BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1245
Author: V. Manuel Pérez (D)
Amended: 7/3/13 in Assembly
Vote: 27 - Urgency
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 8/8/13 - See last page for vote
NOTE: On August 20, 2013, the Senate Governmental Organization
Committee held an informational hearing on tribal-state
compact between the State of California and the Ramona
Band of Cahuilla.
SUBJECT : Tribal gaming: compact ratification: Ramona Band
of Cahuilla
SOURCE : Ramona Band of Cahuilla
DIGEST : This bill ratifies a tribal-state gaming compact
(Compact) between the State of California and the Ramona Band of
Cahuilla, executed on June 10, 2013.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Provides, under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), for
the negotiation and conclusion of compacts between federally
recognized Indian tribes and the state for the purpose of
conducting Class III gaming activities on Indian lands within
a state as a means of promoting tribal economic development,
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self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments. Expressly
authorizes a number of Compacts between the state and
specified Indian tribes. Authorizes the conduct of Class III
gaming activities to the extent such activities are permitted
by state law, a gaming compact has been concluded by a
federally recognized tribe and the state, and the compact has
been approved by the Secretary of the Interior.
2.Limits the operation of Class III gaming activities to Indian
lands acquired on or before October 17, 1988. Provides for
certain exceptions to conduct gaming activities on Indian
lands acquired after October 17, 1988.
3.Defines Indian lands to mean all lands within the limits of
any Indian reservation, and any lands title to which is either
held in trust by the United States for the benefit of any
Indian tribe or individual or held by any Indian tribe or
individual subject to restriction by the United States against
alienation and over which an Indian tribe exercises
governmental power.
4.Requires the state to negotiate to conclude a compact in good
faith with an Indian tribe having jurisdiction over the Indian
lands upon which the Class III gaming activity is to be
conducted. Provides the United States district courts with
jurisdiction over any cause of action initiated by a tribal
government alleging that the state failed to negotiate in good
faith to conclude a compact. Furthermore, prescribes the
remedy, mediation supervised by the courts, if it is found
that the state failed to negotiate in good faith to conclude a
compact.
5.Authorizes the Governor, under the California Constitution, to
negotiate and conclude compacts, subject to ratification by
the Legislature.
RAMONA BAND OF CAHUILLA
This bill ratifies a Compact between the State of California and
the Ramona Band of Cahuilla (Tribe), executed on June 10, 2013.
The Compact authorizes the Tribe to operate no more than 750
slot machines at a single facility located within the boundaries
of the Tribe as those boundaries exist as of the execution date
of this Compact. The Tribe has agreed to share up to 10% of its
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revenue with tribes that are not gaming or that otherwise are
not substantially benefiting from gaming. The Compact includes
provisions to protect employees and patrons as well as measures
to protect the environment during the construction and operation
of gaming facilities. It contains additional provisions to
encourage the use of ecology-resort building and operations
standards and use of clean energy sources on the Tribe's
reservation. Furthermore, the Compact provides for the
regulation of gaming and slot machines in a manner similar to
other compacts entered into by the State and provides for an
annual independent audit and allows the State to conduct its own
audit. Once effective (legislative ratification and federal
approval required), this Compact will be in full force and
effect for state law purposes until December 31, 2033.
The following indicate key provisions of the Compact:
1.Scope of Class III gaming . Authorizes the Tribe to operate up
to 750 gaming devices, any banking or percentage card games,
and any devices or games that are authorized under state law
to the California Lottery, provided that the Tribe will not
offer such games through the use of the Internet unless others
in the State are permitted to do so under State and federal
law. The Tribe is not precluded from offering Class II gaming
or off-track horse race wagering at the facility.
Additionally, the Compact does not authorize the operation of
the game known as roulette, whether or not played with or on a
mechanical, electro-mechanical, electrical, or video device,
or cards, or any combination of such devices, or the operation
of any game that incorporates the physical use of a die or
dice.
2.Exclusivity . Provides that in the event the exclusive right
of Indian tribes to operate Class III gaming in California
pursuant to the California Constitution is lost and other
non-Indian entities are able to engage in Class III gaming the
Tribe shall have the right to terminate this Compact, in which
case the Tribe will lose the right to operate Class III gaming
authorized by this Compact; or continue under this Compact
with an entitlement to a reduction in its contributions to the
Special Distribution Fund, the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund, or
the Tribal Nation Grant Fund (TNGF), pending negotiations with
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the State for a new agreement.
3.Special Distribution Fund (SDF) . The Tribe shall pay to the
State on a pro rata basis the actual and reasonable costs the
State incurs for the performance of all its duties under this
Compact, as established by the monies appropriated in the
annual Budget Act for the performance of their duties under
the Class III Gaming Compacts each fiscal year for the
California Gambling Control Commission, the Department of
Justice, the Office of the Governor and the Department of
Alcohol and Drug Programs, Office of Problem Gambling, or any
agency or agencies the State designates as a successor to
them. The Tribe's pro rata share of the State's costs in any
given year this Compact is in effect shall be calculated using
the following equation: "The maximum number of gaming devices
operated in the gaming facility for the previous fiscal year
as determined by the State Gaming Agency, divided by the
maximum number of gaming devices operated by all federally
recognized tribes in California pursuant to tribal-state
Class-III gaming compacts during the previous fiscal year,
multiplied by costs, equals the Tribe's pro rata share."
4.Revenue Sharing Trust Fund (RSTF) . The Tribe has agreed to
pay into the RSTF or the TNGF, for distribution to non-gaming
and limited-gaming tribes, an amount equal to 10% of the net
win, as defined, on every slot machine in operation over 350.
The Tribe does not make payments into the RSTF or the TNGF if
it operates 349 or fewer slot machines.
