Legislature hits pause on Public Law 280

The future of Public Law 280, the law enforcement agreement between the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and state and county governments, seems to be on pause – at least at the legislative level.

For several years now, Lake County has been appealing to the State of Montana to help pay the ever-increasing costs of incarcerating and prosecuting felonies that involve tribal members. The state and county are both signatories in Public Law 280 – which dates back to 1964 – along with CSKT.

Without state reimbursement, county commissioners say they'll pull completely out of the agreement, leaving state or federal law enforcement to step into the breach. Both the state Department of Justice and federal agencies have said they don't have the resources to do that.

The Tribes already handle misdemeanors involving tribal members and have increased prosecution and detention for many felony crimes in recent years.

Three bills have been introduced during the 2025 session to address the county’s concerns, but with just 20 days remaining on the legislative calendar, none of them appear to be progressing.

Sen. Greg Hertz of Polson introduced Senate Bill 393, which would provide funding for felony criminal jurisdiction on the Flathead Reservation beginning July 1. But it needs a companion bill from the House, which has yet to appear.

“Nothing is moving forward at this time,” said Hertz in an email Monday. “We are still in discussions with the Governor's office.”

House Bill 366, introduced early in the session by Rep. Tracy Sharp of Polson, would have appropriated $2.5 million each year of the next biennium “to reimburse Lake County for consenting to assume felony criminal jurisdiction over any member of a federally recognized tribe and over Indian territory of the Flathead Reservation.” It was tabled in committee.

During a meeting with local legislators in March, Rep. Shelly Fyant, a CSKT member, said she was planning to introduce a funding bill that reflects input from the Tribes, county and state, but that legislation has yet to be drafted.

Finally, Billings Sen. Daniel Zolnikov introduced a joint resolution of the Senate and House that would urge Governor Greg Gianforte to withdraw the state from PL 280 and turn criminal jurisdiction over to the federal government and CSKT. That resolution doesn’t appear to have moved beyond the draft stage.

Meanwhile, on April 1, Lake County resent its resolution to withdraw from PL 280 to Gov. Gianforte – a resolution that was originally issued in 2023, but that the governor said he didn’t receive. Under state law, after receiving the resolution, the governor has six months to issue a proclamation acknowledging the county’s decision.

“Our decision to resend the withdrawal resolutions will end any argument that the Governor has about whether we provided him with the required paperwork,” said Commissioner Gale Decker in a recent email.

According to Decker, the county’s goal remains “to significantly reduce our PL 280 costs, while CSKT wants to take over prosecution of 90% of tribal felonies.”

“The county thinks we can achieve both goals working together,” he added.