S 1967 119th Congress
PROTECT Act of 2025
A bill to amend the Stored Communications Act to include Tribal courts as courts of competent jurisdiction, to amend the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 to confer Tribal jurisdiction over controlled substances, related offenses, and firearms, and for other purposes.
Official Title as Introduced Congress.gov
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Bill journey
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Introduction Congress.gov
Introduced
Introduced in the Senate.
Open bill recordOfficial action Congress.gov
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
Open bill recordOfficial action Congress.gov
Introduced in Senate
Open bill recordText version Congress.gov
Introduced in Senate
A dated text-version record is available.
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View the complete bill journey as an accessible table
| Date and time | Record | Official detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| IntroductionIntroduced | Introduced in the Senate. | Congress.gov | |
| Official actionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. | No additional detail supplied.IntroReferral · Senate | Congress.gov | |
| Official actionIntroduced in Senate | No additional detail supplied.IntroReferral · Library of Congress · Code 10000 | Congress.gov | |
| Text versionIntroduced in Senate | A dated text-version record is available. | Congress.gov |
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Congressional Research Service
CRS summary
Protection for Reservation Occupants against Trafficking and Evasive Communications Today Act of 2025 or the PROTECT Act of 2025This bill expands special tribal criminal jurisdiction (STCJ) to include certain controlled substance-related offenses and firearms offenses. It also allows tribal courts to execute warrants for electronic material.STCJ allows participating tribes to investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence both Indian and non-Indian offenders who commit covered crimes in Indian country against Indian victims. Covered crimes currently include assault of tribal justice personnel, child violence, dating violence, domestic violence, obstruction of justice, sexual violence, sex trafficking, stalking, and a violation of a protection order.The bill expands STCJ to allow participating tribes to prosecute individuals for controlled substance-related offenses (i.e., drug trafficking, unlawful drug possession, or unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia) and firearms offenses (i.e., use or possession of a firearm in furtherance of a covered crime or by a person who has been convicted of domestic violence).Additionally, the bill allows participating tribes to exercise STCJ over a controlled substance-related offense or a firearms offense if neither the defendant nor the alleged victim is an Indian. (Currently, this exception only applies in cases of obstruction of justice or assault of tribal justice personnel.)The bill allows offenders convicted pursuant to STCJ to be incarcerated through the Bureau of Prisons Tribal Prisoner Program.The bill gives tribal courts the same authority as state courts to compel service providers to disclose stored electronic communication information through court-issued warrants, court orders, or administrative subpoenas.
Official documents
Text versions
- Introduced in SenateJun 5, 2025