Was the Aroostook Band of Micmacs required to file a certificate with the Maine Secretary of State under the 1989 Settlement Act, and what happens if no certificate was filed?

Plain-English summary

This is a short staff letter from Deputy Attorney General Paul Stern to John Nale, an outside attorney, addressing whether the Aroostook Band of Micmacs had filed a certificate with the Maine Secretary of State as Section 4 of P.L. 1989, c. 148 (the state implementing legislation for the federal Aroostook Band of Micmacs Settlement Act) apparently required.

The Deputy AG had checked his original files and found nothing showing such a certificate was filed. The Secretary of State's Office also could not locate one. Nan Heald of Pine Tree Legal Assistance, who served as counsel to the Band throughout the settlement process, checked her files and could not find one either, and confirmed that Washington counsel had no knowledge of one.

The Deputy AG's working theory, drawn from his review of the legislative history of LD 272 in the 114th Legislature, was that the original L.D. did not call for a certificate. The original bill's effective-date provision (Section 8) was conditioned only on Congress enacting the federal ratifying legislation without modification and providing consent for amendments with the Band's agreement. Somewhere in the legislative process, a certificate filing requirement appeared in the enacted text without an obvious mechanism for the Band to comply.

Because this is an informal staff letter rather than a formal AG opinion, it does not resolve the legal effect of the missing certificate. It simply confirms that no certificate has been located and identifies the likely historical origin of the requirement.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2000. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Who are the Aroostook Band of Micmacs?

A federally recognized tribe based in Aroostook County, northern Maine. The letter concerns Maine's state implementing legislation for the Band's settlement, enacted in 1989 (P.L. 1989, c. 148), which was to take effect once Congress enacted ratifying legislation.

What is the certificate Section 4 of the state implementing legislation called for?

The opinion does not quote the full text of Section 4. From context, it appears to have been a filing meant to confirm the Band's acceptance of the settlement framework with the Secretary of State. The original L.D. 272 as introduced did not include the requirement; it was apparently added during legislative consideration.

What is the legal effect of the missing certificate?

The opinion does not say. That is the kind of question a formal AG opinion or a court might address. The practical effect at the time was that the settlement had been operating for 11 years without anyone insisting on a certificate, which suggests the requirement was not treated as a precondition to the settlement's operation.

Why is this letter in the AG opinion archive?

The Maine Law and Legislative Reference Library maintains an archive of AG opinions and related correspondence. The archive includes some staff letters that did not go through the formal opinion process but still have institutional significance. This is one example.

Background and statutory framework

The state implementing legislation (P.L. 1989, c. 148, approved May 18, 1989, originating as L.D. 272 in the 114th Legislature) was the state-side complement to the federal settlement. As the letter explains, the original bill's effective-date provision (Section 8) conditioned the act on Congress enacting ratifying legislation without modification and providing federal consent for amendments with the Band's agreement. Section 4 of the enacted state act apparently required the Band to file a certificate with the Secretary of State, but the original L.D. did not contain that requirement.

Citations

• P.L. 1989, c. 148, § 4 (Aroostook Band of Micmacs Settlement Act, Maine implementing legislation; approved May 18, 1989)
• L.D. 272, 114th Maine Legislature (1st Reg. Sess. 1989) (original bill)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.maine.gov/legis/lawlib/lldl/agops/agops.htm
• Original PDF: https://lldc.mainelegislature.org/Open/AG/Opinions/2000/ag_20000616.pdf

Original opinion text

STATE OF MAINE
DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
6 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333-0006

June 16, 2000

John Nale, Esq.
Nale Law Offices
44 Main Street
P.O. Box 2611
Waterville, Maine 04901

Re: Aroostook Band of Micmacs

Dear John:

I have now had a chance to retrieve my original file concerning the settlement with the Aroostook Band of Micmacs. I have not found anything in my files that indicates that the Band filed a certificate with the Secretary of State as apparently required by the original state legislation implementing the Aroostook Band of Micmacs Settlement Act. See Chapter 148 of the Public Laws of 1989, § 4 (approved May 18, 1989). The Secretary of State's Office has informed me that they cannot locate such a certificate and Nan Heald of Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Portland, who was counsel to the Band of Micmacs throughout the settlement process, has checked her files and cannot find any certificate. She also indicated to me that she contacted Washington counsel who had no knowledge of such a certificate.

What I suspect happened is the following: the State Implementing Act originated as L.D. 272 in the 114th Maine Legislature (1st Regular Session, 1989). The original bill contained a section 8 dealing with its effective date. That provision only provided that it would be effective if the United States enacted appropriate legislation ratifying the Implementing Act without modification and providing the consent of the United States for amendments to the Implementing Act provided the Aroostook Band of Micmacs agreed. There was nothing in the original L.D. which called for the filing of a certificate by the Band.

Paul Stern
Deputy Attorney General