5.Gaming facility mitigation . Before the commencement of any
activity occurring on Indian lands, a principal purpose of
which is to serve the gaming activities or gaming operation,
and which may cause either a direct physical change in the
off-reservation environment, or a reasonably foreseeable
indirect physical change in the off-reservation environment,
the Tribe must follow designated procedures, and enter into
agreements, required pursuant to the Compact, to mitigate
significant effects. Specifically, the Tribe is required to
enter into agreements with the following: (a) the County of
Riverside for law enforcement, fire protection, emergency
medical services and other services provided and (b) the
Department of Transportation to mitigate all traffic impacts
on the State highway system and for the Tribe to pay their
fair share of cumulative traffic impacts.
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6.Ecology-resort standards . The Compact stipulates that the
Tribe must make good faith efforts to comply with eco-resort
standards set forth in Appendix E of the Compact that include
(a) minimizing impacts of development footprints (e.g.,
clustered-multi-story buildings, bird friendly building
design, native plant landscaping, limited outdoor lighting,
and no herbicide or pesticide use) and transportation impacts
(e.g., use of alternative fueled vehicles, limitation of
onsite parking facilities, free van or bus transport from
off-site locations for guests); (b) water neutrality (e.g.,
installation of water conserving fixtures, fittings and
appliances); (c) carbon neutrality (e.g., no wood burning
stoves, use of geothermal heating and generation of 100% of
thermal and electric energy onsite); (d) water runoff; (e)
waste reduction (e.g., mandatory recycling, composting of food
waste, recycling 100% of construction waste, and no single
serving plastic water or beverage containers); (f) LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified
buildings; (g) environmentally preferable purchasing policies;
and (h) local preference for food purchases. The Compact
allows the Tribe to forgo SDF payments if the Governor
determines the Tribe is in compliance with the eco-resort
standards outlined above.
7.Local intergovernmental agreements . On December 18, 2012, the
Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved a memorandum of
understanding with the Tribe to address and mitigate
significant effects to the off-reservation environment which
may occur as a result of a gaming project on the Reservation.
The Tribe has agreed to work with the County regarding
compensation for law enforcement, fire protection, emergency
medical services, and other public services provided by the
County as a result of the Tribe's gaming facility.
Other provisions of the Compact relate to patron protections;
environmental protections; employee protections; enhanced audit
and compliance review procedures; inspection/testing of slot
machines; Minimum Internal Control Standards; problem gambling;
labor relations; tobacco and alcohol; prohibitions regarding
minors; health and safety standards; emergency services
accessibility and possession of firearms; and arbitration rules.
This bill provides that the Compact is not effective unless and
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until it is ratified by the Legislature and notice of approval
or constructive approval is published in the Federal Register as
provided by IGRA. Once effective, this Compact shall be in full
force and effect for state law purposes until December 31, 2033.
Also, if this Compact does not take effect by July 1, 2014, it
shall be deemed null and void unless the Tribe and the State
agree in writing to extend that date.
Background
The Ramona Band of Cahuilla is a federally recognized Indian
tribe listed in the Federal Register as the Ramona Band of
Cahuilla. As per the Compact's preamble, the Ramona Band of
Cahuilla's Reservation is located at the base of Thomas
Mountain, in Anza, in the County of Riverside, California. The
Reservation was created by a February 10, 1893 Executive Order
issued pursuant to the Mission Indian Relief Act, 26 Stat. 712
(1891), lies within the aboriginal territory of the Cahuilla
Indians which the Tribe has occupied continuously since time
immemorial, and currently consists of the original 560 acres
that the 1893 Order reserved in federal trust for the exclusive
use and benefit of the Tribe and its members. The Reservation
is within the San Bernardino National Forest, surrounded
predominantly by U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land
Management lands, and is completely "off grid." Energy to each
of the homes and buildings on the Reservation is provided by
hybrid electrical systems consisting of solar and wind
generation designed and installed by the Tribe.
The membership consists of 13 tribal members of which
approximately seven live on the Reservation. The General
Council of the Ramona Band of Cahuilla is the governing body of
the Tribe with the power and authority to act on all government
and business matters. And, in accordance with custom and
tradition, the General Council also elects the Tribal Council
and the Tribal Chairperson.
Additionally, the preamble states, that the Tribe and the State
share an interest in mitigating the off-reservation impacts of
the gaming facility, affording meaningful consumer and employee
protections in connection with the operations of the gaming
facility, fairly regulating the gaming activities conducted at
the gaming facility, and fostering a good-neighbor relationship.
Furthermore, the preamble points out that the Tribe has agreed
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to provide to the State, on a government-to-government basis, a
portion of the Tribe's revenues for fair reimbursement of the
cost of regulation and mitigation pertaining to the gaming
facility, for payments to non-gaming tribes, and for payments to
mitigate impacts of the gaming facility on the local community.
This Compact will afford the Tribe primary responsibility over
the regulation of its gaming facility and will enhance the
Tribe's economic development and self-sufficiency. Furthermore,
the State and the Tribe have concluded that this Compact
protects the interests of the Tribe and its members, the
surrounding community, and the public, and will promote and
secure long-term stability, mutual respect and mutual benefits.
The preamble points out that the State and the Tribe recognize
that the exclusive rights that the Tribe will enjoy under this
Compact create a unique opportunity for the Tribe to operate a
Class III gaming facility in an economic environment free of
competition from the operation of gaming devices and banked card
games on non-Indian lands in California and that this unique
economic environment is of great value to the Tribe.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/20/13)
Ramona Band of Cahuilla (source)
Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians
Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake
Riverside County Board of Supervisors
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 8/8/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Daly,
Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia,
Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman,
Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, John A.
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Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Dahle, Donnelly, Pan, Yamada,
Vacancy, Vacancy
MW:ej 8/20/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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