Bill would codify Supreme Court tribal immunity precedent

In December 2016, in a case involving payday lenders, the Supreme Court specified a five-part test for determining whether an entity can be considered an “arm of the tribe” so as to be protected by a tribe’s sovereign immunity.  A bill pending in the Legislature — Assembly Bill 3207 — would codify that test.  In its present form, the bill provides, “Nothing in this division [California Financing Law] shall be interpreted to impose licensing or regulatory obligations on federally recognized Indian tribes or business entities that are considered ‘arms of a tribe’, under the test articulated in People ex rel. Owen v. Miami Nation Enterprises (2016) 2 Cal.5th 222 and any superseding case law.”