Q&A With Legislative Branch Staff - Joe Jensen
Get to know Joe Jensen
By DIBIKWE, VALERIE HARRINGTON-WIND, CHIEF COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
1. What is your title and duties with Mille Lacs Band Legislative Branch?
My title is Legislative Staff Attorney. My primary duties are to draft legislation for the Band Assembly and to provide legal advice on the various questions that arise as we conduct government business.
2. What does working in Legislative mean to you and what do you value most about your engagement with Legislative Branch and Band members?
I value the increasing engagement with the public since we initiated the live-stream for Band Assembly sessions and public comment periods for major legislation. Providing the community with the opportunity to give feedback on critical reforms is necessary, and the responses are always helpful as we go about our own duties.
3. What motivates you working in the Legislative Branch?
I am most motivated by the chance to get real change passed into law, and it is gratifying to have a role in that process.
4. What is something significant that you are proud of accomplishing with the Legislative Branch?
We have passed several major bills since I started in my position last November, and we have completely changed the way that the Legislative Branch operates to make all of our operations more transparent.
5. How would you describe the Legislative Branch to a Band member that may not know about the Branch?
The Legislative Branch is the Band’s lawmaking body. It is the genesis of the laws that govern the Band, while the Executive Branch is charged with enforcing the laws and the Judicial Branch is charged with interpreting the laws.
6. Is there anything else you would like to share with Band members about you or the Legislative Branch?
I encourage all Band members to be as engaged with the government as you can. View the live-streamed sessions, keep up to date with the posts on the Legislative Branch Facebook page, and regularly check the webpage for the Tribal Register for notifications of public comment periods and other news — all of these are resources that did not exist in the past and are examples of the Band Assembly’s commitment to transparent decision-making
