01/08/2026
MVSKOKE RESERVATION – Muscogee (Creek) Nation Principal Chief David Hill vetoed bill NCA 25-125 on Tuesday, Jan. 6. The bill would have given raises to each National Council Representative, Speaker, and Second Speaker. The bill was initially introduced and passed during the Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, Business, Finance, & Justice Committee meeting. The bill was placed on the agenda during the Regular Session on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. It was adopted into law by a vote of 13-1 after rigorous discussion from council representatives and four votes to postpone, amend, reconsider, and adopt.
Chief Hill’s veto outlined two objections. The first objection references Title 16 in MCNA Code Section 2-103, which outlines the evaluation process for raising the compensation of the Principal Chief and Second Chief. Enacted on November 18, 2011, through NCA 11-199, the code established an evaluation committee, formed every four years, comprising representatives from each branch of government in the MCN, plus one citizen chosen by each of the Executive and Legislative branches. The five-member committee is tasked with preparing a report containing recommendations on the salaries of the Principal Chief and Second Chief for submission to the BFJ committee in April of that year.
The objection states the need for an evaluation process: “National Council salaries should not be randomly raised on an ad hoc basis two years into the future without an evaluation process.” The objection then recommends that the evaluation committee created by NCA 11-199 also consider the compensation review for the National Council: “Further, the evaluation committee should make its recommendations for compensation for the Principal Chief, Second Chief, and National Council Representatives at the same time in the same report.”
The second objection states that it would be inappropriate to add the proposed $438,358 to the National Council’s FY26 budget, as the raises will not take effect until January 1, 2028.
