State racks up nearly $1 million bill for tribal law enforcement in Lake County

Officials in Lake County have billed the state of Montana nearly $1 million this year to help cover the cost of law enforcement on the Flathead Indian Reservation, something local officials say is the state’s responsibility under a decades-old arrangement.

So far, the state has not squared up its growing tab. 

The ever-increasing bill is just the latest in an ongoing dispute between Lake County and the state thanks to a unique law enforcement agreement called Public Law 280. That agreement has seen Lake County officers and attorneys, rather than federal officials, handle felony crimes committed by tribal members. While the arrangement is popular, mostly because local crime doesn’t fall through the cracks, Lake County’s elected officials say they can no longer cover the cost.

According to the county, the agreement costs local taxpayers more than $4 million annually. In years past, county officials said the bill was easier to pay thanks to taxes generated by the Séliš Ksanka QÍispé Dam, but once the dam was sold to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, that revenue dried up.

Over the years, the Legislature has made multiple attempts to get the state to help foot the bill. In 2021, one of those passed, but the state only appropriated $1. However, that bill did give the county a mechanism to pull out of the agreement — previously only the state or tribe could. 

Last year, House Bill 479 would have authorized the state to pay $2.5 million annually for two years to Lake County. But despite passing both chambers, Gov. Greg Gianforte vetoed it. In his veto letter, the governor — who in the past has hailed the Public Law 280 agreement as a success — said the county wanted all the benefits of the agreement without having to pay for it. But the county sees it differently, arguing that since the state entered into the agreement back in the 1960s with the tribe, it’s the state’s responsibility to cover the costs. The county also took the state to court, but that effort ultimately failed last year, although the judge encouraged the county to pull out of the agreement. 

During that time, the county spoke with federal officials about the prospect of them taking over policing and the prosection of tribal members, as is done elsewhere in the state. But federal officials said they did not have the resources to assume control. 

A year ago, the Lake County Commission voted to pull out of Public Law 280 and sent a letter to Gianforte requesting that he sign a proclamation releasing it from the agreement. By law, Gianforte had six months to respond but was silent for much of that time. Finally, just days before his deadline in May, Gianforte told the county he would not sign the proclamation. The reason? A clerical error with the county’s request. 

Since then, the county has continued to handle most felony crimes committed by tribal members while the CSKT handles misdemeanors and some drug felonies. 

“We’re kind of trapped in an agreement that we can’t get out of,” County Commissioner Gale Decker told Montana Free Press.

One major difference now, though, is that the county is tracking its costs and sending the state a bill at the end of every month. Decker said the county hasn’t charged the state for everything related to the handling of tribal members, but it is including the cost of holding members in jail, as well as the salary of one attorney. From May until the end of October, the bill totaled $967,000. 

“We have heard nothing from the state,” Decker said in regards to the invoices. 

The governor’s office on Monday declined to comment about the invoices from Lake County.

Sen. Greg Hertz of Polson told MTFP that he intends to push for legislation during the 2025 session to help Lake County cover the cost of law enforcement. But considering Gianforte’s veto last time he was not optimistic it would be successful. (The governor previously said he would support legislation to provide Lake County with “transitional financial assistance” of $1.3 million per year from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2028, while the county tried to find funding solutions). Like others in Lake County, Hertz believes it’s the state’s responsibility to cover Public Law 280. 

“The statute is clear that the state is responsible for the cost of Public Law 280,” Hertz said. “I think Public Law 280 is an example of how it should be done everywhere. The CSKT likes it, tribal members like it, and Lake County residents like it. It’s just that the local taxpayers can’t pay for it any longer.” 

Justin Franz is a freelance writer, photographer and editor based in Whitefish and can be reached at jafranz88@gmail.com.