AIPI June 2020 Policy Update

Policy Recap for June 2020

The Arizona State Legislature adjourned sine die May 26th, leaving a number of proposed bills on the floor. No word on when the legislature will reconvene. In the wake of Gov. Doug Ducey’s May 15 order that encouraged the state to reopen, COVID-19 cases have increased significantly. Casinos that had once reopened have chosen to close once again following the death of one casino employee who contracted COVID-19 after returning to work. 

In Congress, the HEROES Act (a proposed new economic stimulus package) remains stalled in the Senate after passing the House of Representatives May 15. One reason for the delay is disagreement over how stimulus payments to individuals should be allocated. The HEROES Act proposes a model similar to the original stimulus payment, but senators are considering ways to provide relief to a more targeted population of individuals who need the money the most. 

On June 15, the D.C. District Court ordered the Treasury Department to release the remaining $679 million in Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) money for tribes that it had been improperly withholding. The Treasury complied with the order by the June 17 deadline set by the court, 52 days past the original April 26 deadline for disbursement of CRF funds.

• Bill would prohibit a school district governing board or a charter school from prohibiting a pupil from wearing cultural regalia while participating in a graduation ceremony.

• Bill would allow an Arizona college that is state owned, operated, or chartered by a qualifying Indian tribe on its own Indian reservation and offers baccalaureate teacher education programs to be eligible to participate in the Arizona Teachers Academy and receive monies from its fund.

• Bill would allow an Indian tribe to operate a sports betting license through a tribal gaming operator that is wholly owned by the Indian tribe.

• Bill would add a member who is a current or former elected tribal official to the State Board on Geographic and Historic Names.

• Law requires the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System Administration to seek federal authorization to reimburse the Indian Health Services and tribal facilities to cover the cost of adult dental services that are eligible for a federal medical assistance percentage of 100 percent.

• Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to invest funds from the Indian Health Services Sanitation Facilities Construction Program necessary for water infrastructure projects to improve health outcomes in Native American communities. Authorizes an appropriation of $2.67 billion for each of fiscal years 2020 though 2024. Funds would be used for the planning, design, construction, modernization, improvement, and renovation of water, sewer, and sold waste sanitation facilities funded by the Indian Health Service.

• Bill text unavailable at time of this Policy Update publication.

• Bill would increase federal law enforcement database reporting by requiring the Attorney General to provide information on missing persons and unidentified remains contained in national crime information databases to be shared with the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). The bill also requires the Attorney General, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Justice, to appoint one or more tribal liaisons for the NamUs to coordinate the reporting of information related to missing persons cases and unidentified remains cases of interest to Indian tribes, to consult and coordinate with relevant tribal stakeholders to address the reporting, documentation, and tracking of missing persons cases and unidentified remains cases of interest to Indian tribes. Bill would also increase tribal access to national crime information databases by establishing the Tribal Access Program to enhance the ability of tribal governments to access and enter information into federal criminal databases and authorizes an appropriation of $3 million for each fiscal years 2020 through 2024. The bill would also require Department of Justice law enforcement agencies to submit an annual fiscal report describing the number of full-time employees at DOJ law enforcement agencies that are assigned to work on criminal investigations and prosecutions in Indian Country, the estimated average caseload of full-time employees compared to other full-time employees at DOJ law enforcement agencies that are assigned to work on criminal investigations and prosecutions, and an explanation for any differences in the average caseloads comparisons. Bill would also establish a demonstration program on Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement employment background checks. The Attorney General is also directed to establish the Missing and Murdered Response Coordination Grant Program to provide grants to tribes or states to establish a statewide or regional center to document and track missing persons cases and murder cases of interest to Indian tribes; to establish a state or regional commission to respond to and improve coordination between federal law enforcement agencies and tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies regarding the investigation of missing persons cases and murder cases of interest to Indian tribes; and to document, develop, and disseminate resources for use by federal law enforcement agencies and tribal, state, and local law enforcement agencies for the coordination of investigations related to missing persons cases and murders cases of interest to Indian tribes.

