employee has a concern

Legislative Process

Band member or Band

employee has a concern

Band member or Band

employee reaches out to

a District

Representative

If District

Representative agrees

that there should be

change, he or she will

sponsor a bill

District Representative

will reach out to the

Revisor of Statutes to

start drafting a bill that

meets the need of the

Band member or Band

employee

Once a bill is drafted,

Band Assembly will

hold working sessions to

review the language and

finalize a draft for public

comment

Once there is a final

draft, Band Assembly

might have a public

comment period to seek

Band member and Band

employee comments and

feedback. If there isn’t a

time scheduled for

public comment, Band

Assembly will place it

on the agenda.

When the time for

public comment ends,

Band Assembly will

collect the comments

and hold more working

sessions to address

concerns

Once Band Assembly is

comfortable with the

final draft of the bill they

will place it on the

agenda

The District

Representatives will take

action on the bill –

approve, deny, or table.

Important Legislative Definitions:

• Bill: means proposed legislation under consideration by the Band Assembly.

• Act: means a bill that has been presented to the Chief Executive.

• Law: an act that has been approved by the Band Assembly and has not been vetoed by the Chief Executive.

• Statute: means an act that has been codified into Band law pursuant to Title 25.

For more information, please review the Frequently Asked Questions document on the Tribal Register.

If approved by the Band

Assembly, the act will be

sent to the Chief

Executive

The Chief Executive will

sign, veto, request a

compromise hearing, or

there will be no action.

Sign: the act becomes law. If

permanent law, it will be

codified by the Revisor.

Veto: if there is a veto, a

written message must be sent

to the Band Assembly. A

veto by the Chief Executive

is a total veto of the entire

act.

Compromise: if a

compromise is not reached,

the act dies. If a compromise

is reached, a new act with the

changed language will be

placed on the Band Assembly

agenda.

No Action: If no action is

taken within 5 days, the act

becomes law.

1. Idea

A bill is an idea for a new law or an idea to change the current law. Anyone can suggest an

idea for a bill.

2. Authors

Each bill must have a District Representative to sponsor and introduce it on the Band

Assembly agenda. The sponsor is the one whose name appears on the bill. The Revisor of

Statutes must have a District Representative be willing to sponsor a bill prior to the Revisor

working on the bill.

3. Legal Form

The Revisor of Statutes and other legislative staff work with the District Representative

sponsoring the bill to create a first draft. The Revisor is responsible for assuring that the form

of the bill complies with the rules and drafting manual.

4. Workshops.

Once the first draft is complete, the Revisor, legislative staff, and District Representatives

will work through the draft bill at workshops. Typically, multiple workshops are held to

ensure the District Representatives are ready to introduce it in Band Assembly. Prior to

introducing a bill, the District Representatives will invite stakeholders to workshops.

5. Comment Period

Pursuant to Legislative Order 28-20, Band Assembly may provide a comment period.

Comments periods give Band members and Band employees an opportunity to comment on

draft bills during a specified period of time. Once the comment period concludes, the District

Representatives will hold at least one more working session to review comments and make

any desired changes to the draft bill.

6. Formal Public Hearing

Pursuant to 3 MLBS § 17(a), “[t]he Band Assembly shall conduct formal public hearings on

any bill which alters, amends, or repeals Titles 1, 3, 4 and 5, Chapter 1 of Title 2, and

Subchapters 1 to 3 of Chapter 3 of Title 24 of the Mille Lacs Band Statutes. The Band

Assembly may conduct formal public hearings on any or all other bills at their discretion.

Formal public hearings shall be held in all appropriate districts of the Band’s Reservation

prior to the time that the Band Assembly seeks to formally act upon said bill. Additionally,

each bill shall be posted in a conspicuous location for ten (10) calendar days after said bill

has been introduced at a formal public hearing. This provision shall not apply to any bill on

which no formal public hearing has been held.”

7. Introduction

Once a final draft of the bill is ready for action, the sponsoring District Representative will

introduce the bill during a meeting of the Band Assembly.

8. Band Assembly Action

Once a bill has been introduced, the Band Assembly may take action to approve or deny the

bill.

9. Chief Executive

Pursuant to 3 MLBS § 17, after formal action of the Band Assembly, no later than 72 hours,

a bill shall be delivered to the Chief Executive. The Chief shall have five (5) calendar days

from the date of receipt to either sign the bill into law, or veto the bill and return it to the

Band Assembly with a written veto message containing the objections to the bill. In the event

the Chief Executive neither signs the bill nor vetoes it, it shall become law without the Chief

Executive’s signature after the expiration of five (5) calendar days from date of receipt of the

bill.

Any bill which has been vetoed and returned by the Chief Executive shall have a

compromise hearing within five (5) calendar days of the return. Failure of the Band

Assembly to act within the five (5) calendar days shall halt further action on said bill for 180

calendar days.

Fifteen calendar days shall be available to negotiate an agreement for the bill's passage into

law. Should an agreement not be concluded within the allotted time, further action on the bill

is precluded for 180 calendar days from said date. Appropriation bills shall be excluded from

the above time schedule.

A veto by the Chief Executive is a total veto of the entire bill. Sectional vetoes shall be

prohibited pursuant to the provisions of this section.

10. Codification into Statute

Once a bill is signed into law, the Revisor of Statutes shall codify any permanent, general law

into statute. Law that does not become codified will still be available on the Tribal Register,

under Acts/Ordinances.