Senate Bill No. 374

Introduced by Senator Hall

February 24, 2015

An act to amend Section 12715 of the Government Code, relating to tribal gaming.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 374, as introduced, Hall. Tribal gaming: local agencies.

Existing law creates in the State Treasury the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund for the receipt and deposit of moneys received by the state from certain Indian tribes pursuant to the terms of gaming compacts entered into with the state. Existing law authorizes moneys in that fund to be used for specified purposes, including for grants for the support of state and local government agencies impacted by tribal government gaming. Existing law, until January 1, 2021, creates a County Tribal Casino Account in the treasury of each county that contains a tribal casino, which is funded according to specified formulas. Existing law requires the Controller to divide the County Tribal Casino Account for each county that has gaming devices that are subject to an obligation to make contributions to the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund into a separate account, known as an Individual Tribal Casino Account, for each tribe that operates a casino within the county. Each Individual Tribal Casino Account is required to be funded in proportion to the amount that each individual tribe paid in the prior fiscal year to the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund, and used for grants to local agencies impacted by tribal casinos, as specified. Existing law establishes an Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee in each county in which gaming is conducted, specifies the composition and responsibilities of that committee, and requires that committee to make the selection of grants from the casino accounts. Among other things, the committee is responsible for establishing all application policies and procedures for grants from the casino accounts.

Existing law requires funds not allocated from a County Tribal Casino Account or an Individual Tribal Casino Account for the grants by the end of each fiscal year to revert back to the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund, except for moneys allocated for specified fiscal years, which are required to be eligible for expenditure through the calendar year.

This bill would delete the obsolete provisions relating to allocations made in those specified fiscal years.

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 12715 of the Government Code is
amended to read:

12715.  

(a) The Controller, acting in consultation with the
California Gambling Control Commission, shall divide the County
Tribal Casino Account for each county that has gaming devices
that are subject to an obligation to make contributions to the Indian
Gaming Special Distribution Fund into a separate account for each
tribe that operates a casino within the county. These accounts shall
be known as Individual Tribal Casino Accounts, and funds may
be released from these accounts to make grants selected by an
Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee pursuant to
the method established by this section to local jurisdictions
impacted by tribal casinos. Each Individual Tribal Casino Account
shall be funded in proportion to the amount that each individual
tribe paid in the prior fiscal year to the Indian Gaming Special
Distribution Fund.

(b) (1) There is hereby created in each county in which Indian
gaming is conducted an Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit
Committee. The selection of all grants from each Individual Tribal
Casino Account or County Tribal Casino Account shall be made
by each county’s Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit
Committee. In selecting grants, the Indian Gaming Local
Community Benefit Committee shall follow the priorities
established in subdivision (g) and the requirements specified in
subdivision (h). This committee has the following additional
responsibilities:

(A) Establishing all application policies and procedures for
grants from the Individual Tribal Casino Account or County Tribal
Casino Account. Each grant application shall clearly show how
the grant will mitigate the impact of the casino on the grant
applicant.

(B) Assessing the eligibility of applications for grants from local
jurisdictions impacted by tribal gaming operations.

(C) Determining the appropriate amount for reimbursement
from the aggregate county tribal account of the demonstrated costs
incurred by the county for administering the grant programs. The
reimbursement for county administrative costs may not exceed 2
percent of the aggregate county tribal account in any given fiscal
year.

(2) Except as provided in Section 12715.5, the Indian Gaming
Local Community Benefit Committee shall be composed of seven
representatives, consisting of the following:

(A) Two representatives from the county, selected by the county
board of supervisors.

(B) Three elected representatives from cities located within four
miles of a tribal casino in the county, selected by the county board
of supervisors. In the event that there are no cities located within
four miles of a tribal casino in the county, other local
representatives may be selected upon mutual agreement by the
county board of supervisors and a majority of the tribes paying
into the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund in the county.
When there are no cities within four miles of a tribal casino in the
county, and when the Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit
Committee acts on behalf of a county where no tribes pay into the
Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund, other local
representatives may be selected upon mutual agreement by the
county board of supervisors and a majority of the tribes operating
casinos in the county. However, if only one city is within four
miles of a tribal casino and that same casino is located entirely
within the unincorporated area of that particular county, only one
elected representative from that city shall be included on the Indian
Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee.

