S. 1574 · Passed Senate · Native Americans

Tribal Access to Electronic Evidence Act

What it does

Authorizes tribal courts to execute warrants for electronic communications and stored data from service providers, placing them on equal footing with state and federal courts.
Grants tribal courts the ability to issue court orders and administrative subpoenas to compel disclosure of electronic communications and customer records from service providers.
Extends Stored Communications Act enforcement authority to tribal courts for the first time, allowing access to emails, messages, and metadata held by telecom, email, social media, and cloud computing providers.

Official summary

Tribal Access to Electronic Evidence Act This bill allows tribal courts to execute warrants for electronic material. The Stored Communications Act (SCA) generally prohibits providers of electronic communication services (e.g., cell phone providers, email providers, or social media platforms) and remote computing services (e.g., cloud computing providers) from knowingly disclosing stored electronic communications or records (e.g., emails) or information pertaining to customers or subscribers. However, the SCA authorizes governmental entities to compel service providers to disclose electronic communication information through a court-issued warrant, a court order, or an administrative subpoena. This bill gives tribal courts the same authority as other governmental entities (e.g., state courts) to compel service providers to disclose stored electronic communication information through court-issued warrants, court orders, or administrative subpoenas.

Latest action

Oct 5, 2026: Held at the desk.

Committee: Senate Judiciary