Committee approves bill to guarantee tribal representation on state American Indian advisory council

Representative Lim, the bill sponsor, told the State Planning & Community Affairs committee on Feb. 9 that House Bill 725 would codify existing practice to ensure the three state-recognized American Indian tribes have seats on the Council of American Indian Concerns under the Department of Natural Resources.

"This bill is relatively simple," Representative Lim said. "It aims to ensure that our state's three state-recognized American Indian tribes ... each have representation on our existing council of American Indian concerns under DNR." Lim named the Cherokee of Georgia, the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee and the Lower Muskogee Creek tribe.

The sponsor framed the measure as a clarification of current practice rather than a change in power. Lim said the tribes named in the bill are not federally recognized and that the measure would help resolve disputes about who speaks for each community.

A resident who identified themselves as "a citizen of the Cherokee Nation" asked whether the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee has federal recognition; Representative Lim confirmed none of the three tribes included in the bill are federally recognized and said some tribal groups are pursuing federal recognition separately.

Representative Campbell asked whether the bill would create any budgetary obligations. "It does not," Representative Lim replied, saying the bill carries no fiscal impact because it formalizes an existing practice.

Representative Anderson moved that the committee give HB 725 a "do pass" recommendation. The motion was seconded, members voted aye and the chair announced the bill passed the committee.

The committee advanced HB 725 to the next stage; no amendments or fiscal changes were recorded during the hearing.