(C) Two representatives selected upon the recommendation of
a majority of the tribes paying into the Indian Gaming Special
Distribution Fund in each county. When an Indian Gaming Local
Community Benefit Committee acts on behalf of a county begin delete where end delete
begin insert in which end insert no tribes pay into the Indian Gaming Special Distribution
Fund, the two representatives may be selected upon the
recommendation of the tribes operating casinos in the county.

(c) Sixty percent of each Individual Tribal Casino Account shall
be available for nexus grants on a yearly basis to cities and counties
impacted by tribes that are paying into the Indian Gaming Special
Distribution Fund, according to the four-part nexus test described
in paragraph (1). Grant awards shall be selected by each county’s
Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee and shall
be administered by the county. Grants may be awarded on a
multiyear basis, and these multiyear grants shall be accounted for
in the grant process for each year.

(1) A nexus test based on the geographical proximity of a local
government jurisdiction to an individual Indian land upon which
a tribal casino is located shall be used by each county’s Indian
Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee to determine the
relative priority for grants, using the following criteria:

(A) Whether the local government jurisdiction borders the Indian
lands on all sides.

(B) Whether the local government jurisdiction partially borders
Indian lands.

(C) Whether the local government jurisdiction maintains a
highway, road, or other thoroughfare that is the predominant access
route to a casino that is located within four miles.

(D) Whether all or a portion of the local government jurisdiction
is located within four miles of a casino.

(2) Fifty percent of the amount specified in begin insert this end insert subdivision begin delete (c) end delete
shall be awarded in equal proportions to local government
jurisdictions that meet all four of the nexus test criteria in paragraph
(1). If no eligible local government jurisdiction satisfies this
requirement, the amount specified in this paragraph shall be made
available for nexus grants in equal proportions to local government
jurisdictions meeting the requirements of paragraph (3) or (4).

(3) Thirty percent of the amount specified in begin insert this end insert subdivision
begin delete (c) end delete shall be awarded in equal proportions to local government
jurisdictions that meet three of the nexus test criteria in paragraph
(1). If no eligible local government jurisdiction satisfies this
requirement, the amount specified in this paragraph shall be made
available for nexus grants in equal proportions to local government
jurisdictions meeting the requirements of paragraph (2) or (4).

(4) Twenty percent of the amount specified in begin insert this end insert subdivision
begin delete (c) end delete shall be awarded in equal proportions to local government
jurisdictions that meet two of the nexus test criteria in paragraph
(1). If no eligible local government jurisdiction satisfies this
requirement, the amount specified in this paragraph shall be made
available for nexus grants in equal proportions to local government
jurisdictions meeting the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3).

(d) Twenty percent of each Individual Tribal Casino Account
shall be available for discretionary grants to local jurisdictions
impacted by tribes that are paying into the Indian Gaming Special
Distribution Fund. These discretionary grants shall be made
available to all local jurisdictions in the county irrespective of any
nexus to impacts from any particular tribal casino, as described in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (c). Grant awards shall be selected
by each county’s Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit
Committee and shall be administered by the county. Grants may
be awarded on a multiyear basis, and these multiyear grants shall
be accounted for in the grant process for each year.

(e) (1) Twenty percent of each Individual Tribal Casino Account
shall be available for discretionary grants to local jurisdictions
impacted by tribes that are not paying into the Indian Gaming
Special Distribution Fund. These grants shall be made available
to local jurisdictions in the county irrespective of any nexus to
impacts from any particular tribal casino, as described in paragraph
(1) of subdivision (c), and irrespective of whether the impacts
presented are from a tribal casino that is not paying into the Indian
Gaming Special Distribution Fund. Grant awards shall be selected
by each county’s Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit
Committee and shall be administered by the county. Grants may
be awarded on a multiyear basis, and these multiyear grants shall
be accounted for in the grant process for each year.

(A) Grants awarded pursuant to this subdivision are limited to
addressing service-oriented impacts and providing assistance with
one-time large capital projects related to Indian gaming impacts.

(B) Grants shall be subject to the sole sponsorship of the tribe
that pays into the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund and
the recommendations of the Indian Gaming Local Community
Benefit Committee for that county.

