[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69763-69765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27400]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

[120 A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900]


Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe Alcohol Control Ordinance

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice publishes the Alcohol Control Ordinance of the 
Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe. The alcohol control ordinance is to 
regulate and control the possession, sale, manufacture, and 
distribution of alcohol in conformity with the laws of the State of 
Washington for the purpose of generating new Tribal revenues. Enactment 
of this ordinance will help provide a source of revenue to strengthen 
Tribal government, provide for the economic viability of Tribal 
enterprises, and improve delivery of Tribal government services.

DATES: This code shall take effect on December 19, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Greg Norton, Tribal Government 
Specialist, Northwest Regional Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 911 NE 
11th Avenue, Portland, OR 97232, Phone: (503) 231-6702; Fax: (503) 231-
2201.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Act of August 15, 1953, 
Public Law 83-277, 67 Stat. 586, 18 U.S.C. 1161, as interpreted by the 
Supreme Court in Rice v. Rehner, 463 U.S. 713 (1983), the Secretary of 
the Interior shall certify and publish in the Federal Register notice 
of adopted liquor ordinances for the purpose of regulating liquor 
transactions in Indian country. The Sauk-Suiattle Tribal Council duly 
adopted the Alcohol Control Ordinance of the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe 
on May 16, 2019.
    This notice is published in accordance with the authority delegated 
by the Secretary of the Interior to the Assistant Secretary--Indian 
Affairs. I certify that the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribal Council duly 
adopted the Alcohol Control Ordinance of the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe 
by Resolution No. 05/19A/2019 dated May 16, 2019.

    Dated: November 18, 2019.
Tara Lean Sweeney,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.

Alcohol Control Ordinance of the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe

    Section 1. Definitions.
    a. Alcoholic Liquor. Alcoholic liquor means any alcoholic beverage 
containing more than one half of one percent alcohol by volume, and 
every liquid or solid, patented or not, containing alcohol and capable 
of being consumed by a human being.
    b. Barrel. Barrel means 31 gallons for beer or malt beverages.
    c. Beer or Malt Beverage. Beer or malt beverage means any alcoholic 
beverage obtained by the fermentation of any infusion or decoction of 
barley, malt,

[[Page 69764]]

