunity.--To the extent necessary to 
enforce this title, the tribal immunity (as that term is defined in 
section 3 of the Indian Civil Rights Enforcement Act) of an Indian 
tribe subject to an action under subsection (b) is waived.''.
                                 <all>