§ 1725. State laws applicable

(a) Civil and criminal jurisdiction of the State and the courts of the State; laws of the State

Except as provided in section 1727 (e) and section 1724 (d)(4) of this title, all Indians, Indian nations, or tribes or bands of Indians in the State of Maine, other than the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, and their members, and any lands or natural resources owned by any such Indian, Indian nation, tribe or band of Indians and any lands or natural resources held in trust by the United States, or by any other person or entity, for any such Indian, Indian nation, tribe, or band of Indians shall be subject to the civil and criminal jurisdiction of the State, the laws of the State, and the civil and criminal jurisdiction of the courts of the State, to the same extent as any other person or land therein.

(b) Jurisdiction of State of Maine and utilization of local share of funds pursuant to the Maine Implementing Act; Federal laws or regulations governing services or benefits unaffected unless expressly so provided; report to Congress of comparative Federal and State funding for Maine and other States

(1) The Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, and their members, and the land and natural resources owned by, or held in trust for the benefit of the tribe, nation, or their members, shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the State of Maine to the extent and in the manner provided in the Maine Implementing Act and that Act is hereby approved, ratified, and confirmed.

(2) Funds appropriated for the benefit of Indian people or for the administration of Indian affairs may be utilized, consistent with the purposes for which they are appropriated, by the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation to provide part or all of the local share as provided by the Maine Implementing Act.

(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede any Federal laws or regulations governing the provision or funding of services or benefits to any person or entity in the State of Maine unless expressly provided by this subchapter.

(4) Not later than October 30, 1982, the Secretary is directed to submit to the appropriate committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate having jurisdiction over Indian affairs a report on the Federal and State funding provided the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation compared with the respective Federal and State funding in other States.

(c) Federal criminal jurisdiction inapplicable in State of Maine under certain sections of title 18; effective date: publication in Federal Register

The United States shall not have any criminal jurisdiction in the State of Maine under the provisions of sections 1152, 1153, 1154, 1155, 1156, 1160, 1161, and 1165 of title 18. This provision shall not be effective until sixty days after the publication of notice in the Federal Register as required by section 1723 (d) of this title.

(d) Capacity to sue and be sued in State of Maine and Federal courts; section 1362 of title 28 applicable to civil actions; immunity from suits provided in Maine Implementing Act; assignment of quarterly income payments from settlement fund to judgment creditors for satisfaction of judgments

(1) The Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, and all members thereof, and all other Indians, Indian nations, or tribes or bands of Indians in the State of Maine may sue and be sued in the courts of the State of Maine and the United States to the same extent as any other entity or person residing in the State of Maine may sue and be sued in those courts; and section 1362 of title 28 shall be applicable to civil actions brought by the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians: Provided, however, That the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, and their officers and employees shall be immune from suit to the extent provided in the Maine Implementing Act.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3727 of title 31, the Secretary shall honor valid final orders of a Federal, State, or territorial court which enters money judgments for causes of action which arise after October 10, 1980, against either the Passamaquoddy Tribe or the Penobscot Nation by making an assignment to the judgment creditor of the right to receive income out of the next quarterly payment from the settlement fund established pursuant to section 1724 (a) of this title and out of such future quarterly payments as may be necessary until the judgment is satisfied.

(e) Federal consent for amendment of Maine Implementing Act; nature and scope of amendments; agreement respecting State jurisdiction over Houlton Band lands

(1) The consent of the United States is hereby given to the State of Maine to amend the Maine Implementing Act with respect to either the Passamaquoddy Tribe or the Penobscot Nation: Provided, That such amendment is made with the agreement of the affected tribe or nation, and that such amendment relates to

(A) the enforcement or application of civil, criminal, or regulatory laws of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, and the State within their respective jurisdictions;

(B) the allocation or determination of governmental responsibility of the State and the tribe or nation over specified subject matters or specified geographical areas, or both, including provision for concurrent jurisdiction between the State and the tribe or nation; or

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the State of Maine and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians are authorized to execute agreements regarding the jurisdiction of the State of Maine over lands owned by or held in trust for the benefit of the band or its members.

(f) Indian jurisdiction separate and distinct from State civil and criminal jurisdiction

The Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation are hereby authorized to exercise jurisdiction, separate and distinct from the civil and criminal jurisdiction of the State of Maine, to the extent authorized by the Maine Implementing Act, and any subsequent amendments thereto.

(g) Full faith and credit

The Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, and the State of Maine shall give full faith and credit to the judicial proceedings of each other.

(h) General laws and regulations affecting Indians applicable, but special laws and regulations inapplicable, in State of Maine

Except as other wise ^[1] provided in this subchapter, the laws and regulations of the United States which are generally applicable to Indians, Indian nations, or tribes or bands of Indians or to lands owned by or held in trust for Indians, Indian nations, or tribes or bands of Indians shall be applicable in the State of Maine, except that no law or regulation of the United States

(1) which accords or relates to a special status or right of or to any Indian, Indian nation, tribe or band of Indians, Indian lands, Indian reservations, Indian country, Indian territory or land held in trust for Indians, and also

(2) which affects or preempts the civil, criminal, or regulatory jurisdiction of the State of Maine, including, without limitation, laws of the State relating to land use or environmental matters, shall apply within the State.

(i) Eligibility for Federal special programs and services regardless of reservation status

As federally recognized Indian tribes, the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians shall be eligible to receive all of the financial benefits which the United States provides to Indians, Indian nations, or tribes or bands of Indians to the same extent and subject to the same eligibility criteria generally applicable to other Indians, Indian nations or tribes or bands of Indians. The Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians shall be treated in the same manner as other federally recognized tribes for the purposes of Federal taxation and any lands which are held by the respective tribe, nation, or band subject to a restriction against alienation or which are held in trust for the benefit of the respective tribe, nation, or band shall be considered Federal Indian reservations for purposes of Federal taxation. Notwithstanding any other provision of law authorizing the provision of special programs and services by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians, any member of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians in or near the town of Houlton, Maine, shall be eligible for such programs and services without regard to the existence of a reservation or of the residence of such member on or near a reservation.

[1] So in original. Probably should be “otherwise”.

U.S. Code

§ 1725. State laws applicable