(1) Findings. The Robinson Rancheria, a federally recognized Indian tribe (“tribe”), is the beneficial owner of all lands held in trust for the tribe by the United States. Acting through its tribal council in the exercise of its inherent sovereign power to enact ordinances and otherwise safeguard and provide for the health, safety, and welfare of the members of the tribe and protect and govern over the tribe’s Indian lands as defined by 25 U.S.C. Section 2703 (“Indian lands”), the tribe hereby enacts the ordinance codified in this chapter which shall hereinafter be cited as the Robinson Rancheria general welfare ordinance (“ordinance”).

(2) Authority. The tribe is a federally recognized Indian tribe. The “Constitution of the Robinson Rancheria” (“Constitution”) confirms the power of the tribal council to promote the welfare of the tribe. The tribe promotes health and wellness, education, property rights, and the economic dignity of the tribe’s members (“tribal members”) to preserve the tribe’s unique history and culture.

(3) Background. One of the fundamental ways in which the tribe exercises the tribe’s sovereign power to further tribal interests, which we call the tribe’s “mission,” is by providing benefit programs to tribal members. Under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Benefit Act of 1975, as amended, the Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994, and the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2014, the United States Congress recognized the tribe’s inherent right to self-determination. Integral to that right is the tribe’s ability to determine the programs necessary to further the tribe’s mission to improve the well-being of each individual, family, and the tribe as a whole.

(4) Mission. The tribe’s mission in adopting this general welfare ordinance is to nurture tribal families and the tribal community by strengthening the tribe’s culture, stewarding tribal land, and promoting self-governance, and economic independence for future generations. The tribe’s vision is a world where we draw upon the traditional heritage of the tribe’s ancestors to create a sustainable, self-governed nation so that all future generations may determine their own destiny. The tribe has experienced generations of trauma and strong challenges to the tribe’s existence, including the loss of recognition and benefits from the federal government during the years of 1965 to 1977. As a result of this historical and ongoing trauma, the tribe and its tribal members continue to lack access to resources and opportunity.

(5) Policy. The tribe pursues its mission, in part, by providing assistance directly to the tribal members through “approved programs” serving the needs of tribal members. It is incumbent on the tribe, as a sovereign, to determine what need(s) an approved program fulfills. The tribe refers to each need as a “general welfare need.” A general welfare need is a need, within the sole discretion of the tribal council, which must be met to ensure the tribe’s longevity as a self-governed tribe. An approved program meets a general welfare need if it provides a benefit to a tribal member to rectify the impact of generations of prior unmet need, is in consideration of the needs of the whole tribe, or compensates for past or current federal program underfunding.

(6) Intent. This chapter is designed to permit the tribe to establish programs that provide payments and services to tribal members. It sets forth criteria under which the value of the benefits granted as part of an approved program will not be viewed by the tribe as taxable gross income and as such the tribe will not submit information to the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to reporting requirements of Internal Revenue Code Section 6041. This chapter also affirms the tribe’s sovereign right to provide assistance to its tribal members on a nontaxable basis, as recognized by the United States Congress in the passage of the “Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2014” (Public Law No. 113-168), and related guidance issued by the Internal Revenue Service. [Res. 09-09-2020B § 1, 2020.]