hops, or any other product, or any combination of such products in 
water containing not more than 14 percent alcohol by volume, and 
including ale, porter, brown, stout, lager beer, small beer, and strong 
beer. Also included are beverages known as 'non-alcoholic beer' which 
is made by fermentation of any infusion or decoction of barley, malt, 
hops, or other products, and containing less than three percent, but 
more than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume. The term `malt beverage' does 
not include sake, known as Japanese rice wine.
    d. Liquor Establishment. Liquor establishment means any public 
place, including a place available for rental by the public, selling 
alcoholic liquor either for consumption by the public on the premises 
or for carry-out to be consumed on private property. A liquor 
establishment is not considered a public place for purposes of the 
Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe Law and Order Code Sec.  5.9.000.
    e. ``To Sell'' or ``Sale''
    i. Whenever the words ``sell'' or ``to sell'' refer to anything 
forbidden by this ordinance and related to alcoholic liquor, they 
include: (a) To solicit or receive an order. (b) To keep or expose for 
sale. (c) To deliver for value or in any way other than purely 
gratuitously. (d) To peddle. (e) To keep with intent to sell. (f) To 
traffic in. (g) For any consideration, promise or obtain directly or 
indirectly or under any pretext or by any means to procure or allow to 
be procured for any other person.
    ii. The word ``sale'' includes every act of selling as defined in 
subsection (i).
    f. Wine. Wine means any alcoholic beverage containing not more than 
21 percent alcohol made from fruits, berries, or grapes either by 
natural fermentation or by natural fermentation with brandy added. Wine 
includes, but is not limited to, all sparkling wines, champagnes, 
combinations of such beverages, vermouths, special natural wines, 
rectified wines, and like products. The term ``wine'' does not include 
cooking wine mixed with salt or other ingredients so as to render it 
unfit for human consumption as a beverage. A liquid shall first be 
deemed to be a wine at the point in the manufacturing process when it 
conforms to the definition of wine contained in this section.
    Section 2. Findings and Purpose.
    a. The introduction, possession, and sale of liquor on Indian 
reservations has historically been recognized as a matter of special 
concern to Indian tribes and to the United States. The control of 
liquor within the territorial jurisdiction of the Sauk-Suiattle Indian 
Tribe remains exclusively subject to the legislative enactments of the 
Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe in its exercise of its governmental powers 
over its territories, and the United States.
    b. Federal Law prohibits the introduction of liquor into Indian 
Country (18 U.S.C. 1154), and authorized tribes to decide when and to 
what extent liquor transactions, sales, possession and service shall be 
permitted on their reservation (18 U.S.C. 1161).
    c. Pursuant to the Constitution and Bylaws of the Sauk-Suiattle 
Indian Tribe Article VII Sec.  (B) the Sauk-Suiattle Tribal Council, 
the governing body of the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, has the authority 
``to negotiate with the federal, state, and local governments on behalf 
of the tribe, and to advise and consult with the representatives of the 
department of the interior on all activities of the department that may 
affect the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe.
    d. Pursuant to Article VII Sec.  (P) the Sauk-Suiattle Tribal 
Council has the authority ``to promulgate and enforce ordinances 
governing the conduct of all persons within the jurisdiction of the 
Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe.''
    Section 3. Jurisdiction. To the greatest extent feasible under 
existing law, including but not limited to the Treaty of Point Elliott 
and authority delegated under Title 18, United States Code Section 
1161, this Act shall apply throughout the territorial jurisdiction of 
the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe as set forth in Article 1, Section 2, of 
the Constitution of the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe approved by the 
Secretary of the Interior on September 17, 1975. Nothing herein shall 
be construed to limit the inherent sovereignty of the Sauk-Suiattle 
Indian Tribe to regulate liquor sales and service on all lands within 
the Tribe's reservation or which constitute Indian Country as defined 
in 18 U.S.C. 1151 subject to the governmental jurisdiction of the Sauk-
Suiattle Indian Tribe. To that end, this ordinance shall be liberally 
construed.
    Section 4. Provisions of Ordinance. It shall be unlawful for any 
person to sell, trade or manufacture any alcoholic liquor within the 
territorial jurisdiction of the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe except as 
provided for in this ordinance.
    Section 5. Grant of Liquor Establishment. All commercial liquor 
establishments shall require a grant from the tribal council of the 
Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe to operate. A grant shall issue from a 
formal resolution of the tribal council and shall specifically outline 
the location of the establishment, where alcohol is permitted to be 
served on the premises, and the type of liquor establishment being 
granted.
    Section 5.1 Types of Liquor Establishments. A grant from the tribal 
council may provide for the liquor establishment to be classified as 
one or more of the following:
    (a) Full Service--A full service establishment may sell all legal 
alcoholic liquors.
    (b) Beer and Wine Only--A beer and wine only establishment may only 
sell beer or malt beverages and/or wine.
    (c) Brewpub--A Brewpub is an establishment that serves food and 
manufactures beer or malt beverages on the premises.
    (d) Brewery--A Brewery is an establishment that manufactures beer 
or malt beverages.
    Section 6. Ownership of Liquor Establishments. All liquor 
establishments within the territorial jurisdiction of the Sauk-Suiattle 
Indian Tribe shall be tribally owned, which may include a corporate 
entity owned entirely by the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, and further it 
shall be unlawful for any other business establishment or person in the 
territorial jurisdiction of the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe to possess, 
transport or keep with intent to sell, barter, or trade to another, any 
alcoholic liquor.
    Section 7. Compliance with State Law. All liquor establishments 
created by this act must comply with the laws of the State of 
Washington to the extent required by 18 U.S.C. 1161. Such compliance 
may be demonstrated either via a current license issued by the 
Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board or by complying with any 
bilateral agreements the Tribe may enter into with the State of 
Washington regarding liquor sales, such as a Memorandum of 
Understanding.
    Section 8. Permissible Sales at Liquor Establishments. Commercial 
liquor establishments shall be permitted to sell alcoholic liquors, 
subject to any limitations based on classifications.
    Section 9. Permissible Manufacture of Beer or Malt Beverages.
    Section 9.1 Brewpubs. A brewpub is authorized to manufacture on the 
granted premises not more than 1,500 barrels of malt beverage in a 
calendar year solely for retail sale on the premises and solely in 
draft form.
    Section 9.2 Breweries. A Brewery is authorized to manufacture and 
sell beer and or malt beverages for on or off premises consumption 
subject to the following:
    (a) Retail. A brewery grant holder may sell beer or malt beverages 
to individuals, provided, however that such sales are limited to 3,000 
barrels of

