SYVN Commentary

This is the unedited version of the commentary submitted by yours truly which was published last week in the SYVN. They didnt edit too much... but here is the original.

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Over the last nine to ten months there has been a battle in Sacramento between five California Indian tribes seeking ratification of amended compacts and State Legislators. The battle for four of the tribes is over… for now.

The compacts are agreements negotiated between the tribes and the governor which will allow the tribes to add more slot machines to their gaming operations. The governor’s motive was to get a cut of the profits generated by the expansions and bring in $506 million for the state per year.

The compacts flew through the Senate but stalled in the Assembly. The main sticking point was that Labor, who has historically been close allies with Assembly Democrats, wanted to put into the compacts language that would have allowed the Unions to organize casino employees using the card check system. The Tribes argued against card-check language in the compacts because it would deny workers a "sacrosanct" right of a secret ballot election on union organizing as well as the fact that casino employees have had the right to organize since the original compacts took effect and no union has made any effort to organize them.

Another issue heavily debated was the regulation of casino operations. Opponents to the compacts cited a ruling last fall where a Federal Appeals court upheld a previous ruling that the National Indian Gaming Commission did not have the authority to regulate most tribal casinos. Critics claimed this left a huge void that needed to be addressed. The tribes claimed that they themselves provide frontline, day-to-day regulation of Indian casinos under ordinances that are consistent with state and federal law, many of which are more stringent than the NIGC’s.

The impasse in the Assembly ended when the governor and four of the five tribes negotiated memorandums of agreement or MOA’s to address these concerns. These MOA’s are separate bills from the original compacts. The Assembly and the Senate signed off on them and then the Assembly proceeded to approve the amended compacts much to the dismay of Labor. A case, perhaps, of “Who’s your daddy now”? The tribes who agreed to the MOA’s and who now have new compacts (pending approval of the Dept of Interior) are the Sycuan, Pechanga, Agua Caliente, and the Morongo. The San Manuel of San Bernardino County did not agree to the MOA and the future of there amended compact is unclear. The Chumash are not involved with any of this except as interested observers.

So how do these events affect us? These amended compacts, if approved by the Dept of Interior, will set a precedent for all Indian casinos in the state, but my belief is that due to the uniqueness of the valley (we are not out in the middle of the desert alongside an 8 lane interstate) and the space restraint that the Chumash have along with new rules that the Dept of Interior reported back in Feb. concerning putting land into trust , which do not favor tribes, that it will be very difficult for the Chumash to expand with 5000 more slots should they ever decide to start down that road. Short term, there probably will be some expansion and it will likely be parking and hotel rooms, but if and when the Chumash ever decide to seriously seek to amend their compact to add more slots, rest assured that there will be plenty of time for public debate and input and the people who live in the valley and surrounding communities as well as local city and county governments will play a major role in the eventual outcome. It will not happen overnight behind closed doors and it will not happen in “only a few weeks before it becomes reality”. It will be a long, drawn out public debate and if we ever get to that point, my hope is that it will be one where calm rational discussions occur, where all sides state their views and opinions with out anger, keeping focused on the issue, and respect any opposing views. The self-serving alarmist propaganda we have witnessed in the past was not in the best interest of the people of this valley and by now I hope the people who generated it realize that.

For those interested, details of these events and other information concerning the Chumash Casino and Indian Gaming in general may be found at:
http://rml-sulumhasscientia.blogspot.com/