ASSOCIATED PRESS

August 27, 1998

SACRAMENTO -- The governor's gambling compacts with 11 California Indian tribes -- the target of a contentious and expensive November ballot campaign -- would be ratified by a bill approved Thursday by the state Assembly.

After an emotional two-hour debate that included recitations of Indian history, appeals to conscience and a moment of silence, the house voted 53-24 for the bill. It returns for a final vote in the Senate, which this week approved an identical measure.

The federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allows Indian tribes to open casinos on their tribal lands if they only offer games allowed in that state and if they sign a compact with the state government.

During a long dispute with California officials over what kind of gambling they could offer, 40 tribes opened casinos, most of them featuring video slot machines and other gambling that Gov. Pete Wilson contends is illegal in California.

Wilson refused to negotiate a compact with any tribe with video slot machines. Instead, he negotiated for nearly two years with the Pala Band of Mission Indians, a San Diego County tribe that does not have a casino but wants to open one.

The compact reached between Wilson and the Pala Band in March does not allow video slot machines. It does allow a new, untested lottery-style machine and allows each tribe that signs a Pala-type agreement to have up to 975 of the machines, assuming they lease some from a nongambling tribe.

If all tribes signed an agreement like the Pala accord, there would be a total of 19,900 of the machines.

Ten gambling tribes this summer signed compacts essentially the same as the Pala pact. The new agreements allow those tribes to continue using their video slot machines as long as the new lottery machines are not available or competing tribes continue to operate the slot machines.

Supporters of the Pala agreement insist that the limits on the lottery machines in the pact would not affect other tribes that reach different agreements with the state.

But opponents aren't convinced. They are supporting Proposition 5, a Nov. 3 ballot measure that would let tribes run casinos with slot machines.

The anti-Pala agreement tribes on one side and Nevada gambling interests and anti-gambling groups on the other side have already begun extensive television advertisements on the initiative.

During Thursday's long debate, both sides insisted they were respecting the sovereignty of California Indian tribes.

Those favoring the compacts said the 11 tribes had made their choice and should be respected; those opposing the agreements said they infringed on the sovereignty of the state's 90 other tribes, most of which oppose ratification.

"Eleven tribes have chosen to live in peace. Eleven tribes have chosen to sign separate compacts with the state," said Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, the bill's Assembly sponsor.

"It is not the business of the Legislature to tell them they have chosen incorrectly," he added.

Several lawmakers supporting the bill said they didn't like the compacts, but respected the 11 tribes' right to make their decision.

Assemblyman Dick Floyd, D-Wilmington, said the bill might be the only chance for the tribes. If Proposition 5 is defeated, the Legislature will hesitate to ratify any new Indian gambling contracts, he said. And he said the 11 tribes could amend their compacts by negotiating a future governor.

"This is Governor Wilson's compact. Guess what? Give us a couple months and Governor Wilson's not going to be the guy deciding what's in the compact," Floyd said.

Opponents cited the U.S.-Indian history of broken promises, remote reservations and abject poverty and said gambling has brought prosperity to reservations for the first time. Now, they say, the state government wants to intrude.

"The Indians have developed a way to make the flinty, forsaken, isolated land to which they were banished provide a livelihood, made possible by the one thing we left them after we had taken away everything else -- their liberty. We are now acting to take away that liberty," said Assemblyman Tom McClintock, R-Simi Valley.

Assemblyman Cruz Bustamante, D-Fresno, asked for a "moment of silence, for we are right now destroying Indian sovereignty."

Link to: California's Modern Indian War