By
Benny Polacca
The Seventh Osage Nation Congress will convene for the 2021 Tzi-Zho Session starting Tuesday, Sept. 7 with priority on considering and approving 2022 fiscal year budgets for the Nation’s government operations.
Throughout the session, Congress will consider filed legislative bills, resolutions and other matters brought to the Legislative Branch for review and action with the majority of the session typically focused on the FY 2021 budgets. The current fiscal year ends Sept. 30 and the 2022 fiscal year starts Oct. 1.
With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing into the fall and newer concerns with Delta variant infections, the Congressional sessions and committee meetings will be accessible to the Osage public virtually.
The Congressional Office and meeting area remain closed to the public to allow for social and physical distance measures for Congressional members and staff working in person. Congress members working from home or other locations will participate by videoconference means for the sessions and meetings.
The Tzi-Zho Session is the final of two regularly held legislative sessions mandated in the 2006 Osage Constitution, which commences after the Labor Day holiday.
“The Osage Nation Congress shall convene twice annually in regular session so that six months shall not intervene between the last sitting of the Congress and its first sitting in the next session,” according to the Constitution. “This schedule shall be in honor of the ancient moiety division of Earth and Sky and serves to remind all Osages of the responsibility to bring balance and harmony to the Nation.”
Regular sessions are limited to 24 days but may be extended up to three additional days at the written request of two-thirds of the 12-member Congress.
Annual government operations budgets to be considered for approval include: the various Executive Branch departments/ programs; the Office of the Chiefs administration; the Legislative Branch and its respective Congressional Office operations and Office of Fiscal Performance and Review; boards and commissions; cultural donations; the Attorney General’s Office, which operates independently of the three branches; and the Judicial Branch for the tribal courthouse operations.
Once filed, all legislative bills, resolutions, including appropriation and budget bills can be viewed or downloaded from the Congressional website at: https://www.osagenation-nsn.gov/who-we-are/legislative-branch
Congressional committee meetings will also be held for initial consideration of board and commission member appointments subject to Congressional confirmation votes to serve full three-year terms.
Congressional meeting agendas for sessions and committee meetings are posted online to the Legislative Branch calendar at: www.osagenation-nsn.gov/who-we-are/congress-legislative-branch/calendar
The session and committee meetings are public (excluding executive sessions allowed by Osage law to discuss confidential and proprietary information) and will be live-streamed at: www.osagenation-nsn.gov/multimedia/live-media
Original Publish Date: 2021-08-24 00:00:00
