[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1508 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1508

To provide technical and legal assistance to tribal justice systems and 
           members of Indian tribes, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 5, 1999

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide technical and legal assistance to tribal justice systems and 
           members of Indian tribes, and for other purposes.

    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 Tribal Justice Technical and 
Legal Assistance Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds and declares that--
            (1) there is a government-to-government relationship 
        between the United States and Indian tribes;
            (2) Indian tribes are sovereign entities and are 
        responsible for exercising governmental authority over Indian 
        lands;
            (3) the rate of violent crime committed in Indian country 
        is approximately twice the rate of violent crime committed in 
        the United States as a whole;
            (4) in any community, a high rate of violent crime is a 
        major obstacle to investment, job creation and economic growth;
            (5) tribal justice systems are an essential part of tribal 
        governments and serve as important forums for ensuring the 
        health and safety and the political integrity of tribal 
        governments;
            (6) Congress and the Federal courts have repeatedly 
        recognized tribal justice systems as the most appropriate 
        forums for the adjudication of disputes affecting personal and 
        property rights on Native lands;
            (7) enhancing tribal court systems and improving access to 
        those systems serves the dual Federal goals of tribal political 
        self-determination and economic self-sufficiency;
            (8) there is both inadequate funding and an inadequate 
        coordinating mechanism to meet the technical and legal 
        assistance needs of tribal justice systems and this lack of 
        adequate technical and legal assistance funding impairs their 
        operation;
            (9) tribal court membership organizations have served a 
        critical role in providing training and technical assistance 
        for development and enhancement of tribal justice systems;
            (10) Indian legal services programs, as funded partially 
        through the Legal Services Corporation, have an established 
        record of providing cost effective legal assistance to Indian 
        people in tribal court forums, and also contribute 
        significantly to the development of tribal courts and tribal 
        jurisprudence; and
            (11) the provision of adequate technical assistance to 
        tribal courts and legal assistance to both individuals and 
        tribal courts is an essential element in the development of 
        strong tribal court systems.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are as follows:
            (1) to carry out the responsibility of the United States to 
        Indian tribes and members of Indian tribes by ensuring access 
        to quality technical and legal assistance.
            (2) To strengthen and improve the capacity of tribal court 
        systems that address civil and criminal causes of action under 
        the jurisdiction of Indian tribes.
            (3) To strengthen tribal governments and the economies of 
        Indian tribes through the enhancement and, where appropriate, 
        development of tribal court systems for the administration of 
        justice in Indian country by providing technical and legal 
        assistance services.
            (4) To encourage collaborative efforts between national or 
        regional membership organizations and associations whose 
        membership consists of judicial system personnel within tribal 
        justice systems; non-profit entities which provide legal 
        assistance services for Indian tribes, members of Indian 
        tribes, and/or tribal justice systems.
            (5) To assist in the development of tribal judicial systems 
        by supplementing prior Congressional efforts such as the Indian 
        Tribal Justice Act (Public Law 103-176).

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) Attorney general.--The term ``Attorney General'' means 
        the Attorney General of the United States.
            (2) Indian lands.--The term ``Indian lands'' shall include 
        lands within the definition of ``Indian country'', as defined 
        in 18 U.S.C. 1151; or ``Indian reservations'', as defined in 
        section 3(d) of the Indian Financing Act of 1974, 25 U.S.C. 
        1452(d), or section 4(10) of the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 
        U.S.C. 1903(10). For purposes of the preceding sentence, such 
        section 3(d) of the Indian Financing Act shall be applied by 
        treating the term ``former Indian reservations in Oklahoma'' as 
        including only lands which are within the jurisdictional area 
        of an Oklahoma Indian Tribe (as determined by the Secretary of 
        Interior) and are recognized by such Secretary as eligible for 
        trust land status under 25 CFR part 151 (as in effect on the 
        date of enactment of this sentence).
            (3) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' means any 
        Indian tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other organized group or 
community, including any Alaska Native entity, which administers 
justice or plans to administer justice under its inherent authority or 
the authority of the United States and which is recognized as eligible 
for the special programs and services provided by the United States to 
Indian tribes because of their status as Indians.
            (4) Judicial personnel.--The term ``judicial personnel'' 
        means any judge, magistrate, court counselor, court clerk, 
        court administrator, bailiff, probation officer, officer of the 
        court, dispute resolution facilitator, or other official, 
        employee, or volunteer within the tribal judicial system.
            (5) Non-profit entities.--The term ``non-profit entity'' or 
        ``non-profit entities'' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
            (6) Office of tribal justice.--The term ``Office of Tribal 
        Justice'' means the Office of Tribal Justice in the United 
        States Department of Justice.
            (7) Tribal justice system.--The term ``tribal court'', 
        ``tribal court system'', or ``tribal justice system'' means the 
        entire judicial branch, and employees thereof, of an Indian 
        tribe, including, but not limited to, traditional methods and 
        fora for dispute resolution, trial courts, appellate courts, 
        including inter-tribal appellate courts, alternative dispute 
        resolution systems, and circuit rider systems, established by 
        inherent tribunal authority whether or not they constitute a 
        court of record.

