California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2914

Introduced by Committee on Governmental Organization (Assembly Members Gray (Chair), Bigelow (Vice Chair), Alejo, Bonta, Campos, Cooley, Cooper, Daly, Gallagher, Gipson, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Maienschein, Salas, and Wilk)

March 17, 2016

An act to amend Sections 12012.75 and 12012.90 of the Government Code, relating to gaming.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2914, as introduced, Committee on Governmental Organization. Gaming: Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund.

Existing federal law, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, provides for the negotiation and execution of tribal-state gaming compacts for the purpose of authorizing certain types of gaming on Indian lands within a state. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to negotiate and conclude compacts, subject to ratification by the Legislature. Existing law expressly ratifies a number of tribal-state gaming compacts, and amendments of tribal-state gaming compacts, between the State of California and specified Indian tribes.

Existing law establishes the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund within the State Treasury for the receipt and deposit of moneys derived from gaming device license fees that are received from tribes pursuant to the terms of tribal-state gaming compacts for the purpose of making distributions to noncompact tribes. Existing law provides that moneys in that fund are available to the California Gambling Control Commission, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of making those distributions in accordance with plans specified in tribal-state gaming compacts.

This bill would clarify that the purpose of the fund is for making distributions to eligible recipient Indian tribes.

Existing law requires the California Gambling Control Commission to, on or before the day of the May budget revision for each fiscal year, determine the anticipated total amount of shortfalls in payment likely to occur in the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund for the next fiscal year, and to provide to the committee in the Senate and Assembly that considers the State Budget an estimate of the amount needed to transfer from the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund to backfill the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund for the next fiscal year. Existing law requires, at the end of each fiscal quarter, the commission’s Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund report to include specified information, including, among other things, the amount paid into the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund by each of the tribes pursuant to the applicable sections of the tribal-state gaming compact.

This bill would provide that tribes contributing to the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund on a net win or gross gaming revenue basis may be aggregated in the quarterly report described above.

Existing law requires the California Gambling Control Commission to determine the amount of money needed to be transferred from the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund to the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund to ensure that each eligible recipient Indian tribe receives a specified amount of the funds. Existing law defines “eligible recipient tribe” for those purposes to mean a noncompact tribe, as defined in the tribal-state gaming compacts ratified and in effect, as specified. Those compacts define “noncompact tribe” to mean a federally recognized tribe that operates fewer than 350 gaming devices.

This bill would clarify that “eligible recipient Indian tribe” means a noncompact, nongaming, or limited-gaming tribe, as defined in the tribal-state gaming compacts ratified and in effect, as provided. The bill would delete other related, obsolete provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 12012.75 of the Government Code is
amended to read:

12012.75.  

There is hereby created in the State Treasury a
special fund called the “Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust
Fund” for the receipt and deposit of moneys begin delete derived end delete begin insert received by
the state end insert from begin delete gaming device license fees that are paid into the
fund end delete begin insert Indian tribes end insert pursuant to the terms of tribal-state gaming
compacts for the purpose of making distributions to begin delete noncompact end delete
begin insert eligible recipient Indian end insert tribes. Moneys in the Indian Gaming
Revenue Sharing Trust Fund shall be available to the California
Gambling Control Commission, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, for the purpose of making distributions to begin delete noncompact end delete
begin insert eligible recipient Indian end insert tribes, in accordance with distribution
plans specified in tribal-state gaming compacts.

SEC. 2.  

Section 12012.90 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

begin delete

12012.90.  

(a) (1) For each fiscal year commencing with the
2002-03 fiscal year to the 2004-05 fiscal year, inclusive, the
California Gambling Control Commission shall determine the
aggregate amount of shortfalls in payments that occurred in the
Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund pursuant to Section
4.3.2.1 of the tribal-state gaming compacts ratified and in effect
as provided in subdivision (f) of Section 19 of Article IV of the
California Constitution as determined below:

(A) For each eligible recipient Indian tribe that received money
for all four quarters of the fiscal year, the difference between one
million one hundred thousand dollars ($1,100,000) and the actual
amount paid to each eligible recipient Indian tribe during the fiscal
year from the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund.

(B) For each eligible recipient Indian tribe that received moneys
for less than four quarters of the fiscal year, the difference between
two hundred seventy-five thousand dollars ($275,000) for each
quarter in the fiscal year that a recipient Indian tribe was eligible
to receive moneys and the actual amount paid to each eligible
recipient Indian tribe during the fiscal year from the Indian Gaming
Revenue Sharing Trust Fund.

(2) For purposes of this section, “eligible recipient Indian tribe”
means a noncompact tribe, as defined in Section 4.3.2(a)(i) of the
tribal-state gaming compacts ratified and in effect as provided in
subdivision (f) of Section 19 of Article IV of the California
Constitution.

(b) The California Gambling Control Commission shall provide
to the committee in the Senate and Assembly that considers the
State Budget an estimate of the amount needed to backfill the
Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund on or before the date
of the May budget revision for each fiscal year.

