NY State Senate Bill 2025-S8127

Senate Bill S8127

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to non-Indian trespass and drug trafficking activities within Indian lands, and to criminal law enforcement activities within Seneca nation lands

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - On Floor Calendar

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 04, 2025	advanced to third reading
May 29, 2025	2nd report cal.
May 28, 2025	1st report cal.1446
May 15, 2025	referred to investigations and government operations

Votes

- May 28, 2025 - Investigations And Government Operations Committee Vote
  S8127
  
  4
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  3
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Investigations And Government Operations Committee Vote: May 28, 2025
      
      aye (4)
      
      Bynoe
      
      Cleare
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Skoufis
      
      aye wr (3)
      
      Chan
      
      May
      
      O'Mara

2025-S8127 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8289
Law Section:: Indian Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §8, add §79, Indian L

2025-S8127 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to intrusions upon lands owned or occupied by any nation, tribe or band of Indians, and to drug trafficking activities within Indian lands; provides that the district attorney of a county in which reservation lands are situated, upon application of a person designated by the laws of a nation, tribe or band to make such application, shall make complaint of intrusions on such lands and cause intruders to be removed; provides that the governor, the superintendent of state police, a sheriff of a county that includes lands of the Seneca nation, or the chief of police of the city of Salamanca, may, at the request of the Seneca nation, enter into an agreement with the Seneca nation governing the terms and conditions of criminal law enforcement activities within the nation's Indian County lands; provides that such agreements shall be given full force and effect by the courts of the state.

2025-S8127 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8127

SPONSOR: RYAN S
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the Indian law, in relation to non-Indian trespass and
drug trafficking activities within Indian lands

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this legislation is to strengthen the authority of Indian
nations to protect their lands from unauthorized occupation, illegal
dumping, criminal enterprises, including drug trafficking, and unpermit-
ted business operations, and to formalize state-tribal cooperation in
criminal law enforcement.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: amends Indian Law section 8 by expanding prohibited activ-
ities on tribal lands; empowering tribal authorities to initiate legal
complaints through the district attorney to remove intruders from tribal
lands; creating a more forceful legal mechanism for removal; authorizing

judges to order the removal or confiscation of illegal operations or
materials; and granting tribes the authority to determine whether some-
one is an intruder.

Section 2: adds a new section 79 to the Indian law to authorize the
governor, state police, and certain local law enforcement officials to
enter mutual criminal law enforcement agreements with the Seneca Nation.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This legislation will provide tribal nations, particularly the Seneca
Nation, with more legal tools and state support to enforce land use
restrictions and combat criminal activity on their lands, and to recog-
nize tribal sovereignty in identifying and addressing intrusions, while
promoting cooperative law enforcement through binding intergovernmental
agreements. This will provide much needed clarifications and enhance-
ments to existing laws to enable tribal nations to work more closely
with County District Attorneys and local law enforcement in identifying
and removing those engaging in drug trafficking and other criminal and
vice activities from their lands.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S8127 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8127
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 15, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. S. RYAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
   ment Operations
 
 AN ACT to amend the Indian law, in relation to non-Indian  trespass  and
   drug trafficking activities within Indian lands

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 8 of the Indian law, as amended by chapter  886  of
 the laws of 1957, is amended to read as follows:
   §  8.  Intrusion  on tribal lands.  1. Except as otherwise provided by
 law, no person shall ENTER, REMAIN, settle or reside,  conduct  a  busi-
 ness,  operate  a  junkyard, or establish or contribute to an automobile
 graveyard or dump of any kind, upon any lands owned or occupied  by  any
 nation, tribe or band of Indians, except the CITIZENS OR members of such
 nation, tribe or band OR THEIR AUTHORIZED GUESTS OR LESSEES.
   2. Without the permission of the council or other similar authority of
 any Indian reservation, no person shall hereafter establish, conduct and
 operate,  or  contribute  to the establishment, conduct and operation of
 any junkyard, automobile graveyard or dump on any land within the limits
 of an Indian reservation.  Any lease, contract or agreement in violation
 of this section shall be void.
   3. THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY OF ANY COUNTY IN WHICH RESERVATION LANDS  ARE
 SITUATED,  UPON  THE WRITTEN APPLICATION OF SUCH PERSON OR ENTITY DESIG-
 NATED BY THE LAWS OF THE NATION, TRIBE OR BAND TO MAKE SUCH  APPLICATION
 ON  BEHALF OF THE NATION, TRIBE OR BAND OWNING AND OCCUPYING SUCH LANDS,
 SHALL MAKE COMPLAINT OF ANY INTRUSIONS ON  SUCH  LANDS,  AND  CAUSE  THE
 INTRUDERS TO BE REMOVED.
   4.  The  county  judge of the county in which such lands are situated,
 upon complaint made to [him] SUCH JUDGE, of a violation of this  section
 shall,  if  [he]  SUCH JUDGE thinks there is reasonable ground therefor,
 issue a notice directed to the person against whom  complaint  is  made,
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11875-01-5

