Osage Nation Congressman Billy Keene introduced legislation on Aug. 26 that would prohibit anonymous contributions to political campaigns.
If such donations are received by a candidate, they would have to be donated to the Osage Foundation, should the legislation be enacted as written. Violators would incur a $1,000 fine.
The issue came up during the 2022 election for principal chief when candidate Joe Tillman reported receiving more than $9,000 in cash from people he could not identify, the bulk of it in four bundles placed in a donation basket at a dinner he held in Grayhorse.
No other candidates reported anonymous contributions.
Tillman said he believed some of his supporters feared retribution if they were named.
The current Osage Nation election code allows “anonymous or unidentifiable cash donations” to candidates without limitation, although it bars such donations over $200 on ballot issues, such as the 2020 referendum on instituting term limits.
Congressman Eli Potts has also filed two election-related bills. ONCA 22-93, an amendment to the Election Code, will require all voters to receive an absentee ballot. According to the Osage Nation Election Office, as of June 6, there were 17,535 Osages eligible to vote. If passed, the amendment could increase the number of voters per election. The number of voters per election has averaged around 2,500 for the past two general elections. The law would apply to all general elections, special elections and primary elections.
The law, if passed, will also apply to the Osage Minerals Council elections. The OMC sets its own election rules and amendments have not been made to their process since 2006, despite numerous council members having expressed their displeasure with the election process. This year’s OMC election took criticism after 47 voters did not receive absentee ballots due to a Post Office error.
Potts also filed ONCA 22-87, an act to place limitations on campaign donations. The bill includes a campaign donation limit of $5,000 per individual donor, and corporations and incorporated LLC members are prohibited from donating to candidates or candidate committees. LLCs are allowed to donate but the contribution must be attributed to the individual members of the LLC. An additional provision prohibits businesses currently doing business with the Nation to donate to a candidate or candidate committee. Violation of the law is a fine of up to $1,000.
The issue came up during the 2022 general election for principal chief after then-candidate Geoffrey Standing Bear received donations from Crossland Construction, which is currently contracted to build the new casinos in Pawhuska and Bartlesville.
Editor Shannon Shaw Duty also contributed to this report.
CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this article it was incorrectly stated that ONCA 22-93 would not pertain to the Minerals Council, it will.
