ACLU of Maine Calls on Legislature to Implement Task Force Recommendations on Tribal Sovereignty
LD 2094 Will Enhance the Rights of Tribal Members, says Group
AUGUSTA, Maine – The ACLU of Maine today called on the Maine Judiciary Committee to support a bill that would enhance sovereignty for Maine’s tribes. LD 2094 would implement the recommendations of the Task Force on Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act, which released a report in January.
The ACLU said the bill should pass despite recent claims from state officials that making the suggested changes would raise legal concerns, which the ACLU disputed.
The ACLU testified the improvements provided by the bill “are both reasonable and modest, and not a single one of them is different than the benefits the vast majority of other Tribes already possess.”
“This bill is necessary to move beyond the outdated framework of Maine’s claims act – a framework that has unduly restricted tribal sovereignty for decades,” said Alison Beyea, executive director of the ACLU of Maine. “Passing this bill will help us move forward to a new and better framework that is better for all Maine people.”
The full text of the ACLU’s testimony is available here: https://www.aclumaine.org/sites/default/files/ld_2094_testimony_2.19.2020_final.pdf
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