 S. 8127                             2
 
 requiring  [him]  SUCH  PERSON to appear before such judge at a time and
 place therein specified, to  answer  the  complaint.  Such  judge  shall
 attend  at the time and place mentioned in the notice, and upon proof of
 the  personal  service  of  such  notice,  shall take proof of the facts
 alleged in the complaint, and shall determine whether such person is  an
 intruder  upon  the  lands of such reservation. If [he] SUCH JUDGE shall
 determine that such person is an intruder, [he] SUCH JUDGE shall issue a
 warrant to the sheriff of the  county  commanding  [him]  SUCH  SHERIFF,
 within  ten  days  after the receipt thereof, to remove such person from
 such lands. If such judge shall determine  that  such  person  has  been
 removed  from  such  lands on a previous occasion, [he] SUCH JUDGE shall
 issue [his] SUCH JUDGE'S warrant commanding the sheriff, within ten days
 from the receipt thereof, to remove such person and, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY
 OTHER PROVISIONS OF LAW, commit [him] SUCH PERSON to the county jail for
 the space of [thirty] NINETY days, without being entitled to the  limits
 or  the  liberties  of  such  jail;  and  such  judge  shall  cause such
 conviction to be drawn up and filed in the office of the  county  clerk,
 which  conviction  shall  be  final.  In the execution of either of such
 warrants the sheriff shall have the same powers as in the  execution  of
 criminal  process,  and  shall be paid by the state such compensation as
 the comptroller shall certify as reasonable. [The district  attorney  of
 any  county  in  which  reservation lands are situated, upon the written
 application of a majority of the chiefs, councilors or head man  of  the
 nation,  tribe  or  band  owning  and  occupying  such lands, shall make
 complaint of any intrusions on such lands, and cause the intruders to be
 removed.]
   5. If a person, conducting a business, ENGAGING IN  DRUG  TRAFFICKING,
 operating a junkyard, or having established or contributed to an automo-
 bile  graveyard  or  dump,  shall have been determined to be an intruder
 under this section, such judge may, in addition  to  any  other  penalty
 prescribed  by  this  section, order the CONFISCATION OR removal of such
 business, DRUG TRAFFICKING MATERIALS OR EQUIPMENT, junkyard,  automobile
 graveyard or dump within a reasonable time SUBJECT TO THE CONSENT OF THE
 AUTHORITY OF THE AFFECTED NATION, TRIBE OR BAND.
   6.  A  DETERMINATION  OR DESIGNATION BY THE NATION, TRIBE OR BAND OF A
 PERSON AS AN INTRUDER UPON THE LANDS OF SUCH NATION, TRIBE OR BAND SHALL
 BE DISPOSITIVE OF THE MATTER.
   § 2. The Indian law is amended by adding a new section 79 to  read  as
 follows:
   §  79.  LAW  ENFORCEMENT  AGREEMENTS.  1.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER
 PROVISION OF LAW, AT THE REQUEST OF THE SENECA NATION, THE GOVERNOR, THE
 SUPERINTENDENT OF STATE POLICE, A SHERIFF  OF  A  COUNTY  THAT  INCLUDES
 LANDS  OF THE SENECA NATION, OR THE CHIEF OF POLICE OF THE CITY OF SALA-
 MANCA, MAY ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE SENECA NATION GOVERNING  THE
 TERMS  AND  CONDITIONS OF CRIMINAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE
 NATION'S FEDERALLY-RECOGNIZED INDIAN COUNTRY LANDS.
   2. THE AGREEMENTS AUTHORIZED IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF  THIS  SECTION  MAY
 INCLUDE  PROVISIONS  DEFINING CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES THAT SHALL
 APPLY WITHIN THE NATION, DEPUTIZATION, EXTRADITION,  AND  OTHER  RELATED
 PROVISIONS THAT MAY BE AGREED UPON BY THE PARTIES.
   3.  THE  COURTS  OF  THE STATE SHALL GIVE FULL FORCE AND EFFECT TO THE
 PROVISIONS OF ANY AGREEMENT AUTHORIZED HEREIN IN ANY CRIMINAL PROCEEDING
 ARISING OUT OF OFFENSES COMMITTED WITHIN THE LANDS OF THE SENECA NATION.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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