Commissioner lays out plan to tackle tribal prosecution agreement

By MEGAN STRICKLAND

Daily Inter Lake

All three sitting Lake County Commissioners would like to keep a public law in place that gives the county authority to prosecute felony cases against tribal members, Commissioner Bill Barron told business leaders at the Polson Chamber of Commerce luncheon last week.

However, the county needs to find a funding solution to help overcome the extra costs of Public Law 280, as bills mount because of standing court orders to build a new jail and new courtroom to accommodate court volume, Barron said. The county recently saw a dip in tax revenue because state officials devalued the amount of the county’s mill’s and all budgets are tightened. Barron said the cost of prosecuting tribal members is between $1 million and $2 million annually. County Commissioner Gale Decker has said that around 60 percent of the county’s caseload is prosecuted under the law.

“It’s been a great project,” Barron said. “But we’re looking at having a new jail and a new courtroom and a lot of that is caused by public law 280.”

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are the only tribes in Montana that opted into an agreement with the state government under Public Law 280, which was passed by Congress in 1953. The law allowed local state governments and tribes to agree to prosecute tribal members in state courts. The Tribes approved the plan to prosecute in state court in 1961 and the state legislature approved the agreement in 1963.

In 1993, the Tribes decided to prosecute tribal misdemeanors through tribal court, but the felony cases have remained under the authority of state court.

In 1993, the last time the agreement was up for debate, the Tribes were willing to withdraw from the agreement and noted it would save the county money, but county officials opposed it.

Barron, a former Lake County sheriff, called the law one of the “best kept secrets” of Lake County because it allows local authorities to handle cases that are usually handled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Federal Bureau of Investigation, or other federal authorities.

“This keeps the FBI and BIA out and everything is done locally,” Barron said.

The county commissioners would like to keep the law, Barron said, but they intend to introduce a resolution to rescind Public Law 280 in order to have public comment from the public about whether or not the tax payers of the county want to keep the law, Barron said. County officials have also met with the Tribes to discuss the possibility of having federal officials pick up the tab, Barron said.

“We support it,” Barron said. “What we’d like to do is open the discussion, take it to the public, start taking comments and see if there is another way to get a funding source for this. When we started this process our county attorneys were talking to tribal attorneys and what we are looking at doing right now is that hopefully in December we will have a meeting in Washington, D.C where we have tribal representatives and county representatives meet with the BIA.”

Tribal Communications Director Robert McDonald could not comment on the Tribes’ travel plans but said that the Tribes are in discussion with the county about how to come up with a solution to the issue.

“At the Tribal Council’s direction, tribal staff have been involved in discussions with Lake County to make wise use of tribal resources and county tax revenues by pooling resources and eliminating duplication,” McDonald said. “Both governments provide critical services and maintain infrastructure within a common territory where the county and the reservation overlap. Both provide law enforcement services, road maintenance, land and lien record keeping, and public health services. Tribal staff are working with the county to identify areas where we can work together to reduce costs, enhance services, and improve infrastructure.”

McDonald said the Tribes want to build upon existing agreements that have allowed the Tribes and county work together for many years. In addition to the long-term agreement to police and prosecute together on the reservation, the Tribes have participated in a number of short-term agreements to fund projects in Lake County, according to McDonald. Last year, the Tribes gave $2.9 million to the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges on Lake County’s inventory.

“We anticipate that these discussions may result in joint efforts to promote federal investments in Lake County and the Flathead Reservation, and look forward to building a strong coalition to achieve our common goals,” McDonald said.