(c) An eligible recipient Indian tribe may not receive an amount
from the backfill appropriated following the estimate made
pursuant to subdivision (b) that would give the eligible recipient
Indian tribe an aggregate amount in excess of two hundred
seventy-five thousand dollars ($275,000) per eligible quarter. Any
funds transferred from the Indian Gaming Special Distribution
Fund to the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund that result
in a surplus shall revert back to the Indian Gaming Special
Distribution Fund following the authorization of the final payment
of the fiscal year.

(d) Upon a transfer of moneys from the Indian Gaming Special
Distribution Fund to the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust
Fund and appropriation from the trust fund, the California
Gambling Control Commission shall distribute the moneys without
delay to eligible recipient Indian tribes for each quarter that a tribe
was eligible to receive a distribution during the fiscal year
immediately preceding.

(e) 

end delete

begin insert

begin insert 12012.90. end insert   

end insert

For each fiscal year commencing with the begin delete 2005-06 end delete
begin insert 2016- end insert begin insert 17 end insert fiscal year, all of the following shall begin delete apply and
subdivisions (b) to (d), inclusive, shall not apply: end delete begin insert apply: end insert

begin delete

(1)

end delete

begin insert (a) end insert  On or before the day of the May budget revision for each
fiscal year, the California Gambling Control Commission shall
determine the anticipated total amount of shortfalls in payment
likely to occur in the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund
for the begin delete upcoming end delete begin insert next end insert fiscal year, and shall provide to the
committee in the Senate and Assembly that considers the State
Budget an estimate of the amount needed to transfer from the
Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund to backfill the Indian
Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund for the next fiscal year. The
anticipated total amount of shortfalls to be transferred from the
Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund to the Indian Gaming
Revenue Sharing Trust Fund shall be determined by the California
Gambling Control Commission as follows:

begin delete

(A)

end delete

begin insert (1) end insert  The anticipated number of eligible recipient begin insert Indian end insert tribes
that will be eligible to receive payments for the next fiscal year,
multiplied by one million one hundred thousand dollars
($1,100,000), with that product reduced by the amount anticipated
to be paid by the tribes directly into the Indian Gaming Revenue
Sharing Trust Fund for the begin insert next end insert fiscal year.

begin insert

(2) For purposes of this section and Section 12012.75, “eligible
recipient Indian tribe” means a noncompact, nongaming, or
limited-gaming tribe, as defined in the tribal-state gaming
compacts ratified and in effect as provided in subdivision (f) of
Section 19 of Article IV of the California Constitution.

end insert begin delete

(B)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  This amount shall be based upon actual payments received
into the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund the previous
fiscal year, with adjustments made due to amendments to existing
tribal-state begin insert gaming end insert compacts or newly executed tribal-state begin insert gaming end insert
compacts with respect to payments to be made to the Indian
Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund.

begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert  The Legislature shall transfer from the Indian Gaming
Special Distribution Fund to the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing
Trust Fund an amount sufficient for each eligible recipient begin insert Indian end insert
tribe to receive a total not to exceed two hundred seventy-five
thousand dollars ($275,000) for each quarter in the begin delete upcoming end delete begin insert next end insert
fiscal year begin insert that end insert an eligible recipient begin insert Indian end insert tribe is eligible to
receive moneys, for a total not to exceed one million one hundred
thousand dollars ($1,100,000) for the entire fiscal year. The
California Gambling Control Commission shall make quarterly
payments from the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund
to each eligible recipient Indian tribe within 45 days of the end of
each fiscal quarter.

begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (c) end insert  If the transfer of funds from the Indian Gaming Special
Distribution Fund to the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust
Fund results in a surplus, the funds shall remain in the Indian
Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund for disbursement in future
years, and if necessary, adjustments shall be made to future
distributions from the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund
to the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund.

begin delete

(4)

end delete

begin insert (d) end insert  In the event the amount appropriated for the fiscal year is
insufficient to ensure each eligible recipient begin insert Indian end insert tribe receives
the total of two hundred seventy-five thousand dollars ($275,000)
for each fiscal quarter, the Department of Finance, after
consultation with the California Gambling Control Commission,
shall submit to the Legislature a request for a budget augmentation
for the current fiscal year with an explanation as to the reason why
the amount appropriated for the fiscal year was insufficient.

begin delete

(5)

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert  At the end of each fiscal quarter, the California Gambling
Control Commission’s Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust
Fund report shall include information that identifies each of the
eligible recipient begin insert Indian end insert tribes begin delete eligible to receive a distribution end delete for
that fiscal quarter, the amount paid into the Indian Gaming Revenue
Sharing Trust Fund by each of the tribes pursuant to the applicable
sections of the tribal-state begin insert gaming end insert compact, begin insert provided that tribes
contributing on a net win or gross gaming revenue basis may be
aggregated in the report, end insert and the amount necessary to backfill
from the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund the shortfall in
the Indian Gaming Revenue Sharing Trust Fund in order for each
eligible recipient begin insert Indian end insert tribe to receive the total of two hundred
seventy-five thousand dollars ($275,000) for the fiscal quarter.