Greetings Relatives/Frens/Humans,
Just a quick reminder that proposed Navajo Nation Council legislation for the removal of Delegate Johnny Naize as speaker is on the Council’s Naabik’iyati Committee AGENDA today, March 13, 2014.

The Naabi Committee is scheduled to begin their meeting, in the Council chamber in Window Rock, Ariz., at 10 a.m. but that’s if they have a quorum by 10 a.m.

Delegate Alton Shepherd is once again sponsoring the proposed legislation for Council’s removal of Naize as speaker. Shepherd’s proposed legislation is number 0069-14. Shepherd announced in a PRESS RELEASE that he decided to sponsor a second legislation for the Council to remove Naize as speaker after several delegates that voted against Naize’s removal as speaker told him that they would support the removal of Naize.

Shepherd stated that the delegates changed their minds after former Council Delegate Raymond Joe admitted in his guilty plea that he and Naize knew that what they were doing with the discretionary fund was illegal. Joe’s guilty plea is attached to 0069-14.

Legislation 0069-14 was electronically posted on the Navajo Council’s website at 11:43 p.m. on March 5, 2014, and that is when the five-day electronic public comment period began. But public comments can be submitted to Legislative Services Director Tom Platero before the Council makes it final vote on 0069-14.

I’ve been hearing from different individuals that cannot locate a location on the Council website to submit public comments. Well, that’s because there is no specific location. Attached to each proposed legislation is a page that is titled “The Navajo Nation Legislative Branch Internet Public Review Publication,” which identifies the Legislation number, name of the sponsor and title of the legislation. It also provides the date and time that the legislation was posted, which is important for the simple fact that the legislation is ready for action by the Council’s committees and Council five days after it is electronically posted.

The Internet Public Review Publication page provides an email address for public comments. The email address is comments@navajo-nsn.gov and public comments can also be mailed to Executive Director, Office of Legislative Services, P.O. Box 3390, Window Rock, Ariz. 86515. A phone number is also provides for questions. That phone number is (928) 871-7586.

The instructions for how comments may be submitted are also on the Internet Public Review Publication page and those instructions are: “Comments may be made in the form of chapter resolutions, letters, position papers, etc. Please include your name, position title, address for written comments; a valid email address is required. Anonymous comments will not be included in the legislative packet.”

And it would good for individuals submitting a comment to also email a copy to Delegate Shepherd at alton_shepherd@yahoo.com, which is his email address.

I do hope that Delegate Shepherd asks for the public comments to be publicly read into the record, which means that Legislative Services Director Platero will read out loud all the public comments before the Naabik’iyati Committee begins its debate and vote on 0069-14.

For some reason, proposed legislation for the Naabi Committee and Council have not been read out loud into the record, which is the law. But there is still compliance with that legal requirement because legislative staff read all proposed legislation into the record but they are recorded and the recordings are put on flash drives and distributed to the Council delegates. Slick…