Navajo casino credit to be resolved

Living in and near Church Rock, NM could change in the coming months with the addition of a new casino. The idea of a new casino has left some residents with mixed feelings associated with the heavy traffic and economic benefits the new business could bring to the area. [Photo by Daniel Zollinger/Independent]

By John Christian Hopkins
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation Council will conduct a work session today – and a special session Friday – regarding a $100 million Navajo Gaming line of credit for casino development from JP Morgan/Chase.

Delegates tabled this item during a Sept. 28 special session, and requested a work session, Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan said.

“So we will all have a clear understanding of what this line of credit means,” Morgan told the Ethics & Rules Committee during a special meeting Wednesday.

The council’s fall session begins Monday.

But, before E & R could approve the speaker’s request for a special meeting, one issue needed to be resolved.

Delegate Charles Damon II, the primary sponsor for the legislation, asked to remove his sponsorship, Morgan said.

“The primary sponsor jumped off the wagon, and left the wagon to go off down the road,” E & R Chairman Francis Redhouse said. He asked Chief Legislative Counsel Ray Etcitty if the legislation was still valid if the primary sponsor withdrew his name.

The matter of a bill’s primary sponsor was created to decide who got paid when the legislation was up before the various standing committees, Etcitty said. The primary sponsor is responsible for representing the legislation before committees, he explained.

If there are other sponsors for the bill, it can move forward, Etcitty added.

“Just because one delegate withdraws his sponsor ship, it doesn’t mean he withdrew it for all the delegates,” Etcitty said. “One delegate can’t pull the rug out from under the others.”

The council’s work session begins at 9 a.m. today.

Etcitty and controller, Mark Grant, will give a general overview of bonding liabilities, and Attorney General Louis Denetsosie will discuss legal issues related to bonding.  
Derrick Watchman, vice president of Native American Banking Group, with JP Morgan Chase, will offer an overview of the line of the credit between JP Morgan and the Nation.

The special session will start Friday at 10 a.m.

John Christian Hopkins can be reached at hopkins1960@hotmail.com