ORDINANCE OF THE HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE (1989)

TITLE 6 os

ORDINANCE OF THE HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE

HOOPA INDIAN RESERVATION

HOOPA, CALIFORNIA

ORDINANCE NO: 4-89

DATE APPROVED: NOVEMBER 16, 1989

SUBJECT: LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURES ACT OF THE HOOPA VALLEY. TRIBE

WHEREAS: ~ The Hoopa Walley Tribe is organized under a

Constitution and Bylaws, which was approved by the tribal

membership on June 29, 1972 and by the Commissioner of Indian

Affairs on August 18, 1972, and this Constitution and Bylaws

provides that the Hoopa Valley Business Council shall be the

governing and lawmaking body of the Tribe, fully authorized to

exercise all the retained, inherent sovereign powers of the

Tribe; and

WHEREAS: In order to promote efficient and consistent

decisionmaking by the Council and to facilitate meaningful

participation by tribal managers, employees, and members in

important actions and activities of the Tribe, the Hoopa Valley

Business Council has identified the need for establishing a

uniform process for decision making.

THEREFORE BE IT NOW RESOLVED THAT: The Hoopa Valley Business

Council hereby enacts the following Legislative Procedures Act as

Title 6 of the Law and Order Code of the Hoopa Valley Tribe, in

order to establish procedures, which shall be immediately

effective, to be followed in enacting legislation or in taking

other major tribal action.

6.0 SHORT TITLE

The short titie of this enactment shall be the Legislative

Procedures Act.

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ORDINANCE NO. 4-89

LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURES ACT

NOVEMBER 16, 1989

PAGE 2

6.1 PURPOSE

The purpose of this Legislative Procedures Act is to set

forth a comprehensive and systematic process for the Tribal

Council, its programs, and its entities chartered or established

under the authority of the Tribai Council, to establish, amend,

or modify policies, ordinances and acts, or to take other major

governmental actions on behalf of the Hoopa Valley Tribe.

Council intends that this Act shall: establish a check and

balance system for the Tribal Council and its entities and

departments; provide a mechanism for review and consideration of

Tribal Council actions by those persons affected thereby,

including programs which are intended to enforce such action;

enable Council to gain maximum benefit of the expertise of the

professional staff employed by the Tribe; facilitate adequate

input from the tribal membership, and where appropriate the

general reservation community, regarding proposed actions of the

Council in a manner that permits fair consideration of the

concerns from the membership and the community. The definition

of the term "major action" as used in this Act shall be left to

the reasonable interpretation of the Tribal Council and Tribal

Court.

6.2 PROPOSED ACTION 2

Any person (including a member of Council), board, committee

or department may submit to the Tribal Council a proposal to

amend, modify or establish a policy or ordinance at any duly

called meeting. The Council may by motion accept the proposal,

and if Council so accepts a proposal it shall refer the matter to

the appropriate tribal departments, entities, and staff. Except

aS provided under Section 6.10 of this Act, which establishes

procedures for enactment of emergency legislation, the Tribal

Council may not, in the same meeting in which it accepts a

proposal, take any action on the proposal other than to refer it

as provided in Section 6.3 of this Act.

6.3 REFERRAL BY TRIBAL COUNCIL; DRAFTING

(a) During the same meeting at which Council accepts a

proposal under Section 6.2 of this Act, the Council shall

identify those departments, entities, and staff to whom the

proposal shall be referred, and the recording secretary shall, on

a routing form developed to fulfill the purposes of this Section,

list the names of all such departments, entities, and staff. The

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LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURES ACT

NOVEMBER 16, 1989

PAGE 3

Executive Secretary shall be responsible for promptly routing the

proposed action, as submitted to and accepted by the Council,

along with a copy of the routing form, to the departments,

entities, and staff identified on the routing form. A copy of

the completed routing form shall be kept at the Tribal Office for

future reference.

(b) Also during the same meeting at which the Council

accepts and refers a proposal, Council shall identify who shall

be responsible for drafting the language of the proposal (unless

it is submitted in a form that would, if enacted, accomplish its

intended effect). Council shall not take final action on any

proposal subject to the procedures of this Act unless the

proposal contains the actual language that would take effect if

approved.

6.4 DEPARTMENT AND STAFF ACTION

After each department receives a copy of a proposal referred

under Section 6.3, the manager of each such department shall be

responsible for assuring such department's timely response to the

referral. Once that department's response has been documented

and all information has been considered, that department shall

route its comments, suggestions, and recommended amendments back

to the Executive Secretary. The Executive Secretary shall

prepare a file of all department input for Council consideration.

Once all departments have responded, the Chairman shall schedule

time on the agenda to review the department comments, suggestions

and recommendations.

6.5 COUNCIL MODIFICATIONS AND AMENDMENTS

After reviewing and considering all responses to the

referral process, the Council may make such changes to the

original proposal as it deems necessary or appropriate. Once

changes, if any, are made to the original proposal, the Council

may set the matter for a public hearing and schedule a hearing

date, or take final action in accordance with Section 6.9.

6.6 HEARING NOTIFICATION

The Council shall notice a hearing for two (2) weeks prior

to the hearing date in a public place on the Hoopa Valley Indian

Reservation and in appropriate public media. The notices shall

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LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURES ACT

NOVEMBER 16, 1989

PAGE 4

state the date, time, and place of the hearing and will include a

brief description of the proposed action and the final date on

which written comments will be accepted.

