90-1-132. Commission purposes -- duties and responsibilities. (1) The general purposes of the state-tribal economic development commission include:

(a) assisting, promoting, encouraging, developing, and advancing economic prosperity and employment on Indian reservations in Montana by fostering the expansion of business, manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, and community development programs;

(b) cooperating and acting in conjunction with other organizations, public and private, to benefit tribal communities;

(c) recruiting business enterprises to locate on or invest in enterprises on the reservations; and

(d) identifying, obtaining, and coordinating federal, state, and private sector gifts, grants, loans, and donations to further economic development on the Indian reservations in Montana.

(2) The state-tribal economic development commission shall:

(a) in conjunction with the tourism advisory council provided for in 2-15-1816, oversee use of proceeds to expand tourism activities and visitation in the Indian tourism region;

(b) determine, with assistance from the tribal business center coordinator and the federal grants coordinator in the office of the state director of Indian affairs, the availability of federal, state, and private sector gifts, grants, loans, and donations to tribal governments, Indian business enterprises, and communities located on Indian reservations in Montana;

(c) apply for grants listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance for which the commission is eligible and which would, if awarded, supply identifiable economic benefits to any or all of the Indian reservations in Montana;

(d) in cooperation with a tribal government, and when allowed by federal law and regulation, assist the tribe in applying for grants listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance for which an appropriate tribal entity is eligible and which would, if awarded, supply identifiable economic benefits to any or all of the Indian reservations in Montana;

(e) evaluate the apportionment of current spending of federal funds by state agencies in areas including but not limited to economic development, housing, community infrastructure, business finance, tourism promotion, transportation, and agriculture;

(f) conduct or commission and oversee a comprehensive assessment of the economic development needs and priorities of each Indian reservation in the state;

(g) notify tribal governments, the governor, the state director of Indian affairs, and the directors of the departments of commerce, agriculture, and transportation, of the availability of specific federal, state, or private sector funding programs or opportunities that would directly benefit Indian communities in Montana;

(h) assist tribal governments and other tribal entities that are eligible for federal assistance programs as provided in the most recent published edition in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance in applying for funds that would contribute to the respective tribes' economic development;

(i) work cooperatively with tribal government officials, the state director of Indian affairs, and other appropriate state officials to help foster state-tribal cooperative agreements pursuant to Title 18, chapter 11, part 1, that will:

(i) enhance economic development on the Indian reservations in Montana; and

(ii) help the department of commerce to fully implement and comply with the provisions of 90-1-105; and

(j) provide to the governor, the legislative council, the state-tribal relations committee, the legislative auditor, and to each of the presiding officers of the tribal governments in Montana a biennial report that summarizes the activities of the commission.

History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 512, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 9, Ch. 164, L. 2009; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 405, L. 2017.