[[Page 69765]]

malt beverages per year produced at the premises to the following 
individuals:
    a. Those who are on such premises for consumption of beer or malt 
beverages on the premises: and/or
    b. Those who will consume the beer or malt beverages off the 
premises, provided, however, that such sales shall not exceed a maximum 
of 288 ounces of malt beverages per consumer per day.
    (b) Wholesale. A brewer grant holder may wholesale beer or malt 
beverages to retailers, however that such sales are limited to 10,000 
barrels of beer or malt beverages per year produced on premises.
    Section 10. Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe Law and Order Code 
Unaffected. Nothing in this Act is intended to repeal any part of the 
Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe Law and Order Code. It shall remain unlawful 
for any person, to, in a public place, consume alcohol, or possesses or 
be in control of an open container containing alcohol, except that a 
liquor establishment operating pursuant to this Ordinance shall not be 
considered a public place for purposes of the Sauk-Suiattle Indian 
Tribe Law and Order Code.
    Section 11. Minors.
    a. It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of 21 years to 
buy, attempt to buy or to misrepresent their age in attempting to buy 
alcoholic liquor. It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of 
21 years to transport, possess or consume any alcoholic liquor in the 
territorial jurisdiction of the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe. No person 
shall sell or furnish alcoholic liquor to any minor.
    b. Proof of Minimum Age: Where there may be a question of a 
person's right to purchase alcoholic liquor by reason of his age, such 
person shall be required to present any one of the following official 
issued cards of identification which shows his correct age and bears 
his signature and photograph:
    i. Liquor control authority card of identification of any state;
    ii. Driver's license of any state or ``Identicard'' issued by the 
Washington State Department of Motor Vehicles;
    iii. United States active duty military identification;
    iv. Passport;
    v. Any Tribal Identification card accepted by the State of 
Washington as official identification for purposes of purchasing 
alcohol;
    vi. Sauk-Suiattle Tribal identification card.
    Section 12. Employment. No person shall be hired to work in a 
tribally owned liquor establishment if they are a minor.
    Section 13. Enforcement and Penalties.
    a. All liquor establishments, including any places used for storage 
or sale of liquor or any premises or parts of premises used or in any 
way connected physically or otherwise with the liquor establishment 
shall at all times be opened to inspection by any tribal inspector or 
tribal police officer.
    b. Every person, being on any such premises and having charge 
thereof, who refuses or fails to admit a tribal inspector or tribal 
police officer, demanding to enter therein in pursuance of this section 
and executing a duly authorized duty, or who obstructs or attempts to 
obstruct the entry of such inspector or tribal police officer, or who 
refuses or neglects to make any return required by this Title or the 
regulations passed pursuant thereto, shall be thereby deemed to have 
violated this Title.
    c. For violation of any section of this Ordinance the person so 
convicted shall be subject to a fine not to exceed Three Hundred Sixty 
Dollars ($360) and/or shall be sentenced to jail for a period not to 
exceed six months, or both.
    d. All contraband liquor shall be confiscated by the Sauk-Suiattle 
Tribal Police Department and preserved in accordance with the 
established procedures for the preservation of impounded property.
    e. Serious or repeated infractions may result in the suspension or 
termination of the liquor establishment grant by the Sauk-Suiattle 
Tribal Council. Prior to suspension or termination of the liquor 
establishment grant, the Tribal Council shall provide notice to the 
grant holder at least ten (10) days prior to the suspension or 
cancellation. The grant holder shall have the right, prior to the 
suspension or termination date, to apply to the Sauk-Suiattle Tribal 
Court for a hearing to determine whether the grant was rightfully 
suspended or terminated. The sovereign immunity of the Sauk-Suiattle 
Indian Tribe is waived for this hearing; provided, however, that such 
waiver shall not be construed to allow an award of money damages 
against the Tribe nor any other relief other than a declaration of 
rights, nor shall it be construed to waive the sovereign immunity of 
the Tribe in any court but the Tribal Court.
    f. The Sauk-Suiattle Tribal Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction 
to enforce this code and the civil fines, criminal punishment and 
exclusion authorized by this section or the Sauk-Suiattle Law and Order 
Code.
    Section 14. Sovereign Immunity. Unless specifically provided 
herein, nothing in this code is intended or shall be construed as a 
waiver of the sovereign immunity of the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe. No 
liquor establishment, nor any of its employees, shall be authorized, 
nor shall they attempt, to waive the sovereign immunity of the Sauk-
Suiattle Indian Tribe pursuant to this Code.
    Section 15. Severability. If any provision or provisions in this 
code are held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, this Code 
shall continue in effect as if the invalid provision(s) were not a part 
hereof.
    Section 16. Effective Date. This Code shall be effective following 
approval by the Tribal and Council and approval by the Secretary of the 
Interior or his/her designee and publication in the Federal Register as 
provided by federal law.

[FR Doc. 2019-27400 Filed 12-18-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4337-15-P