Cherokee Nation and Oklahoma reach tentative agreement on Motor vehicle tag compact

(CHEROKEE RESERVATION) The Cherokee Nation and the state of Oklahoma have reached a tentative agreement to amend and extend the motor vehicle tag compact. 

The nation and the state of Oklahoma have been negotiating this agreement for months. 

Back in March Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. requested for the car tag compact to be renewed, citing the Nation's record funding to school districts in Northeast Oklahoma. 

If the agreement is approved by the Council of the Cherokee Nation and the Oklahoma Legislature's Joint committee on State-Tribal relations, it will begin on January 1, 2025 and last for ten years. 

Under the proposed agreement Cherokee Citizens who live on the reservation will be able to purchase tribal tags from the tribe's seven tag offices. 

For Cherokee citizens living off the reservation, they will have the option to go to tribal or state tag offices. However, citizens living off the reservation will have to pay certain fees and taxes outlined in the compact. 

Other provisions in the proposed agreement include: 

-Cherokee Nation will share driver information for PlatePay billing and easy accessibility by law enforcement. As part of the compact agreement, the Cherokee Nation will pay a $2 million plate pay fee over a three-year period and all outstanding toll fees assessed through November 30, 2024, for Cherokee plates will be waived in exchange.

-Consistent with the previous compact, Cherokee Nation will continue to upload registration information to OLETS for public safety purposes.

-The five counties with portions outside the Cherokee Nation (Tulsa, Wagoner, Rogers, Muskogee, and Mayes counties)—commonly known as the expanded jurisdiction—will move from the previous compact model to the new at-large model. Over the next four years, all at-large vehicles tagged under the previous compact will be exempt from Oklahoma renewal requirements and can continue to register with the Cherokee Nation. Following this period, at-large Cherokee citizens in will have the option to renew at a state tag office or at a Cherokee Nation tag office.

-Additional funds Oklahoma secures from taxes and fees associated with vehicles principally garaged outside the Cherokee Nation will be expended consistent with Oklahoma law for infrastructure, education, and other public purposes. The Cherokee Nation will continue to receive a remittance from at-large tag sales and related rebates.

-The Cherokee Nation will continue to allocate funds each year from the sales of Cherokee Nation car tags for public schools, road improvements, and law enforcement, as more specifically outlined in the compact.

Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. spoke about the tentative agreement stating, “Our goal throughout this process has been a compact that continues to benefit Cherokee Nation citizens, Oklahoma communities, and ensures our tribe continues to serve and provide for our citizens. The new compact is a government-to-government agreement that will protect the rights of our citizens and ensure we can continue to provide essential funding for public schools, roads, and law enforcement agencies. I am grateful for the good faith negotiations from our partners in Oklahoma and the support of the Cherokee people for this fundamental exercise of our self-determination and government interests.” 

Governor Kevin Stitt also spoke about the tentative agreement stating,  "We’re all Oklahomans and we all drive on the same roads and bridges. It’s important that we’re all contributing to the things that make us a top ten state. I appreciate the cooperation of Cherokee leadership to reach an agreement, especially as it pertains to the ability to collect tolls on our turnpikes.” 

Oklahoma's tribes and Stitt have experienced tension in the last couple of years regarding negotiations for tribal compacts. 

In 2023, the Oklahoma Senate voted to override Stitt's vetoes to end tribal-state compacts related to motor vehicle tags and tobacco sales. 

VNN Oklahoma will continue to follow this story.