Federally Recognized Tribes & Construction of Laws

Current Colorado laws do not always expressly provide whether the laws apply to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe (Tribe). The bill creates a rule of construction that a law does not apply to the Tribe unless the law clearly and expressly states that the law applies to the Tribe.

The bill further clarifies that:

• Any law passed by the general assembly applies to persons other than Indians and to those persons' conduct on land within the Southern Ute Indian reservation (reservation) in which no interest is owned by the Tribe or tribally controlled entities, or on lands in which no interest is owned by Indians and is held in trust or restricted status by the United States If the general assembly enacts a new or materially amends an existing law that is silent as to its application to the Tribe or to tribally controlled entities; purports to apply statewide; or grants a governmental agency or entity civil, criminal, or regulatory authority, it is presumed that the law does not apply within the exterior boundaries of the reservation to the Tribe, its officials and employees acting in their official capacity, a tribally controlled entity, or to tribal lands ; and
• The civil and criminal laws of the state of Colorado (state) apply to Indians and persons other than Indians within the boundaries of a municipality located within the reservation; except that this does not limit the concurrent jurisdiction of the Tribe over conduct of Indians enrolled in the Tribe within a municipality The civil and criminal laws of the state are presumed to apply within a municipality to Indians and persons other than Indians; except that the bill does not limit the concurrent jurisdiction of the Tribe over the conduct of Indians within a municipality.

The bill reinforces that these rules of construction do not:

• Preclude or limit the authority of the Tribe's governing bodies from enacting legislation that consents to the application of laws passed by the general assembly requesting inclusion in legislation pending before the general assembly;
• Abrogate the sovereign immunity of the state or the Tribe; or
• Affect the rights of the state, the Tribe, or other persons to pursue legal remedies that may be available to contest the application of laws passed by the general assembly.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)