BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2515|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2515
Author: Hall (D)
Amended: 8/21/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION COMM : 13-0, 6/26/12
AYES: Wright, Anderson, Berryhill, Calderon, Cannella,
Corbett, De León, Evans, Hernandez, Padilla, Walters,
Wyland, Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 8/16/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/10/12 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Indian gaming: local agencies
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill modifies the procedures governing the
award of local mitigation grants from the Indian Gaming
Special Distribution Fund (SDF) to require grant
applications to the Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit
Committee to clearly show how the grant will mitigate the
impact of the specified casino and appropriates $9.1
million from the Special Distribution Fund.
ANALYSIS :
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Purpose . According to the author the intent of this bill
is to address several Bureau of State Audits
recommendations stemming from its review of the SDF and the
benefit committees, including more rigorously reviewing
applications for grants that are to be administered and
spent by an entity other than the local government that
applies for the funds, and ensuring that benefit
committees' conflict-of-interest codes comply with the
political reform act by reviewing the act and their codes,
and changing the codes as necessary to meet the act's
requirements.
The author contends, this bill will clarify existing law
and provide direction to local benefit committees
attempting to implement the distribution of SDF grant
funds.
Background
Both the SDF and the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust
Fund (RSTF) were established in the 61 tribal-state gaming
compacts negotiated in 1999 by then-Governor Davis and
ratified by the Legislature that same year.
The 1999 compacts require each tribe that operates more
than 200 slot machines as of September 1, 1999, before the
compacts were ratified, to deposit a percentage of its
average net wins (ranging from 7-13%) into the SDF (the
state General Fund receives no revenue from the 1999
compacts). Twenty-five tribes currently make contributions
into the SDF.
Tribes with 1999 compacts are required to purchase slot
machine licenses by paying both a one-time fee and
quarterly fees based upon the number of slot machines the
tribe operates. These fees are deposited into the RSTF and
are used to support the annual $1.1 million payments to the
71 "non-compact" tribes. Unfortunately, the fee structure
established in the 1999 compacts designed to support the
$1.1 million payments to the non-compact tribes does not
generate a sufficient level of funding necessary to support
this obligation, thus necessitating annual transfers
(approximately $50 million in the 2012-13 Budget) from the
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SDF to address this "shortfall."
Special Distribution Fund . Along with covering
"shortfalls" in the RSTF, money paid by gaming tribes into
the SDF is required to be used for funding programs
designed to address problem gambling; support for any local
or state government agencies that are impacted by gaming;
compensation for any Department of Justice (DOJ) regulatory
costs; and for implementing any tribal labor relations
ordinances promulgated in accordance with individual gaming
compacts.
The 2012-13 budget assumes the SDF will have $86.6 million
in revenue (down from the $112.5 million estimated for
2011-12). Of that $86.6 million, $50 million will be
transferred to the RSTF to cover the shortfall in the
funding for non-gaming tribes, $15 million is provided to
the DOJ, $9 million to the Gambling Control Commission, $8
million to the Department of Public Health for the Office
of Problem Gambling, and the remaining $5 million would be
held in a reserve for economic uncertainties (approximately
$41 million less than 2011-12). No funding is proposed for
the local mitigation grants that are the subject of this
legislation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
This bill appropriates $9.1 million from the Special
Distribution Fund. Unknown, potentially over $130,000 for
reimbursable mandate costs.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/20/12)
Barona Band of Mission Indians
California State Firefighters Association
Fresno County District Attorney's Office
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
Table Mountain Rancheria
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/10/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
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Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Pan, Perea,
Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cook, Fletcher, Furutani, Jeffries,
Norby, Olsen, V. Manuel Pérez
DLW:n 8/21/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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