 TITLE I--TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LEGAL 
                           ASSISTANCE GRANTS

SEC. 101. TRIBAL JUSTICE TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.

    Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Attorney 
General, in consultation with the Office of Tribal Justice, shall award 
grants to national or regional membership organizations and 
associations whose membership consists of judicial system personnel 
within tribal justice systems which submit an application to the 
Attorney General in such form and manner as the Attorney General may 
prescribe to provide training and technical assistance for the 
development, enrichment, enhancement of tribal justice systems, or 
other purposes consistent with this Act.

SEC. 102. TRIBAL CIVIL LEGAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.

    Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Attorney 
General, in consultation with the Office of Tribal Justice, shall award 
grants to non-profit entities, as defined under section 501(c)(3) of 
the Internal Revenue Code, which provide legal assistance services for 
Indian tribes, members of Indian tribes, or tribal justice systems 
pursuant to federal poverty guidelines that submit an application to 
the Attorney General in such form and manner as the Attorney General 
may prescribe for the provision of civil legal assistance to members of 
Indian tribes and tribal justice systems, and/or other purposes 
consistent with this Act.

SEC. 103. TRIBAL CRIMINAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS.

    Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Attorney 
General, in consultation with the Office of Tribal Justice, shall award 
grants to non-profit entities, as defined by section 501(c)(3) of the 
Internal Revenue Code, which provide legal assistance services for 
Indian tribes, members of Indian tribes, or tribal justice systems 
pursuant to federal poverty guidelines that submit an application to 
the Attorney General in such form and manner as the Attorney General 
may prescribe for the provision of criminal legal assistance to members 
of Indian tribes and tribal justice systems, and/or other purposes 
consistent with this Act. Funding under this title may apply to 
programs, procedures, or proceedings involving adult criminal actions, 
juvenile delinquency actions, and/or guardian-ad-litem appointments 
arising out of criminal or delinquency acts.

SEC. 104. NO OFFSET.

    No Federal agency shall offset funds made available pursuant to 
this Act for Indian tribal court membership organizations or Indian 
legal services organizations against other funds otherwise available 
for use in connection with technical or legal assistance to tribal 
justice systems or members of Indian tribes.

SEC. 105. TRIBAL AUTHORITY.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to--
            (1) encroach upon or diminish in any way the inherent 
        sovereign authority of each tribal government to determine the 
        role of the tribal justice system within the tribal government 
        or to enact and enforce tribal laws;
            (2) diminish in any way the authority of tribal governments 
        to appoint personnel;
            (3) impair the rights of each tribal government to 
        determine the nature of its own legal system or the appointment 
        of authority within the tribal government;
            (4) alter in any way any tribal traditional dispute 
        resolution fora;
            (5) imply that any tribal justice system is an 
        instrumentality of the United States; or
            (6) diminish the trust responsibility of the United States 
        to Indian tribal governments and tribal justice systems of such 
        governments.

SEC. 106. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    For purposes of carrying out the activities under this Act, there 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary for fiscal 
years 2000 through 2004.
                                 <all>