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Committee seeks salary breakdown for Indian Affairs Commission and considers scheduled Tribal visits
Summary
The subcommittee asked for a detailed salary and wages breakout for the Indian Affairs Commission budget and discussed a proposal to direct the Legislative Management Tribal‑State Relations committee to hold at least one meeting on each reservation every biennium.
During consideration of Senate Bill 2005, members of a Senate appropriations subcommittee asked staff for a breakdown of salaries and wages in the Indian Affairs Commission budget and clarification on whether the salary line includes benefits such as health insurance and retirement.
A staff analyst confirmed that the salary and wages line includes salary and all benefits, including FICA, Medicare, unemployment and workers' compensation. Senators asked for a more specific appendix breakout to show health‑insurance versus salary increases and requested additional information for future consideration.
Senator Matherin proposed directing Legislative Management to require the Tribal‑State Relations committee to hold at least one meeting on each of the state’s reservations every biennium so tribal governments could receive legislative attention on site. Senator Matherin said in committee remarks that smoking rates on Turtle Mountain had increased “dramatically in the last few years,” and used that as an example of why legislators should visit reservations to better understand local health and fiscal impacts that ultimately appear in state budgets.
Committee counsel was asked to draft an amendment for future consideration on the proposal. The subcommittee indicated no further immediate information requests on SB 2005 and discontinued its work on that bill for now.
