Shivwits Band of Paiutes Jurisdictional Clarity Act in plain language
1: Short title
This section says the Act's short title is the Shivwits Band of Paiutes Jurisdictional Clarity Act.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Shivwits Band of Paiutes Jurisdictional Clarity Act .
2: Definitions
This section defines two terms used throughout the Act. "Indian lands" means land of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes that is either held in trust by the United States for the tribe's benefit or subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by the United States. "Shivwits Band of Paiutes" means the Shivwits Band of Paiutes itself, a federally recognized Indian tribe restored by Congress under the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah Restoration Act (Public Law 96-227; 94 Stat. 317); the tribe's recognized governing body; any Shivwits tribal enterprise, including any commercial activity, business, or entity that the tribe manages, controls, or operates, and any subsidiaries of those enterprises; and any corporation the tribe has chartered under section 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act (25 U.S.C. 5124), and any subsidiaries of that corporation.
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2. Definitions In this Act: (1) Indian lands The term Indian lands means lands of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes that are— (A) held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes; or (B) subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by the United States. (2) Shivwits Band of Paiutes The term Shivwits Band of Paiutes means— (A) the Shivwits Band of Paiutes, a federally recognized Indian Tribe restored by Congress pursuant to the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah Restoration Act ( Public Law 96–227 ; 94. Stat. 317); (B) the recognized governing body of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes; (C) any Shivwits Tribal enterprise, including any commercial activity, business, or entity managed, controlled, or operated by the Shivwits Band of Paiutes, and any subsidiaries thereto; and (D) any corporation chartered by the Shivwits Band of Paiutes under section 17 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the Indian Reorganization Act ) (48 Stat. 988, chapter 576; 25 U.S.C. 5124 ), and any subsidiaries thereto.
3: State civil jurisdiction
This section would give the State of Utah jurisdiction over a civil cause of action if the Shivwits Band of Paiutes is a party to it and the cause of action arises on or within the Indian lands. Both conditions must be met for Utah to have this jurisdiction.
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3. State civil jurisdiction The State of Utah shall have jurisdiction over any civil cause of action— (1) to which the Shivwits Band of Paiutes is a party; and (2) that arises on or within the Indian lands.
4: Federal court jurisdiction
This section has two parts. First, any contract or agreement, including a lease, that affects or arises on the Indian lands, or to which the Shivwits Band of Paiutes is a party, would count as "commerce" as that term is defined in section 1 of title 9 of the United States Code, the federal arbitration law. Second, any cause of action arising from such a contract or agreement, including a lease, that affects or arises on the Indian lands, or to which the Shivwits Band of Paiutes is a party, would be treated as a civil cause of action arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States for purposes of section 1331 of title 28 of the United States Code, the statute that lets federal district courts hear federal question cases.
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4. Federal court jurisdiction (a) In general Any contract or agreement, including a lease, affecting or arising on the Indian lands, or to which the Shivwits Band of Paiutes is a party, shall be considered within the meaning of commerce as defined in section 1 of title 9, United States Code. (b) Causes of action Any cause of action arising from any contract or agreement, including a lease, affecting or arising on the Indian lands, or to which the Shivwits Band of Paiutes is a party, shall be deemed to be a civil cause of action arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States within the meaning of section 1331 of title 28, United States Code.
5: Sovereign immunity not abrogated
This section states that nothing in the Act takes away the Shivwits Band of Paiutes' sovereign immunity from lawsuits it has not consented to, and nothing in the Act takes away the tribe's authority to waive that immunity if it chooses to.
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5. Sovereign immunity not abrogated Nothing in this Act abrogates— (1) the sovereign immunity of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes from unconsented suit; or (2) the authority of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes to waive that sovereign immunity. 6. Shivwits Band of Paiutes leasing authority Subsection (a) of the first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (69 Stat. 539, chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 415(a) ), is amended, in the second sentence, by inserting , land held in trust for the Shivwits Band of Paiutes after land held in trust for the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation .