By
Benny Polacca
On Day Three of the 10th Special Session, the Fourth Osage Nation Congress approved the following legislative items:
ONCA 16-18: An act (sponsored by Congressman John Maker) to appropriate $60,000 to the Nation’s matching grant fund for an Administration for Native Americans (ANA) federal Language Preservation and Maintenance grant application. According to the bill, the Nation will commit to help match the three-year grant by paying 20 percent of the grant for each of the fiscal years.
ONCA 16-20: An act (sponsored by Congressman Otto Hamilton) to provide a supplemental appropriation of $406,187 to the governmental operations division. According to a fiscal analysis of the bill, $400,000 of the requested money is intended for professional fees in the Tribal Development and Land Acquisition department budget for land-into-trust application costs. The remaining $6,000 will be used toward a federal Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) that is being sought to fund and provide body cameras for ON Police Department officers.
ONCA 16-21: An act (sponsored by Congressman RJ Walker) to appropriate $108,500 to the capital asset and improvement fund for FY 2016. According to an amended copy of the bill, the money is budgeted for three improvement projects including: a remodeling of the patient registration area in the Wah-Zha-Zhi Health Center; New ceiling and museum-quality lighting in the Osage Tribal Museum; and new storefront doors in the Congressional Office.
ONCR 16-07: A resolution (Walker) to request the placement of fee lands into trust by the U.S. Department of the Interior for non-gaming purposes.
ONCR 16-09: A resolution (sponsored by Congressman William “Kugee” Supernaw) consenting to the transfer of certain assets of the Osage Limited Liability Company (LLC) to Tallgrass Economic Development LLC. The resolution passed with a 9-2 vote with “no” votes from Congresswoman Shannon Edwards and Speaker Maria Whitehorn. Congresswoman Alice Buffalohead was absent for the Jan. 22 session.
ONCR 16-10 (Walker): A resolution to request the placement of fee lands into trust by the U.S. Department of the Interior for gaming purposes.
The approved items will be sent to Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear’s office for his review and action. The Congress will next meet on Wednesday Jan. 27 at 10 a.m. for Day Seven of the 10th Special Session.
Original Publish Date: 2016-01-25 00:00:00
