The Seneca Nation and the U.S. attorney general would have to agree in writing before New York State's criminal jurisdiction over Seneca territory could end under a bill introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. The proposal addresses a 1948 federal law that gave the state that authority and would not itself end the arrangement upon enactment.
Gillibrand's announcement of the Seneca Nation Law Enforcement Efficiency Act says the written agreement would be required after the bill becomes law. The senator and Seneca Nation leaders say overlapping federal, state and tribal responsibilities have created confusion about law enforcement on the Nation's lands.
How the proposed change would work
The measure would establish a process for ending the state's criminal jurisdiction rather than transferring it automatically. The Seneca Nation and the U.S. attorney general would both have to consent in writing, according to Gillibrand's office. The proposal remains legislation, and the current jurisdiction would stay in place unless the bill passed and the required agreement followed.
Gillibrand described the 1948 law as a holdover from a federal policy era that limited tribal self-government. She said her bill would give the Nation a way to exercise more authority over public safety on its territories while resolving the existing overlap.
Seneca Nation President Conrad Seneca said the current division of responsibilities has made law enforcement less clear and has allowed drug trafficking and other crime to take hold. Those are the Nation's assessments of conditions on its lands; the release did not provide crime figures or an independent evaluation of the proposed change.
Rep. Nick Langworthy, who leads similar legislation in the House, said the measure would preserve federal oversight and require mutual agreement before a jurisdictional change. He argued that clearer authority would improve accountability for law enforcement agencies.
Territory and next step
The Seneca Nation has more than 8,500 enrolled citizens living in New York, according to Gillibrand's office. Its territories include Allegany, Cattaraugus and Oil Spring lands in Western New York. The release also describes the Nation's long history in the Finger Lakes and Genesee Valley.
The Senate bill and Langworthy's House measure must move through Congress before the proposed written-agreement process could take effect. The release did not provide a timetable for either measure.
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