For years, Lake County and Gov. Gianforte have sparred over who’s financially responsible for prosecuting tribal members for felonies on the Flathead Reservation.
Lake County has historically done that work under an agreement known as Public Law 280. But the county says it can no longer afford that service.
Both the county and the state had planned to leave the agreement. That would mean federal law enforcement would take over. But, federal officials have said they don’t have the resources.
This session, county, state and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe (CSKT) officials hashed out a plan. The state is providing $6 million over the next two years to help transition more cases to tribal courts. According to CSKT Spokesperson Rob McDonald, some of that work has already started.
“We have, in the past 18 months or so, taken on more than 150 felonies and increased our efforts to reduce the workload on the county,” he said.
But Lake County is expected to continue handling more serious felonies that require prison time.
The CSKT and Lake County are required under the new law to hash out an agreement laying out the balance of cases each will take on.
