Montana State Legislature

2015-2016 State-Tribal Relations Committee

About State-Tribal Relations Interim Committee

The State-Tribal Relations Committee acts as a liaison with tribal governments in Montana, encourages state-tribal and local government-tribal cooperation, conducts interim studies as assigned, and may propose legislation and report its activities, findings, or recommendations to the legislature.

The Committee's work plan outlines how it will carry out its statutory duties and assigned study. It also identifies the topics which the committee, as well as the tribal governments which the committee visits this interim, have prioritized for discussion.

  • REPRESENTATIVE ALAN DOANE (R)--Vice Chair
  • REPRESENTATIVE EDWARD GREEF (R)
  • REPRESENTATIVE GEORGE KIPP III (D)
  • REPRESENTATIVE ZAC PERRY (D)
  • SENATOR JILL COHENOUR (D)
  • SENATOR JENNIFER FIELDER (R)
  • SENATOR KRISTIN HANSEN (R)
  • SENATOR JONATHAN WINDY BOY (D)--Chair

    

State-Tribal Relations Interim Committee Topics

Potential Bill Draft Language for Public Comment

Tribal Colleges

Draft committee bill to remove redundant language from the tribal college reimbursement statute

Language Immersion

Proposal #1: Expand program eligibility
Proposal #2: Allow state funds to be used as matching funds
Proposal #3: Provide funding for an annual conference
Proposal #4: Fund an immersion program on each reservation and in Great Falls

Study Topics

State-Tribal Tax Agreements

Tax agreement comparison charts
Tax agreement legal underpinnings
Fort Peck oil and gas production tax agreement
Gas tax payment calculations, FY 2016 
Alcohol and tobacco tax distributions, FY 2010-2015
State-tribal revenue sharing memo, Andrew Huff

Indian Child Welfare Act

ICWA Family Guide brochure
ICWA glossary and flowchart
Child and Family Services tribal expenditures, LFD 
Memo to STRC re: Yellowstone County statistics
Yellowstone County Dependent/Negligent case statistics
Yellowstone County Dependent/Negligent case summaries
ICWA Court Proposal
Protect Montana Kids Commission Report and memoto STRC
New federal ICWA regulations, final

Financial Data re: Payments to Tribes

Gas tax payment calculations, FY 2016 
Alcohol and tobacco tax distributions, FY 2010-2015
Child and Family Services tribal expenditures, LFD
Federal transportation funding payments to tribes in Montana

Cultural Patrimony, Sacred Objects and Sites

House Bill No. 585, 2015

State and federal laws for cultural patrimony and sacred objects and sites

Human skeletal remains and Burial Site Protection Act procedures

Inadvertent discoveries on federal lands
Montana Burial Preservation Board membership list
Blackfeet Cultural Preservation Act
Copyright law overview
43 CFR 10.2 Definitions

Tribal Colleges

Tribal Colleges in Montana: Funding and Economic Impacts
Revenue and expenditures for MUS Units and Tribal Colleges
Staff and salary data, MUS Units and Tribal Colleges
Memo to STRC re: suggested cleanup of 20-25-428, MCA

Charter Schools on Reservations

Montana American Indian Student Achievement Data Report, 2014

Map of Montana schools, Montana State Library

Accrediation standard variances for charter programs, 10.55.604(11), ARM

For This Place, for These People: An Exploration of Best Practices Among Charter Schools Serving Native Students

Other Topics

Suicide Prevention

State suicide review team report, 2014

Miscellaneous

State-tribal relations legislative summary 2015
SB 410
Other states' funding statutes for BIE schools

Proposed Rules for STR

*The complete text for any of the proposed rules listed below, including any hearing information, may be accessed by visiting http://mtrules.org and entering the MAR Notice Number in the "Search by Notice No." field in the bottom right-hand corner of the page.

Additional information regarding rulemaking and the Legislature's role in the administrative rulemaking prcess may be accessed here. Rule summaries presented to the Children, Families, Health, and Human Services Committee are below.
       
       

Dept. of

Notice Date MAR Notice No. Agency, Board or Commission Subject Staff Memo/Other Documents
         

Dept. of

Notice Date MAR Notice No. Agency, Board or Commission Subject Staff Memo/Other Documents
         

 

STR Legislation

The STR will begin to develop draft legislation based on its findings in the fall before the 2017 Legislative Session. The committee's legislative proposals will be listed here at that time.

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