A Bill for an Act
Page 1, Line 101Concerning construction of laws regarding federally
Page 1, Line 102recognized tribes in Colorado.
Bill Summary
(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://leg.colorado.gov.)
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; 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.
- 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;
- 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.
The bill reinforces that these rules of construction do not:
Page 2, Line 1Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado:
Page 2, Line 2SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, add part 5 to article 4 of title 2 as follows:
Page 2, Line 3PART 5
CONSTRUCTION OF LAWS
Page 2, Line 4FOR THE SOUTHERN UTE INDIAN TRIBE
AND THE SOUTHERN UTE INDIAN RESERVATION
Page 2, Line 52-4-501. Purpose - legislative declaration. (1) The general
Page 2, Line 6assembly finds and declares that in the absence of clear
Page 2, Line 7expressions of legislative intent regarding whether legislation
Page 2, Line 8is intended to apply to the Tribe, its members, tribally
Page 2, Line 9controlled entities, or to Indians conducting activities within
Page 2, Line 10the reservation, the resulting ambiguity substantially
Page 3, Line 1increases the likelihood of unnecessary jurisdictional disputes
Page 3, Line 2between the state of Colorado, the Tribe, and entities or
Page 3, Line 3persons who are subject to the laws of the state of Colorado or the Tribe.
Page 3, Line 4(2) The general assembly finds, therefore, that the
Page 3, Line 5purpose of this part 5 is to establish rules for the construction
Page 3, Line 6of laws passed by the general assembly to limit the
Page 3, Line 7interpretation and application of laws to the Tribe and to the
Page 3, Line 8conduct of Indians, tribally controlled entities, or persons other than Indians, and the lands within the reservation.
Page 3, Line 92-4-502. Definitions.As used in this part 5, unless the context otherwise requires:
Page 3, Line 10(1) "Indian" means an enrolled member of the Tribe or an
Page 3, Line 11individual recognized as a Native American pursuant to federal law.
Page 3, Line 12(2) "Land" has the same meaning as set forth in section 2-4-401 (5).
Page 3, Line 13(3) "Municipality" means the town of Ignacio or any other
Page 3, Line 14municipality that is located entirely within the reservation and is incorporated pursuant to the laws of the state.
Page 3, Line 15(4) "Reservation" means the Southern Ute Indian
Page 3, Line 16reservation, the exterior boundaries of which are defined in the
Page 3, Line 17act of May 21, 1984, Pub.L. 98-290, 98 Stat. 201 (found at the "other provisions" note to 25 U.S.C. sec. 668).
Page 3, Line 18(5) "State" means the state of Colorado.
Page 3, Line 19(6) "Tribally controlled entity" means a division of the
Page 3, Line 20Tribe or a business organization that is a subsidiary owned by
Page 4, Line 1the Tribe or an affiliate in which the Tribe owns a controlling interest.
Page 4, Line 2(7) "Tribe" means the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.
Page 4, Line 32-4-503. Rules of construction. (1) Unless the general
Page 4, Line 4assembly passes a law that is written in clear, plain language
Page 4, Line 5stating the law applies to the Tribe, a tribally controlled
Page 4, Line 6entity, an Indian, or the lands of the Tribe, a tribally
Page 4, Line 7controlled entity, or an Indian within the reservation, it is
Page 4, Line 8presumed that a law passed by the general assembly does not
Page 4, Line 9apply to the Tribe, a tribally controlled entity, an Indian, or
Page 4, Line 10the lands of the Tribe, a tribally controlled entity, or an Indian within the reservation.
Page 4, Line 11(2) Any laws passed by the general assembly are presumed
Page 4, Line 12to apply to persons other than Indians and to those persons'
Page 4, Line 13conduct on lands within the reservation in which no interest is
Page 4, Line 14owned by the Tribe or a tribally controlled entity or on lands
Page 4, Line 15within the reservation in which no interest is owned by Indians and is held in trust or restricted status by the United States.
Page 4, Line 16(3) The civil and criminal laws of the state are presumed
Page 4, Line 17to apply to Indians and persons other than Indians within the
Page 4, Line 18boundaries of a municipality located within the reservation as
Page 4, Line 19set forth in Pub.L. 98-290, 98 Stat. 201; except that nothing in this
Page 4, Line 20part 5 limits the concurrent jurisdiction of the Tribe over the conduct of Indians within a municipality.
Page 4, Line 212-4-504. Tribal consent to application of state laws.
Page 4, Line 22(1) (a) Subject to any applicable limitations set forth in federal
Page 4, Line 23or Tribal law, nothing in this part 5 precludes or limits the
Page 5, Line 1authority of the Tribe's governing body from enacting
Page 5, Line 2legislation that consents to the application of laws passed by
Page 5, Line 3the general assembly either prior to or following the
Page 5, Line 4enactment of this part 5 on behalf of the Tribe, tribally
Page 5, Line 5controlled entities, or members of the Tribe within the reservation.
Page 5, Line 6(b) The Tribe may notify the speaker of the house of
Page 5, Line 7representatives, the minority leader of the house of
Page 5, Line 8representatives, the president of the senate, and the minority
Page 5, Line 9leader of the senate if the Tribe enacts legislation that
Page 5, Line 10consents to the application of laws passed by the general assembly as described in subsection (1)(a) of this section.
Page 5, Line 11(2) Notwithstanding section 2-4-503 (1) to the contrary,
Page 5, Line 12the governor and state agencies, in exercising the powers of the
Page 5, Line 13executive branch, may determine that the Tribe or the Tribe's
Page 5, Line 14governmental divisions are eligible for participation in state
Page 5, Line 15programs and grant funding that may be used within the
Page 5, Line 16reservation and that are designed to improve infrastructure,
Page 5, Line 17health care and treatment, telecommunications,
Page 5, Line 18transportation, education, law enforcement, environmental
Page 5, Line 19protections, wildlife resource management, water management,
Page 5, Line 20or other governmental functions and services, even if the law
Page 5, Line 21creating the program does not explicitly authorize participation by the Tribe or the reservation.
Page 5, Line 222-4-505. Preservation of sovereign immunity - preservation of
Page 5, Line 23legal remedies. (1) Nothing in this part 5 is intended to abrogate
Page 5, Line 24the sovereign immunity of the state or the Tribe.
Page 6, Line 1(2) Nothing in this part 5 is intended to affect the right of
Page 6, Line 2the state, the Tribe, or other persons to pursue legal remedies
Page 6, Line 3that may be available to contest the application of laws passed by the general assembly.
Page 6, Line 4SECTION 2. Act subject to petition - effective date -
Page 6, Line 5applicability. (1) This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following
Page 6, Line 6the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the
Page 6, Line 7general assembly; except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant
Page 6, Line 8to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an
Page 6, Line 9item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item,
Page 6, Line 10section, or part will not take effect unless approved by the people at the
Page 6, Line 11general election to be held in November 2026 and, in such case, will take
Page 6, Line 12effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor.
Page 6, Line 13(2) This act applies to laws passed on or after the applicable effective date of this act.