New state code aims to resolve law enforcement dispute
While past legislative solutions between Lake County, state, tribes failed to advance, this year was different.
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Legislation signed May 12 by Gov. Greg Gianforte offers a path toward resolving a long-standing law enforcement dispute between the state of Montana, Lake County and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
At the center of the conflict is Public Law 280, a 1950s-era federal law that shifted law enforcement jurisdiction on some Indian reservations from the federal government to certain states.
Senate Bill 393, which passed with Republican and Democratic support, aims to reconfigure how the agreement is playing out in the northwest part of the state. It was carried by Lake County Republican Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson. County officials, tribal leaders and representatives from the governor’s office involved in crafting the bill said it represents a major step forward in the years-long conflict.
“We’re glad to finally see a resolution,” Lake County Commissioner Gale Decker told Montana Free Press and ICT in May.
The story behind the law enforcement agreement dates back decades. In 1965, frustrated with what they said was insufficient federal policing and inadequate resources at the tribal level, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) consented to implementing Public Law 280 on the Flathead Reservation. Since then, Lake County law enforcement — rather than federal entities like the FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs — has investigated claims of felony crimes committed by tribal members on the reservation. And for the last 30 years, the CSKT have overseen misdemeanor cases involving tribal members.
Lake County overlaps much of the Flathead Reservation. For years, county officials have said the state should reimburse the county for providing law enforcement services on the reservation, arguing the cost has become burdensome to taxpayers. Gianforte, however, has historically said that funding Public Law 280 was the responsibility of the county, not the state.
The protracted conflict creates serious implications for Native and non-Native Lake County residents as it could change which law enforcement entity — state, tribal or federal — has jurisdiction over certain crimes committed on the reservation.
County officials have over the years turned to the courts and to the Legislature to resolve the dispute, to no avail.
In 2021, the Legislature passed a law allowing Lake County to withdraw from the Public Law 280 agreement.
The dispute escalated in 2023 when Lake County Commissioners approved a resolution to withdraw from the Public Law 280 agreement. Though the county has not withdrawn from the agreement, the state would assume criminal jurisdiction responsibility on the Flathead Reservation if that exit takes place.
In May 2023, Gianforte vetoed a bill that would have appropriated funds to offset law enforcement costs for Lake County. And in 2024, the Montana Supreme Court upheld a previous ruling stating it is the responsibility of the Legislature — not the court — to reimburse Lake County for Public Law 280.
While past legislative solutions failed to advance, this year was different.
The new law, signed by Gianforte last week, will use General Fund dollars to reimburse Lake County and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) for providing law enforcement services on the Flathead Reservation. The law also incentivizes the state, county and tribes to establish a working agreement to resolve the dispute.
NEW LAW OFFERS SOLUTION
This session, two local Republican lawmakers brought proposals to attempt to solve the issue.
Rep. Tracy Sharp, R-Polson, sponsored House Bill 366 that would have provided $5 million from the General Fund to reimburse Lake County over the next two years. That bill died in committee and received some criticism for Sharp’s alleged lack of tribal consultation.
But Hertz’s similar bill saw success.
SB 393, which takes immediate effect, appropriates a total of $6 million from the state’s General Fund to the Governor’s Office of Budget and Program Planning. The office will distribute the money equally among Lake County and the CSKT, provided that both entities satisfy certain conditions.
First, for the county and tribes to receive $250,000 each, Lake County commissioners must rescind their resolution withdrawing from Public Law 280 by July 31. The law also prevents county commissioners from initiating another withdrawal for at least two years.
Second, for the county and tribes to receive the remaining $5.5 million, the entities must enter into an agreement with each other and the state regarding future cost-sharing responsibilities for Public Law 280. That money will be equally distributed between Lake County and CSKT within 30 days of entering an agreement.
LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT
SB 393 gained public approval from Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras this session — a notable departure from the Gianforte administration’s past opposition to Public Law 280 legislation. And while CSKT leaders were hesitant to publicly weigh in on the dispute in the past, several tribal leaders testified in support of Hertz’s bill this go-around.
Rep. Shelly Fyant, D-Arlee and a citizen of the CSKT, urged colleagues on the House floor earlier this year to support the bill.
“This is a solution that works for everyone,” she said in an April session. “So let’s put this to rest once and for all.”
During one of the bill’s floor debates in the Senate, Hertz told lawmakers SB 393 would help the state avoid millions of dollars in future costs if Lake County were to withdraw from the agreement and leave law enforcement duties to the state.
Rep. Bill Mercer, R-Billings, told his colleagues in the House Appropriations Committee that SB 393 was meant to encourage the county, tribes and state to continue conversations and work towards a solution. He assured lawmakers that the funding was “one time only.”
“We are not in this for the long-term,” he said in an April hearing. “You guys [state of Montana, Lake County and CSKT] have to sort this out.”
The legislation advanced out of the House and Senate with bipartisan support, despite some opposition.
Rep. Jodee Etchart, R-Billings, an opponent of the bill, asked lawmakers why her constituents in Yellowstone County should fund law enforcement in Lake County. “My constituents have asked me to vote no,” she said during an April House debate.
Etchart’s argument is one that’s been repeated through the years, including by some members of the Legislature’s American Indian Caucus. In a March Senate floor session, Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder and a citizen of the Chippewa Cree Tribe, argued that reimbursing Lake County and the CSKT was unfair to Montana’s other 55 counties and seven tribal governments.
In response, supporters of SB 393 generally argued that resolving the dispute was in the public interest, saying what’s good for one county benefits the entire state.
Rep. Donavon Hawk, D-Butte and a citizen of the Crow and Crow Creek Sioux tribes, reiterated that concept to Etchart.
“That’s part of what we do in Montana,” Hawk said. “We help each other out in this state.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Lake County Commissioner Decker told MTFP and ICT that while it had been “a long and torturous path to get here,” he and other county leaders are happy with the legislation.
“Our goal from the very beginning was to try to cut the costs that taxpayers were incurring for the administration of Public Law 280,” he said in a May interview. “I think [SB 393] will help us reach that goal.”
When it comes to forging an agreement with the state and CSKT, Decker said county leaders had been in talks with the tribes about shifting the prosecution of most tribal felonies to tribal courts.
“The [tribes’] goals and our goals are very similar,” he said. “We want to cut costs, and they want to take over more of the prosecutions. I think it’s good for both parties.”
Asked why the governor signed the bill into law, a spokesperson said Gianforte “believes Senate Bill 393 is a step in the right direction to finding a long-term resolution.”
Fyant told MTFP and ICT that the tribes have already begun handling more felony cases on the reservation. As the CSKT enhance their police force and court system, Fyant said she hopes the entities prioritize rehabilitation and promote restorative justice.
“I’m really looking forward to what the future brings, as far as tribal jurisdiction,” she said. “And as far as strengthening our sovereignty.”
This story is co-published by Montana Free Press and ICT, a news partnership that covers the Montana American Indian Caucus during the state’s 2025 legislative session.
