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Heated testimony for and against bill requiring audits and compact revisions for Fort Berthold revenue sharing
Summary
Senate Bill 2304 would authorize the state to withhold certain oil-and-gas revenue distributions to the MHA Nation until updated agreements and audits are completed and would require tribal audits; the committee heard dozens of witnesses on both sides and closed the hearing with no action.
Senator Chuck Wallen introduced Senate Bill 2304, which would direct the governor to negotiate an amendment to the 2018 oil-and-gas tax compact to explicitly include allotted and fee landowners and would require the MHA Nation to conduct and submit annual audits. Wallen told the committee the bill addresses concerns that the tribal business council’s agreements and audit practices have not accounted for allotted owners and fee holders within the Fort Berthold reservation.
“According to treaties and other agreements, the tribal council only has authority to tax tribal lands and not allottee lands,” Wallen said in his opening remarks, and he told members the goal was to ensure all landholders within reservation boundaries are included in any agreement that governs revenue distribution.
Several dozen witnesses…
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