6.01.060 Screening of Application

(a) All persons applying for membership in the Tribe must complete an "Application for Enrollment" on the form provided by the Enrollment Clerk, and must attach to such form all documentary evidence offered as proof of eligibility for enrollment. The original of the application for enrollment must be submitted in person by the applicant to the Enrollment Clerk's office, and must be signed and dated in the presence of the Enrollment Clerk. In the case of an applicant who is under the age of eighteen (18), the application for enrollment must be submitted and signed by the applicant's parent or legal guardian, who must display proof of parenthood or legal guardianship at the time the application is submitted to the Enrollment Clerk.

(b) All applications for enrollment must include the social security number of the applicant, with the exception of newborns.

(c) Each application submitted in compliance with this Chapter shall be stamped by the Enrollment Clerk to reflect the date of submittal. The date indicated by the Enrollment Clerk's stamp will serve as the official date of the application, regardless of any other date(s) which may otherwise appear on the application. An individual may request a copy of their application at this time.

(d) Screening of applications shall be done only when the Committee is in session at which a quorum is present, for the express purpose of processing applications and confirming those lineal descendants who meet the requirements for membership under the Tribal Constitution.

(e) To ensure that uniform action is taken on all applications, each application shall be screened by each member seated present. To prevent any dispute from arising at a later date, each member shall initial each application after screening. To further ensure accuracy in the screening of applications, each member shall enter the name of the applicant and the disposition of his or her application on a personal log which the member shall keep at all times. Dispositions shall be "recommended for inclusion on adoption ballot" or "not recommended for inclusion on adoption ballot."

(f) The names of all applicants whose applications have been processed and the disposition thereof shall be entered by the Enrollment Clerk on a master log, which shall be typed up on the first regular working day following a Committee screening session and which shall be kept by the Enrollment Clerk who shall keep the master log locked in the file cabinet when not in use.

(g) To ensure continued accuracy, the master log shall be compared to the member's private log periodically, and any discrepancies shall be resolved when discovered.

(h) When application is complete and accurate and meets the requirements for adoption, the applicant's name shall be included on the list of those individuals recommended to the Tribal Council for inclusion on the adoption ballot.

(i) Deadlines. The following deadlines shall be observed in the processing of applications for adoption to membership under Art. II, Sec. (4), Bad River Constitution:

(1) All applications for adoption to be considered at the regular election of any year must be submitted and complete no later than the date in May six months before the first Tuesday following the first Monday of November of that year.

(2) The Committee shall report to the Tribal Council at its regular meeting in June of each year the number of applications that were submitted and complete by the deadline stated in subsection (i)(1) for that year.

(3) The Committee shall report to the Tribal Council at its regular meeting in August the list of names of individuals recommended for inclusion on the adoption ballot at the regular election for that year. At the same time, the Committee shall report to the Tribal Council the list of names of individuals not recommended for inclusion on the ballot. The two lists shall together include the names of all individuals who submitted completed applications by the deadline stated in subsection (i)(1) for that year.

(4) the Enrollment Clerk shall post the list of names approved by the Tribal Council for inclusion on the election ballot no less than sixty days prior to the election.

(5) Prior to February 1 of each year the Committee shall post the calendar dates for that year that correspond to the deadlines set by subsections (i)(1) through (5).

(j) The Enrollment Clerk shall notify, by certified mail addressed to the individual's last known address, each individual whose name appears on the list submitted to the Tribal Council of names not recommended for inclusion on the adoption ballot. Such notification shall be mailed no later than the date specified in subsection (i)(3). Any individual may appeal the Committee's recommendation, and seek Tribal Council inclusion on the adoption ballot, by filing a written notice of such appeal with both the Membership Committee and the Tribal Council. The individual shall be allowed to appear at any Tribal Council meeting scheduled prior to the deadline specified in subsection (i)(4) and present his or her case for Tribal Council decision. If no Tribal Council meeting is scheduled prior to the deadline specified in subsection (i)(4), the individual may demand the scheduling of a meeting upon payment of a meeting fee equal to the sum of the meeting stipends to which the Council members would be entitled for attending the meeting. The individual may, in the alternative, demand to be heard at a later scheduled meeting, in which case if the Tribal Council finds in the individual's favor his or her name will be placed on the adoption ballot for the subsequent year.

(k) The purpose of this section is to regularize the processing of applications for adoption. It does not confer upon any applicant for adoption any rights or expectation of membership.

(l) Applicants who are not voted into membership through the election process must reapply in order to be considered for membership on a subsequent election ballot.