Bill exempts Indian commission members from 'quorum trigger'

Smoke Signals editor

A bill passed by the Oregon Legislature and now sitting on Gov. Kate Brown’s desk acknowledges that Legislative Commission on Indian Services members who are Tribal representatives serve as public officials for the state only when they are at commission meetings.

“Their status is different from others who serve on public boards and commissions because they are 24/7 elected officials of their respective sovereign nations,” said Karen Quigley, executive director of the commission. “Tribal leaders on LCIS are not to be held to Oregon’s laws governing public officials and the quorum trigger if several of them happen to be at other get-togethers, such as NCAI, ATNI, funerals, ceremonies and powwows.”

All members of the commission – four legislative members and nine Tribal members – are appointed by the Speaker of the House and the Senate President. The new bill was signed by the Speaker of the House Tina Kotek and Senate President Peter Courtney on March 2.

“The passage of the Legislative Commission on Indian Services bill demonstrates the support of Oregon for the nine Tribes,” said Tribal Council Secretary Cheryle A. Kennedy, the Tribe’s longtime representative on the commission. “This bill also distinguishes Tribes of Oregon as sovereigns and recognizes that the public meeting quorum rule does not apply to Tribes.

“The public meeting requirement does not work for LCIS members who are Tribal elected officials because Tribes meet in many forums. Therefore, the state recognizes the impracticality of applying this rule to LCIS commissioners because they are elected Tribal leaders and the bill made provision to omit Tribes from the public meeting quorum requirement. I am pleased with the passage of the LCIS bill and what it means for Oregon Tribes.”

The bill also clarifies that each of Oregon’s nine federally recognized Tribes have their own procedures for making their selection of a representative to the commission and that Tribal governments may have different names for their elected body, such as Tribal Council or Board of Trustees.

“The bill’s term to address this is ‘each Tribe’s governing body,’ ” Quigley said.

The bill was introduced in the Oregon Senate by senators Ted Ferrioli and Arnie Roblan and in the House by Rep. Caddy McKeown.

The Legislative Commission on Indian Services was established in 1975 to improve services to Native Americans in the state.

“Importantly, the bill also explicitly makes promoting communication and positive state-Tribal relations a purpose of the commission,” Quigley said.