Council erases Shirley veto ink

By John Christian Hopkins
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation Council squashed the president’s veto like it was a pesky mosquito.

And that bugged Delegate Leonard Tsosie.

Delegates voted to override the president’s veto by a 68-8 tally.

The amendment to override Joe Shirley Jr.’s veto of $17 million in spending should not have been allowed to come to the floor, Tsosie said.

“This is not an emergency,” Tsosie said.

Delegate Young Jeff Tom sought an opinion from Chief Legislative Counsel Ray Etsitty.

The original legislation passed by Council was deemed an emergency, so it retains that status unless Council elects to change it, Etsitty explained.

The original bill — requested by Shirley — was for $1 million in emergency funding to the 110 chapters for weather-related costs. However, delegates packed another $16 million worth of items — including spending for students, veterans and housing discretionary funds — onto the main legislation.

Shirley vetoed the bill March 10, saying the emergency bill should have been voted on separately from the other amendments. Council also needs to stop constantly waiving tribal laws, Shirley wrote.

Council is here to help the people, Delegate Ervin M. Keeswood Sr. said. The funds are going to help veterans and students, he added.

“These are all emergency issues,” Keeswood said. “There are emergencies taking place every day in many homes.”
Even after the vote, Tsosie was still buzzing.

“Every time we come here, we do silly things,” he lamented.

An attempt to override another veto — to increase the percentage set aside for the Permanent Trust Fund, from 12 to 18 percent — fell by a 22-51 margin.

That would have entailed significant hardship for tribal departments and programs, and could have resulted in lay-offs, Shirley wrote.

In other business:

Council approved more spending measures, bringing the amount remaining in the Unreserved, Undesignated Fund to about $500,000.

The delegates approved $200,000 for Department of Justice’s fixed litigation costs in standing against Arizona’s Prop 200, that required photo identification to vote.

Another $200,000 was approved for legal costs in the Hopi Partitioned Land area. That measure was sponsored by Delegate Amos F. Johnson.

Finally, Council passed an amendment seeking $82,000 so Department of Aging officials can attend a conference in Tacoma, Wash.

John Christian Hopkins can be reached at Hopkins1960@hotmail.com