July 23, 1998
SACRAMENTO -- A state senator wants to halt the flow of campaign contributions to candidates for the Legislature and statewide office from tribal gaming operations that are not sanctioned by the state.
A new bill by Sen. Quentin Kopp, I-San Francisco, would make it illegal for candidates and officeholders to knowingly accept campaign contributions linked to illegal activities ranging from gambling to money laundering.
The state has declared video slots used in Indian casinos to be illegal.
"The time is now," Kopp told reporters. "The amount of money pouring in particularly from illegal gambling activity in California represents a threat to the integrity of the election process this fall."
The statewide anti-gaming organization, Stand Up for California, said Indian tribes operating "illegal gambling casinos" contributed $885,000 to lawmakers who reviewed the model compact negotiated by Gov. Pete Wilson and San Diego's Pala band.
But gaming tribal officials and some lawmakers said the legality of video slot machines on California Indian reservations is still unresolved.
Further, they say, the bill would tilt the playing field in favor of opposing Indian gaming interests, who have donated more than $400,000 to the top two leaders of the Legislature since Jan. 1. The Nevada gambling industry is gearing up a sizable campaign to restrict Indian casinos.
Kopp's bill comes one month after the legislative counsel warned state lawmakers that they may be violating federal law by accepting campaign contributions over $10,000 linked to possibly illegal tribal gambling.
Politicians who knowingly accept the large contributions could face prison terms and be forced to surrender the contributions, the opinion states.
But a legal opinion prepared for Assembly Republicans concluded that federal asset forfeiture laws impose "a heavy burden" on government prosecutors to take action against the politicians who receive them.
"No. 1, how do you determine that?" asked Assemblyman Brett Granlund, R-Yucaipa, a recipient of tribal political contributions in the past. "You would have to establish that the money was generated by an illegal activity ... The very money that you took."
The lawyers who prepared the document for Republican Leader Bill Leonard, however, urged candidates receiving contributions from any gaming tribe to make sure the funds are drawn on "general tribal accounts" and not from casino funds.
Skeptics of the legislative counsel's opinion also note that the federal government has not tried to stop gaming tribes from making political contributions, let alone taken action against those who receive them.
Kopp's bill, SB 2131, is slated to be heard first in the Assembly Public Safety later this summer but its chances for passage were unclear.
Daniel Tucker, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, said video terminals used on many California reservations have not been found illegal by the courts.
"Indian tribes have every right to participate in the electoral process and have been proud to make contributions to honest candidates who believe in ... providing economic opportunities for all people," he said in a prepared statement.
Kopp's measure would not affect fund-raising for statewide initiatives. Many gaming tribes are backing an initiative on the November ballot that would legalize the games that are in dispute.