[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8829 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8829
To expedite new Tribal court assessments and base support funding, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 25, 2024
Ms. Omar (for herself, Ms. Davids of Kansas, and Mr. Grijalva)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To expedite new Tribal court assessments and base support funding, 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 ``Tribal Courts Support Act''.
SEC. 2. INDIAN TRIBAL JUSTICE ACT AMENDMENTS.
The Indian Tribal Justice Act (25 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 102 (25 U.S.C. 3612), by adding at the end
the following:
``(d) Initial Annual Survey Priorities.--In the course of the
initial annual survey for an Indian Tribe, the Office may instruct the
non-Federal entity, which may be either a for-profit or nonprofit
entity, which conditions under subsection (b) to prioritize, expedite,
or both.''; and
(2) in section 103 (25 U.S.C. 3613)--
(A) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the
following:
``(5) The Secretary shall have discretion to adjust the
base support funding formula under this subsection as needed to
provide initial base support funding to an Indian Tribe that
has not received funding.''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Initial Base Support Funding.--
``(1) The Secretary shall provide initial base support
funding on an expedited basis to an Indian Tribe that has not
previously received funding under this section.
``(2) In determining the initial base support funding for
an Indian Tribe under this subsection, the Secretary may
consider the local conditions listed in subsection (b) of
section (102) and the factors listed in subsection (c)(3) of
this section, to the extent such factors are available for that
Indian Tribe. The Secretary may not delay the initial base
support funding to the Indian Tribe due to the unavailability
of such information.''.
SEC. 3. REPORT ON BARRIERS TO TRIBAL JUSTICE SERVICES.
Not later than 360 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Comptroller General shall conduct an audit of and issue a
report on barriers that prevent Indian Tribes from accessing Tribal
justice services. The report may include the following:
(1) Recommendations that may enable timely and efficient
provision of services to Indian Tribes.
(2) Information on and an analysis of the following:
(A) The process by which--
(i) Tribal court assessments are conducted
by Tribal Justice Support; and
(ii) approved Tribal Justice Support funds
are distributed to Indian Tribes.
(B) Whether the length of such an assessment
process is necessary in the initial case of a Tribe
seeking to establish a Tribal court and, if not,
whether and how such an assessment process may be
truncated, expedited, or segmented in the case of a
Tribe seeking to establish a Tribal court.
(C) Federal funds that may be saved and returned to
the Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Priority
Allocations due to a streamlined initial court
establishment assessment process.
(D) Whether and how the assessment process may be
customized to the particular judicial jurisdictions and
customs of each Indian Tribe.
(E) Whether and how a Indian Tribe may continue
accessing Tribal Justice Support funding and services
while a pending Tribal court assessment is being
processed.
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