By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Three new ordinances were submitted during the Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) regular session on Thursday, May 1. The ordinances, which were all deemed read and tabled, cover topics affecting the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) including appointments to the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority (CIHA) Governing Board, licensure for cannabis licenses, and inheritance of possessory holdings.
Tabled Ord. No. 451 was submitted by (EBCI) Ugvwiyuhi (Principal Chief) Michell Hicks and seeks to amend Cherokee Code Sec. 130-B which covers how appointments are made to the CIHA Governing Board.
This ordinance would amend Section 130B-3(b) to state that the Principal Chief appoint 10 members of the Governing Board – up from eight. Currently, the law reads, “Except for the initially appointed Board members, in selecting a nominee to fill a vacancy or renew the expiring term of a Board member, the Principal Chief shall select from a panel of two or more potential nominees recommended by the current Governing Board.”
The proposed ordinance would change that language to state, “Except for the initially appointed Board members, in selecting a nominee to fill a vacancy or renew the expiring term of a Board member, the Principal Chief shall solicit applications and resumes by public notice of the opportunity.”
The legislation would also add a sentence to Section 130B-3(b) stating, “Nominations and appointments shall be made so that at any one time a majority of members of the Governing Board are health care professionals currently licensed and in good standing with the appropriate licensing body and who have practiced and earned their primary income under that license for not less than 5 years. Retired health care professionals, who were licensed and in good standing when they retired, may also be nominated and appointed. When possible, nominations and appointments should be made so that the Governing Board includes in its membership a physician, a dentist, an attorney, and an auditor or certified public accountant.”
Tabled. Ord. No. 452 was submitted by James Bradley, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and seeks to amend the EBCI’s cannabis law.
The proposed ordinance adds a new part (f) to Cherokee Code Sec. 17-51 that reads, “The Board shall to the greatest extent practicable, ensure that persons who have been adversely affected by cannabis prohibition have equal opportunity to obtain licenses and registration cards and to participate in the cannabis industry of the Tribe.”
It also seeks to amend Sec. 17-74 (Ownership limitation). It currently reads, “There shall be no cannabis facility license, other than a license for a cannabis laboratory, issued to any person or entity other than an entity wholly owned by the Tribe organized under tribal law or one of its wholly owned subsidiaries organized under tribal law.”
The proposed amendment would change the first part to read, “There shall be no cannabis facility license, other than a license for a cannabis laboratory or cannabis cultivation facility or cannabis processing facility…”
In the whereas section of the legislation, Bradley states, “The Tribe’s laws on marijuana should also be changed so that enrolled members may be able to apply for and receive a license to cultivate marijuana.”
Tabled Ord. No. 453 was submitted by Sasha McCoy Watty, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. It seeks to amend Cherokee Code Section 28-4 dealing with the inheritance of possessory holdings.
Currently, Sec. 28-4(a)(1) reads, “If the holder of the possessory right shall die and leave surviving a wife or a husband who is also a member of the Band, the survivor shall have a life interest in the possessory holding.”
Watty seeks to amend that language to read, “If the holder of the possessory right shall die and leave surviving a wife or a husband who is also a member of the Band, the survivor shall inherit all of the deceased owner’s interest in the possessory holding.”
In the Whereas section of the legislation she proposed, Watty explains, “A life estate is temporary and prevents the enrolled member surviving spouse from selling the possessory holding or giving it to somebody else in the surviving spouse’s own will; and giving an enrolled member surviving spouse a mere life estate deprives that person the full value and ownership of the possessory holding.”
These three pieces of legislation are expected to be on the agenda for the June session of Dinilawigi.
