Description:
As reported by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on August 26, 2014
S. 1474 would direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make grants to Alaskan Indian tribes to assist them in forming intergovernmental agreements with the state of Alaska. Such agreements would aim to reduce domestic violence and drug abuse and improve the criminal justice system. The bill also would authorize DOJ to provide Alaskan tribes with training and technical assistance on certain judicial matters.
Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing S. 1474 would cost $14 million over the 2015-2019 period. Pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply to this legislation because it would not affect direct spending or revenues.
S. 1474 contains an intergovernmental mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) by requiring states to give full faith and credit to court orders and decrees issued by some Alaskan tribes. CBO estimates that the cost to comply with that mandate would be small and well below the threshold established in that act ($76 million in 2014, adjusted annually for inflation).
S. 1474 also contains a private-sector mandate as defined in UMRA by eliminating an existing right of action against the state of Alaska for the actions carried out by tribes participating in grant programs established by the bill. CBO estimates that the cost of complying with the mandate would fall below the private-sector threshold established in UMRA ($152 million in 2014, adjusted annually for inflation).
