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:
This Unofficial Version Includes Committee
Amendments Not Yet Adopted on Second Reading
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 officials and employees
Page 2, Line 9acting in their official capacities, tribally controlled entities,
Page 2, Line 10or to Tribal lands within the reservation, the resulting
Page 3, Line 1ambiguity substantially increases the likelihood of
Page 3, Line 2unnecessary jurisdictional disputes between the state of
Page 3, Line 3Colorado, the Tribe, and entities or persons 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, its officials
Page 3, Line 8and employees acting in their official capacities, tribally controlled entities, and Tribal 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 11(1) "Municipality" means the town of Ignacio or any other
Page 3, Line 12municipality that is located entirely within the reservation and is incorporated pursuant to the laws of the state.
Page 3, Line 13(2) "Reservation" means the Southern Ute Indian
Page 3, Line 14reservation, the exterior boundaries of which are defined in the
Page 3, Line 15act 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 16(3) "State" means the state of Colorado.
Page 3, Line 17(4) "Tribal lands" means lands owned in fee simple by the
Page 3, Line 18Tribe or a tribally controlled entity, and trust lands,
Page 3, Line 19including land assignments and allotments within the exterior boundaries of the reservation.
Page 3, Line 20(5) "Tribally controlled entity" means a division of the
Page 3, Line 21Tribe 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(6) "Tribe" means the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.
Page 4, Line 32-4-503. Rules of construction. (1) If the general assembly
Page 4, Line 4enacts a new law or materially amends an existing law that is
Page 4, Line 5silent as to its application to the Tribe or to tribally
Page 4, Line 6controlled entities; purports to apply statewide; or grants a
Page 4, Line 7governmental agency or entity civil, criminal or regulatory
Page 4, Line 8authority, it is presumed that the law does not apply within the
Page 4, Line 9exterior boundaries of the reservation to the Tribe, its officials
Page 4, Line 10and employees acting in their official capacity, a tribally controlled entity, or to tribal lands.
Page 4, Line 11(2) Nothing in this part 5 intends to modify federal law,
Page 4, Line 12including, but not limited to, Pub.L. 98-290, 98 Stat. 201 and the
Page 4, Line 13rules Pub.L. 98-290, 98 Stat. 201 established for jurisdiction within the reservation boundaries.
Page 4, Line 14(3) Nothing in this part 5 is intended to apply outside of the reservation boundaries.
Page 4, Line 15(4) The civil and criminal laws of the state are presumed
Page 4, Line 16to apply within a municipality to Indians and persons other than
Page 4, Line 17Indians as set forth in Pub.L. 98-290, 98 Stat. 201; except that
Page 4, Line 18nothing in this part 5 limits the concurrent jurisdiction of the Tribe over the conduct of Indians within a municipality.
Page 4, Line 192-4-504. Tribal consent to application of state laws.
Page 4, Line 20(1) Nothing in this part 5 prevents the Tribe from requesting inclusion in legislation pending before the general assembly.
Page 4, Line 21(2) The governor and state agencies, in exercising the
Page 5, Line 1powers of the executive branch, may determine that the Tribe or
Page 5, Line 2the Tribe's governmental divisions are eligible for participation
Page 5, Line 3in state programs and grant funding that may be used within the
Page 5, Line 4reservation and that are designed to improve infrastructure,
Page 5, Line 5health care and treatment, telecommunications,
Page 5, Line 6transportation, education, law enforcement, environmental
Page 5, Line 7protections, wildlife resource management, water management,
Page 5, Line 8or other governmental functions and services, even if the law
Page 5, Line 9creating the program does not explicitly authorize participation by the Tribe.
Page 5, Line 102-4-505. Preservation of sovereign immunity - preservation of
Page 5, Line 11legal remedies. (1) Nothing in this part 5 is intended to abrogate the sovereign immunity of the state or the Tribe.
Page 5, Line 12(2) Nothing in this part 5 is intended to affect the right of
Page 5, Line 13the state, the Tribe, or other persons to pursue legal remedies
Page 5, Line 14that may be available to contest the application of laws passed by the general assembly.
Page 5, Line 15SECTION 2. Act subject to petition - effective date -
Page 5, Line 16applicability. (1) This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following
Page 5, Line 17the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the
Page 5, Line 18general assembly; except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant
Page 5, Line 19to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an
Page 5, Line 20item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item,
Page 5, Line 21section, or part will not take effect unless approved by the people at the
Page 5, Line 22general election to be held in November 2026 and, in such case, will take
Page 5, Line 23effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the
Page 5, Line 24governor.
Page 6, Line 1(2) This act applies to laws passed on or after the applicable effective date of this act.