H.R. 3773 — PROTECT Act of 2025

This section amends the Stored Communications Act (SCA; 18 U.S.C. 2703 et seq.) to include Tribal courts (i.e., courts of general criminal jurisdiction authorized by Tribal law to issue search warrants) as courts of competent jurisdiction for issuing warrants to access the contents of wire or electronic communications in electronic storage for 180 days or less, using warrant procedures under the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1302(a)(2)); cross-references these procedures for warrants applicable to communications in remote computing service and non-content customer records; and adds Tribal statutes to those authorizing administrative subpoenas for such access (with prior notice to the subscriber). (As background, the SCA generally requires warrants for provider-held communications stored 180 days or less, while allowing court orders or subpoenas for older storage or records.) The section further (1) expands the definition of governmental entity to include Indian Tribes (as listed under the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994) and their subdivisions; (2) applies these changes to delayed notice provisions, civil actions to enforce SCA compliance, and disclosure of video tape rental or sale records; and (3) includes Tribal warrants for video records access. (Thus, Tribal law enforcement may independently seek SCA-required disclosures from providers.)

This section expands special tribal criminal jurisdiction under the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 (25 U.S.C. 1304) by (1) inserting a definition of "controlled substance-related offense" to include violations of tribal law involving drug trafficking (i.e., manufacture, distribution, or possession with intent of a controlled substance, as defined in 21 U.S.C. 802), unlawful drug possession, or unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia (as defined in 21 U.S.C. 863(d)); and (2) inserting a definition of "firearms offense" to include violations of tribal law involving use or possession of a firearm in furtherance of a covered crime or by a person convicted of domestic violence. The section further adds both offenses to the list of covered crimes in subsection (a)(6) (as redesignated) and to the exceptions in subsection (b)(4)(A). (As background, special tribal criminal jurisdiction allows qualifying tribes to prosecute non-Indians for specified intimate partner and violence-against-women offenses in Indian country.)

This section expands eligibility for confinement under the Bureau of Prisons tribal prisoner program—under which the Bureau accepts up to 100 offenders convicted in tribal court of certain violent crimes (comparable to those listed in 18 U.S.C. 1153(a)) with sentences of one or more years—to also include offenders convicted pursuant to special tribal criminal jurisdiction (i.e., over certain domestic violence and related offenses against Indian victims, including by non-Indians, as authorized under 25 U.S.C. 1304).