Impeachment proceedings still on hold
CARNEGIE — A budget’s been approved, but CARES Act checks are not yet in the mail to Kiowa citizens.
According to unofficial results released Saturday by the tribe’s election commission, the Kiowa Indian Council approved a 2020- 2021 budget proposal from the Kiowa legislature that included line-item allocation of CARES Act funds.
As of the Ledger’s deadline, the results have not been certified. Under the terms of the tribe’s constitution, the Kiowa Indian Council has to approve the operating budget, including appropriation of all funds, regardless of the revenue’s origins.
In July, Judge Shannon Edwards with the Court of Indian Offenses for the Southern Plains issued an injunction blocking the tribe from spending any additional CARES Act money until the tribe approved a budget that included those funds.
At least one member of the tribe’s legislature acknowledged Monday that it was unclear when that blockade will be lifted or if there will be a new application to access relief funds.
“This will have to be a conversation with our legal counsel and the legislative branch as far as what happens next and if we have to go back to the court,” District Four Representative Jesse Svitak said in a live video to Kiowa citizens. “It’s my understanding we don’t have to, but I’m not the lawyer and I’m not the one presiding over the case.”
The tribe received more than $19 million in federal relief funds, which the executive branch categorized as grant money. In late May, the executive branch formally rolled out a relief plan for the money that required Kiowa citizens to complete a needs assessment before receiving funds to cover COVID-related expenses under specific categories, such as utilities, groceries, housing, distance learning or fleeing a domestic violence situation.
Under guidance issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of the Interior, tribes are allowed to use CARES Act money to provide direct cash assistance to their citizens. However, those funds have to be disbursed based on documented need that falls within specific guidelines. Per capita checks are not allowed.
The vote comes as impeachment proceedings against Chairman Matthew Komalty remain at a standstill.
On Aug. 19, Edwards granted Komalty’s injunction request, barring the legislature from proceeding with impeachment until additional steps are taken to guarantee his due process rights.
Among the specific steps mentioned in the order are providing formal articles of impeachment rather than a draft copy, codifying the rules of procedure that will be observed and providing advance notice of witnesses and evidence that will be presented during the hearing. Once those items are accomplished and confirmed with the court, the injunction can be lifted.
In her order, Edwards made a point to say she was not necessarily adjudicating the merits of the legislature’s case against Komalty, but that the process needed additional supports in order to ensure its long-term viability.
“In making this ruling, the court is in no way offering any opinions on the merits of the case against the chairman,” Edwards wrote.
“Rather, the court’s intervention is only the result of the procedural due process failures which all Kiowa citizens are afforded. The Kiowa Tribe and their government are at their sovereign best when they honor the promises made in their Constitution to their utmost ability.”