Latest news with #HouseBill216
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Domestic violence funding easily passes through judiciary panels
Funding domestic violence programs like shelter, legal aid and and counseling serves as a critical strategy for reducing child abuse and neglect, Sen. Linda Trujillo (D-Santa Fe) told the Senate Judiciary Committee in January. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM) Twin proposals to fund domestic violence services in New Mexico have sailed through their initial committees, but await approval to be included in the state budget. Senate Bill 191 would set aside $10 million to the Crime Victims Reparation Commission for community-based domestic violence programs. Its companion bill in the other chamber is House Bill 216. The bills have each passed unanimously through their respective committees dealing with New Mexico's judicial branch; SB191 got through the Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 31 and HB216 passed the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 6. Both await hearings in budget committees. Domestic violence services are not available in all counties, making it necessary for some survivors living in rural areas to travel as much as 90 miles to receive them, according to the Crime Victims Reparation Commission's analysis of SB191. In places where services exist, they're inadequately funded to meet survivors' needs, the Commission wrote. Funding domestic violence programs like shelter, legal aid and and counseling serves as a critical strategy for reducing child abuse and neglect, co-sponsor Linda Trujillo (D-Santa Fe) told the Senate Judiciary Committee in January. Those services give survivors a better chance at escaping dangerous situations and provide a stable and safe environment for their children, she said. Trujillo cited studies showing that children who witness domestic violence develop a higher risk of experiencing abuse themselves and suffering long-term emotional and development harm. 'By investing in these programs, we not only protect survivors but also break the cycles of violence, reducing the number of children entering the welfare system,' she said. 'This is a proactive, cost-effective approach that prioritizes safety, stability and stronger families.' MaryEllen Garcia, CEO of the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said the 32 shelter programs she represents are operating at a 'funding deficit' and haven't received a state funding boost in five years, despite a 44.7% increase in shelter nights provided since 2023, and a 53% increase in crisis calls since 2020. 'We are at a critical time — I'm sure you all are aware of what's happening nationally — and we are in jeopardy of receiving massive funding cuts because of the type of work we do,' Garcia said at the Senate Judiciary hearing. 'It's imperative that we secure and lean into our values as a state, ensuring that those who are most vulnerable are receiving services.' House Bill 57, co-sponsored by Rep. Pamelya Herndon (D-Albuquerque) would create a program for attorneys to represent domestic violence survivors, and SB191 could provide the funding for that work, according to the Commission. That legislation awaits a hearing in the House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Effort to let nontribal property owners hunt on Flathead Indian Reservation fails
Feb. 18—The House Committe on Fish, Wildlife and Parks last week tabled a bill allowing some nontribal members to hunt deer and elk on the Flathead Indian Reservation. Under House Bill 216, residents of Flathead Indian Reservation would have been able to obtain a license to hunt deer and elk on their own land, regardless of their tribal affiliation. The bill challenged a long-standing agreement between the state and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes that allows nontribal members to hunt birds and fish on the reservation while preserving the exclusive right of tribal members to hunt big game. Rep. Tracy Sharp, R-Polson, introduced the bill under the argument that the restriction on nontribal hunters violates private property rights and the Montana Right to Harvest Act. "There's no asterisk here that says, 'Except for you guys. You don't get to hunt,'" said Sharp as he lofted a copy of the Montana Code Annotated at a Feb. 13 committee meeting. Rep. Tyson Running Wolf, D-Browning, disputed Sharp's argument and asserted that passing the bill would result in legal challenges for the state. "This is one of those times where we need to be educated on Indian Law so that we're not making determinations that can affect the state of Montana in a negative way," Running Wolf said. State and tribal wildlife officials echoed Running Wolf's concerns at a Jan. 28 hearing on the bill, during which several opponents referenced a 1990 lawsuit regarding nontribal fishing licenses. That lawsuit was eventually settled out of court when the state and tribes entered into their current fishing and hunting agreement. Opponents argued that HB 216 would have led to another arduous court case. Representatives from other Montana reservations also expressed concerns about the legal precedent the bill would set. While many other tribes permit big game hunting within reservation boundaries, tribal authorities said the bill threatened tribes' status as sovereign nations. "You know they start off with just taking a little tiny crumb, which ends up to be a big, big crumb," said Rep. Sidney "Chip" Fitzpatrick, D-Crow Agency. Fitzpatrick confirmed in the Feb. 13 hearing that his elders had urged him to vote against the bill because they worried it would lead to similar actions on their own reservation. The committee voted to table the bill after it failed to pass in a 9-11 vote. The head of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes' National Resources Department Rich Janssen Jr. said the vote was good news, but he doubts the bill's failure will quell the conflict between some nontribal residents and tribal wildlife officials. "It's the same few that want to try to impede tribal sovereignty and hunting rights on the reservation," said Janssen. "I fully expect they'll try to find another way to try to bring this to the forefront." The 2025 bill was preceded by a 2023 ballot initiative and a 2021 bill. Both failed to gain traction during the early stages of development, a fact Janssen partly attributes to the tribes' successful collaboration with state wildlife officials. "The bottom line is, we work well with the state of Montana," said Janssen. Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at hsmalley@ or at 758-4433.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to allow non-tribal members hunting rights on Flathead Indian Reservation draws opposition
