Senate Bill S515

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S515       REVISED MEMO 01/26/2015

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the Indian law, in relation to the
jurisdiction of the St.  Regis Mohawk tribal police; and providing for
the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof

 PURPOSE :

To enhance highway safety and increase the law enforcement presence in
a specific area of Franklin County.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 This bill would amend subdivision 2 of section 114 of the
Indian Law to authorize the Superintendent of State Police to expand
the authority of the St. Regis Police to include a specific area of
Franklin County, outside of the state-recognized boundaries of the St.
Regis Indian reservation to the area commonly referred to as the
Bombay Triangle, so that they may lawfully stop vehicles suspected of
criminal violations such as smuggling, DWI and traffic offenses.

This bill would authorize the Superintendent of State Police, who
currently certifies each tribal officer with state authority on the
reservation, with the authority to certify the officers with
additional authority to exercise police powers in this expanded area.
The Superintendent would also have the ability to revoke the expanded
              

certification if warranted in the same manner that he or she may now
revoke the original certification. As such, the State of New York
would retain control of the law enforcement activity in this area.

Section 2 Contains the effective date.

 EXISTING LAW :

Indian Law section 114 currently limits the authority of the St. Regis
Mohawk tribal police to the state-recognized boundaries of the
reservation, which does not include this property.

 JUSTIFICATION :

As a result of a long standing dispute between the State of New York
and members of the St Regis Tribe concerning the legitimacy of a
historical conveyance of certain property in Franklin County, the
State and members of the Tribe disagree on the current location of
reservation boundaries. The Tribe considers the boundaries to be
shaped as a roughly intact rectangle. The State's position is that the
reservation lands do not include a triangle-shaped piece of land in
the center of the southern half of what would otherwise be a fairly
clear rectangle. This contested land in the Town of Bombay is often
referred to as the Bombay Triangle or the Hogansburg Triangle.

Section 114 of the New York Indian Law granted the Superintendent of
State Police the authority to certify members of the St. Regis Police
Department with state-recognized police officer powers on reservation
lands. Although it has been regularly patrolled by state-certified St.
Regis tribal officers, courts have recently held that the grant of
police authority to the St. Regis officers did not include this
triangular- shaped piece of property because section 114 was
specifically limited to the reservation itself and the disputed land
it is not land considered by New York State to be within the
boundaries of the reservation.

As a result, courts have held that several vehicle stops and
subsequent arrests in this area by tribal officers to be unlawful.
Defense attorneys have subsequently used these decisions to dismiss
criminal cases, including DWIs and drug related crimes that have been
committed in this territory. This has a detrimental effect on public
safety because a portion of a major highway, Route 37, passes directly
through this section of land and is a popular route among smugglers
and drug traffickers.

Under this bill, dismissals such as these would be avoided as the
authority of the St. Regis tribal officers to make arrests in this
area would be beyond question under both State law and tribal law. The
bill would provide a stop-gap measure that would effectively solve a
vulnerability problem in the public security structure in this area.
Moreover, it would be accomplished in a manner that would not be
interpreted as a concession by either the State or the Tribe with
respect to the underlying, long-standing boundary dispute. As these
provisions would sunset in 2015, they would create a temporary measure
that would enhance highway safety and provide police protection to the
residents of this area. The law could be extended once it proves to be
beneficial to both the Tribe and the State.

The alternative to this bill is to continue to have the St. Regis
police make arrests that are subject to being dismissed by the courts,
or to have an increased State Police presence in this area. However,
as State Troopers have not traditionally patrolled this area, a change
in this practice could incite unrest as the tribal members who live in
this area consider this land to be tribal property. A surge in State
Police patrols in this area would be interpreted as an infringement of
tribal sovereignty, thus potentially leading to an unnecessary
conflict between its members and State authorities.

The tribal police department, through the operation of a New York
State statute, has become a State-recognized and certified police
department whose members have successfully enforced the law and
prosecuted cases in New York courts. They have proven themselves as an
important partner in the fight against drug smuggling and other border
related crimes and offenses. In fact, there is now a close partnership
between the State Police and the St Regis Tribal Police department
that has resulted in mutual benefits to both agencies. The limited
expansion proposed by this bill facilitates that relationship and
would solve an unaddressed problem that has resulted in needless
dismissals of criminal cases. As this solution is one that could be
accepted by the members of the Tribe who live in the area, it would
enhance the safety of the members of both police departments by
reducing the tensions that would otherwise result from a perception of
State intrusion into this disputed territory.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2014: S.7828 Referred to Codes

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

Although it would not have a significant effect on the State budget it
would enable the Town of Bombay to collect more fine money for traffic
tickets and arrests made by the tribal police as they would no longer
have to be dismissed by the court based on a claim of lack of
jurisdiction.

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

This would reduce tensions between members of the St. Regis Tribe and
State authorities and would provide a solution to a unique problem
that would not affect the legal position of either the State or the
Tribe in any land claims relating to this property. It will also
further enhance the positive relationship between the New York State
Police and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately and shall be in effect until
September 1, 2016 when upon such date the provisions of this act shall
be deemed repealed.