WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) today introduced a bill to protect tribal sovereign immunity, resolve tax disputes and allow anyone harmed by a tribe to be fully compensated for their loss.

Campbell's bill, the "Indian Tribal Conflict Resolution, Tort Claims and Risk Management Act of 1998," is the result of three hearings on tribal sovereign immunity and months of research. Another bill, S. 1691, was introduced by Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) to address these issues by totally eliminating tribes' sovereign immunity and opening the door to countless, expensive lawsuits.

Numerous witnesses have testified before the committee that because of tribal sovereign immunity, states have no way to force tribes to collect state retail taxes on sales to non-Indians -- even though a 1991 Supreme Court decision stated that tribes are obliged to do so. Other witnesses charged that immunity prevents them from being compensated for a loss when a tribe is at fault.

"Tribes must understand that there are problems out there that will not go away, especially if we just vote S. 1691 down and put our heads in the sand," Campbell said. "Problems left unanswered will continue to fuel support for bills like this one. I believe we can take care of these issues while leaving tribal immunity and tribal governments intact.

"I call on reasonable people on both sides of these issues to work with me to find solutions that respect Indian tribal governments while providing solutions for legitimate problems."

Campbell's bill creates an "Intergovernmental Alternative Dispute Resolution Panel" to decide disputes about the collection of state sales taxes on Indian reservations, but only after negotiations between a state and tribe have failed. The panel will be composed of a five member team including representatives from the Departments of Interior, Justice and Treasury, state governments and tribal governments. The panel will decide if a tribe owes a tax and what the appropriate amount is.

The bill would also require the Secretary of Interior to provide liability insurance coverage for each Indian tribe that receives tribal priority allocations from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The policies would prohibit the insurance companies from using the tribes immunity to avoid paying a claim.