CA Senate votes to limit negotiations of casino compacts

Bill aimed at stopping "reservation shopping" SACRAMENTO (AP) _ The California Senate approved legislation Monday to prohibit Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger from negotiating gambling deals with Indian tribes that do not have federally recognized land on which the casinos would be located. Supporters said the measure would discourage “reservation shopping” by tribes hoping to locate casinos in economically advantageous areas. The bill’s author, Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, said that when California voters initially approved Indian gambling in 1998 they were told casinos would be located on federally recognized reservations. But he said Schwarzenegger has begun negotiating gambling deals with tribes that do not have federally approved control of the land on which the casinos would be located. That includes a compact to put a casino in Barstow for the benefit of tribes in San Diego and Humboldt counties. The U.S. Department of Interior rejected that deal in January. It also was rejected by a state Assembly committee last June. Last month, Schwarzenegger signed an agreement under which the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians would be able to build a $250 million casino along Highway 99 just north of Madera, about 35 miles from the tribe’s reservation in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The compact also calls for a second tribe, the Wiyot Tribe of Humboldt County, to get as much as $5 million a year from the Madera casino. In exchange, that tribe would give up plans to develop a casino on its reservation by ecologically sensitive Humboldt Bay. The tribes are awaiting federal approval of the arrangement. It also needs approval from the Legislature to take effect. Florez said negotiating gambling compacts with tribes before they obtain federally approved land raises “false hopes.” “If a majority of the people in California want Indian gambling, at least it should be on Indian land,” he added. Another bill supporter, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, said deals like the North Fork compact would encourage other tribes to engage in “reservation shopping” to attempt to get more profitable casinos. “A lot of us are concerned about reservation shopping,” he said. “This (deal) would not only make it possible, it would sanction it.” A spokesman for Schwarzenegger, Aaron McLear, said the governor’s office had not taken a position on the bill. But he added, “Obviously, it’s one we’re watching.” A 31-4 vote sent the measure to the state Assembly.