(2) If an eligible county does not have a tribal casino operated
by a tribe that does not pay into the Indian Gaming Special
Distribution Fund, the moneys available for discretionary grants
under this subdivision shall be available for distribution pursuant
to subdivision (d).

(f) (1) For each county that does not have gaming devices
subject to an obligation to make payments to the Indian Gaming
Special Distribution Fund, funds may be released from the county’s
County Tribal Casino Account to make grants selected by the
county’s Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee
pursuant to the method established by this section to local
jurisdictions impacted by tribal casinos. These grants shall be made
available to local jurisdictions in the county irrespective of any
nexus to any particular tribal casino. These grants shall follow the
priorities specified in subdivision (g) and the requirements specified
in subdivision (h).

(2) Funds not allocated from a begin delete county tribal casino account end delete
begin insert County Tribal Casino Account end insert by the end of each fiscal year shall
revert back to the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund.
begin delete Moneys allocated for the 2003-04 fiscal year shall be eligible for
expenditure through December 31, 2004. end delete

(g) The following uses shall be the priorities for the receipt of
grant moneys from Individual Tribal Casino Accounts: law
enforcement, fire services, emergency medical services,
environmental impacts, water supplies, waste disposal, behavioral,
health, planning and adjacent land uses, public health, roads,
recreation and youth programs, and child care programs.

(h) In selecting grants pursuant to subdivision (b), an Indian
Gaming Local Community Benefit Committee shall select only
grant applications that mitigate impacts from casinos on local
jurisdictions. If a local jurisdiction uses a grant selected pursuant
to subdivision (b) for any unrelated purpose, the grant shall
terminate immediately and any moneys not yet spent shall revert
to the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund. If a local
jurisdiction approves an expenditure that mitigates an impact from
a casino on a local jurisdiction and that also provides other benefits
to the local jurisdiction, the grant selected pursuant to subdivision
(b) shall be used to finance only the proportionate share of the
expenditure that mitigates the impact from the casino.

(i) All grants from Individual Tribal Casino Accounts shall be
made only upon the affirmative sponsorship of the tribe paying
into the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund from whose
Individual Tribal Casino Account the grant moneys are available
for distribution. Tribal sponsorship shall confirm that the grant
application has a reasonable relationship to a casino impact and
satisfies at least one of the priorities listed in subdivision (g). A
grant may not be made for any purpose that would support or fund,
directly or indirectly, any effort related to the opposition or
challenge to Indian gaming in the state, and, to the extent any
awarded grant is utilized for any prohibited purpose by any local
government, upon notice given to the county by any tribe from
whose Individual Tribal Casino Account the awarded grant went
toward that prohibited use, the grant shall terminate immediately
and any moneys not yet used shall again be made available for
qualified nexus grants.

(j) A local government jurisdiction that is a recipient of a grant
from an Individual Tribal Casino Account or a County Tribal
Casino Account shall provide notice to the public, either through
a slogan, signage, or other mechanism, stating that the local
government project has received funding from the Indian Gaming
Special Distribution Fund and further identifying the particular
Individual Tribal Casino Account from which the grant derives.

(k) (1) Each county’s Indian Gaming Local Community Benefit
Committee shall submit to the Controller a list of approved projects
for funding from Individual Tribal Casino Accounts. Upon receipt
of this list, the Controller shall release the funds directly to the
local government entities for which a grant has been approved by
the committee.

(2) Funds not allocated from an Individual Tribal Casino
Account by the end of each fiscal year shall revert back to the
Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund. begin delete Moneys allocated for
the 2003-04 fiscal year shall be eligible for expenditure through
December 31, 2004. Moneys allocated for the 2008-09 fiscal year
shall be eligible for expenditure through December 31, 2009. end delete

(l) Notwithstanding any other law, a local government
jurisdiction that receives a grant from an Individual Tribal Casino
Account shall deposit all funds received in an interest-bearing
account and use the interest from those funds only for the purpose
of mitigating an impact from a casino. If any portion of the funds
in the account is used for any other purpose, the remaining portion
shall revert to the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund. As a
condition of receiving further funds under this section, a local
government jurisdiction, upon request of the county, shall
demonstrate to the county that all expenditures made from the
account have been in compliance with the requirements of this
section.