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The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013) recognized the authority of participating tribes to exercise special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction (SDVCJ) over certain defendants, regardless of their Indian or non-Indian status, who commit crimes of domestic violence or dating violence or violate certain protection orders in Indian country. The Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 (VAWA 2022) amended this statute, effective October 1, 2022, to cover additional crimes, among other changes to the jurisdiction, and renamed it special Tribal criminal jurisdiction.  

VAWA 2022 also authorized a new program to reimburse Tribal governments (or authorized designees of Tribal governments) for expenses incurred in exercising special Tribal criminal jurisdiction (hereinafter referred to as the Tribal Reimbursement Program). This regulation establishes the procedures by which the Tribal Reimbursement Program will be administered, including eligibility, frequency of reimbursement, costs that can be reimbursed, annual limits, and criteria for waiver of annual limits.

Prior to issuing the interim final rule, the Office on Violence Against Women held consultations with tribal leaders and designees to discuss implementation of the Tribal Reimbursement Program, received comments at its annual in-person consultation on violence against Native women, held a roundtable with tribes that had previously implemented SDVCJ, and conducted a listening session at an intertribal working group on special tribal criminal jurisdiction. In selecting a structure for the program, OVW considered how to address testimony regarding the tribes’ need for a reimbursement process that ensures: (1) a predictable, stable source of funding; (2) each Tribe receives a fair share of available funds; and (3) Tribes that lack adequate resources to front the expenses of exercising STCJ can access some reimbursement funds in a timely fashion.