# 119-s-1967: PROTECT Act of 2025

119-s-1967, PROTECT Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT] (R-MT); status introduced (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1967
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1967
- Congress: 119
- Title: PROTECT Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-06-05
- Sponsor: Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT] (R-MT)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Native Americans
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Expands Tribal criminal jurisdiction and court authority over electronic communications.** This bill would let Tribal courts be treated like other government entities for accessing stored electronic communications and would explicitly add Tribes into federal criminal definitions and procedures. It would also create special Tribal jurisdiction for certain drug and firearms offenses and broaden Tribal access to a federal prisoner reentry program. - Tribal courts and users: Tribal courts would be able to issue warrants under the Stored Communications Act and would be included in the law's definitions and procedures. Warrants for stored content would follow Tribal warrant rules and can cover content held up to 180 days. - Tribal justice and public safety: The bill would add a defined category of "controlled substance-related offenses" and a defined "firearms offense" into the Indian Civil Rights Act framework. Those definitions cover drug trafficking, unlawful possession, paraphernalia offenses, and firearm use tied to covered crimes. - Tribal prisoners and reentry: People convicted under the new special Tribal jurisdiction would become eligible for the Bureau of Prisons Tribal Prisoner Program. That change would widen who may participate in federal Tribal prisoner reentry programs.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN), 2025-06-05T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More tribal prisoners eligible locally: benefit, low. If enacted, more people convicted under specified Tribal criminal jurisdiction could be eligible for the Bureau of Prisons Tribal Prisoner Program. That could let some Tribal prisoners serve time closer to home or access reentry services near their communities. The change only applies to people con…
- New tribal drug and gun crimes: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would add clear definitions for certain drug and firearms crimes under Tribal law. It would treat trafficking, unlawful possession, and paraphernalia offenses as a covered category, and add a firearms offense category tied to use or possession in furtherance of crimes and domes…
- Tribal courts can access messages: mixed, low. If enacted, Tribal courts and Tribal governments would be added to parts of the federal law that let courts get stored electronic messages. Messages held 180 days or less could be turned over only with a warrant. Tribal warrants would follow the Tribe warrant procedures tied to the Interior Secreta…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5354: Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Modernization Act of 2026
- 119-s-1260: Rural Housing Service Reform Act of 2025
- 119-s-3597: National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-s-3940: Access to Fair Financing for Opportunity and Resilient Development Act
- 119-s-2461: Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2025
- 119-s-2028: Supporting Apprenticeship Colleges Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-1967 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1967)

## Related
- [119-s-5354: Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Modernization Act of…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5354)
- [119-s-1260: Rural Housing Service Reform Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1260)
- [119-s-3597: National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3597)
- [119-s-3940: Access to Fair Financing for Opportunity and Resilient Development Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3940)
- [119-s-2461: Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2461)
- [119-s-2028: Supporting Apprenticeship Colleges Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2028)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1967 (as of 2026-04-21).