6.7 HEARING

All hearings will be conducted in accordance with the tribal

hearing procedures. The Council shall appoint a hearing officer

to preside over the hearing. The hearing officer shall call the

hearing to order, briefly outline the hearing procedures,

including the final date for written comments, and briefly

outline the subject matter of the hearing. Both written and

oral testimony may be accepted.

6.8 COUNCIL REVIEW OF PUBLIC COMMENT

Comments received during a hearing, any written comments

received before the deadline set for their receipt, and all

documentation submitted. during the referral precess shall he

compiled by the hearing officer into one packet for Council

review. The proposed action will be placed on the agenda at a

duly called Council meeting for consideration. The Council may

decide whether any other information is necessary, including

whether to send the proposal to any departments’ for

reconsideration. The Council shall have the discretion as to

when Council final action will be taken; however, it shall not

postpone action for an unreasonable length of time.

6.9 FINAL COUNCIL ACTION

Once the Council has determined that it has adequately

considered a proposal as provided in this Act, it shall take

action on the proposal by voting according to its ordinary

constitutional procedures. If the proposal is approved, the

Chairman's office, unless the enactment provides otherwise, shall

direct the appropriate departments and staff to begin

implementation and enforcement of the enactment. In the case of

the enactment of a new law, or the amendment of an existing law,

the Council shall be responsible for directing the codification

of such action in the Tribe's Law and Order Code, as provided in

Title 1, Section 1.09 thereof.

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LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURES ACT

NOVEMBER 16, 1989

PAGE 5

6-10 EMERGENCY ACTION

6.10.1 Enactment of Emergency Regulation

Whenever it determines that there is an immediate threat to

the Tribe or any of its resources or assets, the Council may

enact emergency regulations or take other emergency action. Such

regulations or action shall be valid for not longer than thirty

(30) days from the date of enactment, after which such

regulations or actions shall no longer be effective, unless upon

the expiration of this 30 day period, the Council expressly finds

that the emergency situation necessitates extension of such

regulations or actions for another period not to exceed 30 days.

Emergency regulations or actions pursuant to this Section must be

accompanied by a duly adopted Council resolution which specifies

the need and intent of such regulations or action.

6.10.2 Emergency Regulation Limitations

This emergency Section is intended to be used only where

adherence to the other requirements of this Act would result ina

Significant injury to the interests of the Tribe, and shall not

be used to frustrate the general purposes of this Act as set

forth in Section 6.1. It is expected that the Council will, at

the time that any emergency action is taken as provided herein,

propose additional action in accordance with the process

established under this Ordinance.

6.10.3 Emergency Regulation Expiration Date

No emergency regulation shall remain valid if allowed to

stand longer than 30 days without an official extension as

provided under this Section. The enforceability of an emergency

regulation shall expire 30 days after its enactment date and such

emergency regulation shall be deemed null and void.

6.11 PUBLIC NOTICE

Once action is taken by the Council under this Ordinance,

the Executive Secretary shall be responsible for notifying all

appropriate departments as to who shall be responsible for

posting such public notices as may be required by the action

taken.

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LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURES ACT

NOVEMBER 16, 1989

PAGE 6

6.12 JUDICIAL REVIEW BY THE TRIBAL COURT

The Hoopa Tribal Court shall have authority to issue

declaratory judgments regarding violations of this Ordinance, and

any action taken by the Council not substantially in accordance

with this Ordinance shall be declared null and void; provided,

however, that the Court shall have no jurisdiction to hear

challenges to Council action based solely on violations of

Section 6.13 of this Act. Except to the extent that this Section

provides for judicial review by the Tribal Court, the Council

does not waive the sovereign immunity of the Hoopa Valley Tribe,

or that of any of its departments or entities, from unconsented

lawsuit.

6.13 ROBERTS RULES OF ORDER

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Council that,

to the extent not precluded by law, Roberts Rules of Order shall

be the governing process for conducting all meetings of the

Tribe. This Policy shall be incorporated into the official

meeting process for all committees and boards established under

the authority of the Tribal Council and it shall be the duty of

the Chairperson of each board and committee to conduct the

affairs of such board and committee in a manner in accordance

with this Act.

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LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURES ACT

NOVEMBER 16, 1989

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6.14 SEVERABILITY

If any part of this Act is held to be invalid, it is the

intent of the Council that the remainder shall continue to be in

full force and effect to the maximum extent possible.

CERTIFICATION

I, the undersigned, as Chairman of the Hoopa Valley Business

Council do hereby certify that the Hoopa Valley Business Council

is composed of eight (8) members of which five (5) were present,

constituting a quorum, at a Regular Meeting thereof; duly and

regularly called, noticed, convened, and held this 16th day of

November, 1989; and that this Ordinance was duly adopted by a

vyots of four {4} cr and none (0) against, and that this

Ordinance has not been rescinded or amended in any way.

DATED THIS 16TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 1989

Lhe: ZA

DALE RISLING, CHAL

HOOPA VALLEY BUSIN COUNCIL

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ATTEST:

DEIRDRE R. YOUNGA EXEGUTIVE SECRETARY

HOOPA VALLEY BUSINES OUNCIL