Assembly Discusses Oversight Issue

Today the California State Assembly will convene a hearing to discuss Indian casino regulation. This has become a major stumbling block for the ratification of the amended compacts which have already passed the Senate. The issue revolves around the decision last fall by a Federal court that invalidated what are widely known as “minimum internal control standards.” These guidelines were developed by the National Indian Gaming Commission in consultation with tribes.

Some in the Assembly are saying that there should be some operating rules inserted into the compacts before becoming law to fill the void left by this decision. Spokeswoman for the Governor, Sabrina Lockhart, said the legal landscape was not defined until last fall and may still be changed by Congress and that the administration prefers to deal with the issue in a way that applies to all gaming tribes. “Even if this were addressed in the pending compacts, it wouldn't affect all tribes,” Lockhart said. “We want to have uniformity.”

California believed its tribal gaming agreements rested on a three-legged regulatory platform, with the responsibility shared by tribes, the state and the federal government, said Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, who is the Chairman of the Governmental Organization Committee. “We've lost one of those legs,” Torrico said. “The federal government is now out of the game of regulating slot machines of any tribe in America.”

Article Here:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20070514-9999-1n14compact.html