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ON Congress approves extension for Tobacco Compact negotiations

The Nation is still in negotiations with Gov. Stitt about the terms of its Tobacco Products Excise Tax Compact and the new deadline is March 31

The Osage Nation Congress unanimously passed a resolution to extend compact negotiations for the Nation’s Tobacco Products Excise Tax Compact with the state of Oklahoma. The resolution extends negotiations until March 31.

“As you know, this is a temporary extension of the terms accepted by the state in the approved compact. So, this is not an approval of a new compact. This is just to extend, to approve an extension so that our Tax Commission, the Osage Nation can continue negotiations,” said Congressional Speaker Pam Shaw. “Until they are able to bring back a new compact for us to review.”

Legal counsel for the ON Tax Commission, Wilson Pipestem of Pipestem Law, P.C., appeared before the Congressional Commerce, Gaming and Land Committee on Jan. 14 to explain the confidentiality of the compact negotiations.

“We’re in the middle of negotiations with Governor Stitt and his legal counsel over tobacco taxes and other issues. So, we want to be able to talk about the negotiations, where we’ve been, where we think it’s going, but also why this extension is important so we can continue negotiations and continue basically the status quo of where we are as far as the Compact is concerned,” Pipestem said. “So I know that as far as having these discussions in Executive Session, we believe that’s entirely appropriate here, because the nature of that negotiation. We’ve also agreed with the governor’s office that we will communicate with each other about keeping the confidentiality of negotiations, as you may have seen in other circumstances, the governor and the Cherokee Nation chief had very public back and forth, and we’re trying to avoid that.”

Also present at the committee meeting were smoke shop owners, including PJ Mays who owns three smoke shops, Osage Trading Co. 1, 2, and 3. Chairman of the Commerce, Gaming and Land Committee, Congressman Scott BigHorse followed the advice of counsel and said for the purposes of that day’s meeting the smoke shop owners would be asked to leave for executive session.

Following the executive session, the committee voted to send the legislation with a “do pass” recommendation to Congress for a vote.

2013 compact

The Nation’s Tobacco Tax Compact of 2013 first expired on Dec. 31, 2023, but tribes were successful in getting a one-year extension against Gov. Stitt’s objections. Since that time, the compacts have been a point of contention between tribes, the governor and the state Legislature.

The seven smoke shops on the Osage Reservation are independently owned by Osage citizens. Mays has been confused as to why Osage smoke shop owners haven’t had more of a say in the present negotiations.

“The compact affects us greatly,” Mays said. “I mean, it tells whether we do business, or not at all. I mean, I was in on the last one, as far as negotiations. I was asked by the Tax Commission to help them, join them. This time, not so much.

“I don’t understand the reason for such secrecy.”

Mays said he thinks Gov. Stitt is trying to tie in a separate agreement with the Nation’s tobacco compact, such as motor vehicle tags like the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations. If that’s so, he understands the reason for the confidentiality.

“My personal feelings though, is why wouldn’t you want the people who make their living doing this part of your negotiation?” he said. “I don’t think some of these people have been involved in this long enough, and I think they’re newcomers and they don’t understand the ins and outs of all of it and how it should work.”

He said in 2013 he witnessed the bully tactics of former Gov. Mary Fallin, who gave the Nation an ultimatum to either sign a compact with her terms or don’t sign one at all.

The Osage News asked the Tax Commission if they could expand on the compact negotiations and how could the government and smoke shop owners work together to address their concerns. They responded with a statement.

“The Osage Nation and the State are the stakeholders in the proposed tobacco tax compacts. The Osage Nation has tasked the Tax Commission with licensing and regulating Osage Nation and Osage citizen smoke shops. Principal Chief Standing Bear has tasked the Tax Commission and its legal counsel with leading the negotiations with the Governor. The Tax Commission has met with Osage smoke shop owners to hear their concerns about the tobacco compact, but negotiations with Governor Stitt’s office are confidential government-to-government discussions. We have no further comments at this time.”

The Muscogee Nation has also recently approved to extend their tobacco compact negotiations to March 31.

Motor vehicle tag compacts

The Cherokee Nation signed their Tobacco Tax Compact with the state in March of last year and recently signed a Motor Vehicle Tag Compact for 10 years. This compact allows their citizens to use tribal plates on and off their reservation.

A point of contention for the state about tribal tags was their inability to collect tolls from drivers with tribal plates who do not have PikePass. The Cherokee Nation agreed to use PlatePay billing moving forward, which will share driver information with the state and law enforcement.

The Cherokee Nation also agreed to pay the state $2 million over three years to help cover unpaid tolls in exchange for the state waiving any additional fees incurred through Nov. 30 by drivers with Cherokee plates, according to The Oklahoman.

The Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations are the only three tribes to have separate compacts for their motor vehicle tags.

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Shannon Shaw Duty
Shannon Shaw Dutyhttps://osagenews.org

Title: Editor
Email: sshaw20@gmail.com
Twitter: @dutyshaw
Topic Expertise: Columnist, Culture, Community
Languages spoken: English, Osage (intermediate), Spanish (beginner)

Shannon Shaw Duty, Osage from the Grayhorse District, is the editor of the award-winning Osage News, the official independent media of the Osage Nation. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Legal Studies with an emphasis in Indigenous Peoples Law. She currently sits on the Freedom of Information Committee for the Society of Professional Journalists. She has served as a board member for LION Publishers, as Vice President for the Pawhuska Public Schools Board of Education, on the Board of Directors for the Native American Journalists Association (now Indigenous Journalists Association) and served as a board member and Chairwoman for the Pawhuska Johnson O’Malley Parent Committee. She is a Chips Quinn Scholar, a former instructor for the Freedom Forum’s Native American Journalism Career Conference and the Freedom Forum’s American Indian Journalism Institute. She is a former reporter for The Santa Fe New Mexican. She is a 2012 recipient of the Native American 40 Under 40 from the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. In 2014 she helped lead the Osage News to receive NAJA's Elias Boudinot Free Press Award. The Osage News won Best Newspaper from the SPJ-Oklahoma Chapter in their division 2018-2022. Her award-winning work has been published in Indian Country Today, The Washington Post, the Center for Public Integrity, NPR, the Associated Press, Tulsa World and others. She currently resides in Pawhuska, Okla., with her husband and together they share six children, two dogs and two cats.

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