• Bill would make the Reclamation Water Settlements Fund permanent, which is set to terminate at the end of fiscal year 2034.

• The Department of Education is issuing a notice inviting applications for fiscal year 2020 for the School-Based Mental Health Services Grant Program, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 84.184H.
• The School-Based Mental Health Services Grant Program provides competitive grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) to increase the number of qualified (i.e., licensed, certified, well-trained, or credentialed) mental health service providers providing school-based mental health services to students in local educational agencies (LEAs) with demonstrated need (as defined in the notice).
• Part of the competitive preference priority for this grant program is serving one or more LEA(s) that serve American Indian/Alaska Native students. To meet this part of the priority, an SEA must demonstrate that it is focusing the proposed project on one or more LEAs that predominantly serve members of one or more federally recognized Tribe(s). The applicant must specify the LEA or LEAs that meet this part of the competitive preference priority.
• For the address for obtaining and submitting an application, please refer to the Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, available here. For further information, contact: Amy Banks, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3E257, Washington, DC 20202-6450. Telephone: (202) 453-6704. OESE.School.Mental.Health@ed.gov.
• Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: July 13, 2020.

• The Department of Education is issuing a notice inviting applications for fiscal year 2020 for the State Tribal Education Partnership Grant Program (STEP), Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 84.415A.
• The purposes of STEP are to: (1) Promote Tribal self-determination in education; (2) improve the academic achievement of Indian children and youth; and (3) promote the coordination and collaboration of Tribal educational agencies (TEAs) (as defined in this notice) with State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) to meet the unique education and culturally related academic needs of Indian students.
• STEP was authorized under section 6132 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended (ESEA), to include one-year grants to Tribes to create TEAs (STEP Development grants) and three-year grants to TEAs to coordinate and collaborate with SEAs and LEAs.
• For further information, please follow the link above or contact: Shahla Ortega, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3W245, Washington, DC 20202-6450. Telephone: (202) 453-5602. Email: Shahla.Ortega@ed.gov.
• Deadline for transmittal of applications: July 31, 2020.

• The Department of the Interior (Department) is proposing to reallocate non-Indian agricultural (NIA) priority Central Arizona Project (CAP) water in accordance with the Arizona Department of Water Resources' (ADWR) recommendation for reallocation. The Department is requesting public comments on the proposed decision.
• This notice proposes a total of 46,629 acre-feet of NIA priority CAP water per year to be reallocated. Please see this table within the notice for more details on the proposal. 
• Send written comments concerning the proposed decision to Ms. Leslie Meyers, Area Manager, Phoenix Area Office, Bureau of Reclamation, 6150 West Thunderbird Road, Glendale, AZ 85306-4001. Ms. Meyers can also be reached for further information by telephone 623-773-6211; fax 623-773-6480; or email at lmeyers@usbr.gov.
• Deadline: submit comments on or before July 6, 2020. 

• The Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development (IEED), through its Native American Business Development Institute (NABDI), is soliciting proposals from Tribes for technical assistance funding to hire consultants to perform feasibility studies of economic development opportunities located in designated Opportunity Zones.
• Eligibility for funding is limited to those applicants whose proposed projects, businesses, or technologies will be located in designated Opportunity Zones. These grants are also intended to fund applicants to obtain qualified guidance on how the development projects, businesses, or technologies they propose can attract investments from an Opportunity Fund. IEED and NABDI plan to award 20-25 grants ranging from $25,000 to $75,000. The program can fund projects only one year at a time.
• All NABDI applicants must use the standard form Application for Federal Assistance SF-424. Instructions for how to apply can be found here. Email completed applications to NABDIgrant@bia.gov.
• For further information, please contact: Mr. James R. West, Native American Business Development Institute (NABDI) Manager, Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, Room 6049-B, 12220 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, Virginia 20191; telephone: (202) 595-4766; email: jamesr.west@bia.gov.
• Deadline: applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. ET on September 15, 2020.