DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A bill that would give a Native American tribe in central Iowa more authority over how it handles criminal offenses committed on its land passed Wednesday in the state Senate, a move tribal members say will stop duplicate prosecution in some cases.

Lawmakers voted 41-6 to give more judicial power to the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, located on the Meskwaki Settlement in Tama. The bill next heads to the House for a series of procedural steps before it would be available for a final vote.

A federal law passed in 1948 gives Iowa jurisdiction to handle criminal offenses between tribal members on the settlement. This bill aims to switch that power to the tribe, which in recent years has grown its criminal justice system. Crimes involving non-natives on the settlement are still subject to state jurisdiction.

Tribal members say the bill would remove the possibility of dual charges that can occur when both county authorities and the settlement prosecute a tribal member.

It’s a step in the right direction, said Lavern Jefferson, who serves as treasurer on the Meskwaki Tribal Council.

“It feels like we’re on a level playing field,” he said from the Capitol, where he watched the vote.

Judith Bender, an elder on the council, said the vote better recognizes her tribe’s justice system.

“We have the final say on these crimes that are prosecuted on our land,” she said of what the bill could do.

The 1948 law was borne of a time when the federal government attempted to dismantle tribal sovereignty through legislation passed between 1940s and 1960s, but Congress later passed a law that reversed course and aimed to increase tribal participation.

Criminal jurisdiction today on tribal lands is split among tribes, states and the federal government. On the Meskwaki Settlement, major crimes such as murder and kidnapping are handled by the federal government. Other offenses such as misdemeanors have been handled by the tribal court and local law enforcement in Tama County.

Sen. Steven Sodders, D-State Center, spoke in support of the bill Wednesday; his district includes the area surrounding the settlement. He said the tribe has greatly enhanced its criminal justice system over the last several years – with a court system with licensed public defenders, prosecutors and judges, as well as a state-certified police force and a full-time probation officer.

“They’re listening and watching this debate,” he said of tribal members. “For them, this is just another little piece of history of their lives.”