A sign denoting the boundary of the Flathead Indian Reservation along U.S. Highway 93. (Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0) An 'emotionally-charged' bill that would allow non-tribal members to hunt big game on their own property within the boundaries of the Flathead Reservation drew opposition from tribal members and wildlife managers in a hearing this week. Supporters of House Bill 216, brought by Rep. Tracy Sharp, R-Polson, comprising mostly non-tribal private landowners on the reservation, said they deserve full use of the land they pay taxes on, and that increased hunting opportunities would help prevent crop degradation and keep wildlife numbers under control. Sharp, who admitted he did not work with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on his bill, said the complicated and unique legal history of the Flathead Reservation makes the issue confusing, but believes it is a simple bill. 'My proponents are not asking for the moon and the stars,' Sharp said in a hearing Tuesday. 'If they are to pay this state full taxes for their private property, they should be permitted the complete and uncompromised enjoyment of it.' But opponents, who outnumbered proponents by a 2-to-1 margin, said the bill violates treaty rights, infringes on tribal sovereignty and could undermine state-tribal relationships, including potentially compromising existing hunting and fishing opportunities. Friday, the committee had not yet taken action on the bill. 'This bill, we believe, would wreck tribal-state relations and partnerships and force everyone back to court in regard to long-standing agreements,' said Sen. Shane Morigeau, a Democrat who represents the southern part of the Flathead Reservation and spoke on behalf of the Montana American Indian Caucus. 'In addition, it will cost the state an unknown amount of money and tribal goodwill.' He said the state and tribes have handled the 'unique jurisdictional matter' for decades, and did not need to relitigate the past. Morigeau also expressed concerns the caucus has that the legislation would have a ripple effect throughout the state, as private landowners living on other reservations would come forward asking for the same privileges. Christy Clark, director of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, opposed the bill on behalf of the agency, saying that it would adversely affect the positive relationship between the department and the CSKT. In addition, Sharp's bill is written to divert license fees for private landowners to go to the CSKT instead of her department, which Clark said flies in the face of state and federal law. Big-game hunting within the boundaries of a tribal reservation by non-tribal members is illegal, according to a Fish and Game Commission Rule, with limited exceptions. The Blackfeet Tribe allows a select number of guided trophy moose, bison and elk hunts by lottery. The CSKT allows some fishing and bird hunting by non-tribal members on the Flathead Reservation as a result of a legal settlement between the tribe and the state more than 30 years ago, and many opponents said the bill could jeopardize this agreement. Tribal wildlife managers said they have depredation programs in place in coordination with landowners to deal with crop degradation as well as disease management plans that mirror the state's. The Flathead Indian Reservation is unique among Montana's reservations for having a majority non-native population. That's due to the Flathead Allotment Act of 1904, a federal law that assigned tribal land to individual members, authorized the disposal of 'surplus' lands to non-members, and led to the loss of more than half of the reservation land base. Now, roughly one-third of the land within the reservation is owned outright by individuals and is taxable — the basis of Sharp's bill. However, the Allotment Act violated the original 1855 Hellgate Treaty, which created the Flathead Reservation and reserved the CSKT the 'exclusive right' to fish and hunt on the reservation. John Harrison, a staff attorney with the CSKT, said the Flathead fishing and hunting agreement, which stemmed from litigation with the state over who had jurisdiction to license fishing on the reservation, is 'one of the most incredibly successful tribal-state cooperative agreements in the history of this state.' 'It is very popular. The tribes don't want to go back to litigation. The state doesn't want to go back to litigation. Most of the general Montana public has not been interested in this issue,' Harrison said. 'This is something that serves a small number of people, a passionate number of people, certainly.' Similar bills have been introduced in the Legislature numerous times during the years, including one during the 2021 session. Last year, a ballot initiative with a similar goal failed to get enough signatures for consideration. Retired game warden Rick Shoening, who championed the ballot initiative, said he thought the bill could benefit relationships between private landowners and the tribe. 'Deer and elk are part of the public trust here in Montana, they belong to everyone. The CSKT feel that within the reservation boundary, they are the sole owners,' Shoening said. Other proponents included Rick Jore, a former legislator in the 1990s who tried to terminate the hunting and fishing agreement when he was in office; Ross Middlemist, who owns a 3,000-acre ranch near Dixon; Jeff Dara of Montana Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, and Chris Killorn representing the Outdoor Heritage Coalition and his father, who owns property on the reservation. 'I think for landowners to be able to gain subsistence living on their own property can only be right,' Killorn said. Twenty-three individuals and representatives from the multiple Native communities and hunting and fishing organizations all urged the committee not to pass the bill, many concerned about the tribes ending the current cooperative fishing and bird hunting agreement. 'The really unfortunate thing is, it would result in tribal lands being closed off, likely all across the state,' Morigeau added. 'Access to things like your favorite fishing hole, your favorite hiking sport, could possibly be gone if this bill would pass.' Tom McDonald, vice chairman of the CSKT council, told the committee they only need to look to the ceiling of the Capitol to understand the root of the issue. 'As demonstrated there in the Capitol building, the Charlie Russell painting with the Salish meeting Lewis and Clark, we've always been a very friendly tribe,' McDonald, told the committee. But, he guaranteed that 'We will do our utmost to defend our treaty, our sovereign rights that have be en established for tens of thousands of years on our homelands.'
