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My point, which I didn't make clear enough, was that no matter what propositions are put on the ballot, the negotiations still legally take place. But let's say you got an iron clad proposition - there is still the final hurdle of the Secretary of the Interior who has to sign off on each deal.

That was the downfall of Prop 5, and why Davis was able to snag a couple concessions. The only things that don't have to be signed off on for Prop 70 are the 99 year extension and the lack of limits on the number of machines.

... there is still the final hurdle of the Secretary of the Interior who has to sign off on each deal.

Where did you see that? It's not in this proposition. The proposed law says it must be a federally recognized tribe on existing reservation land. The only involvement of the Secretary of the Interior would be when a tribe requests that new land be considered to be put in trust. That process is subject to separate federal laws and doesn't have anything to do with this law. From what I have read, the feds don't approve the tribal gaming compacts; that responsibility lies with the Governor. The state legislature, however, must ratify them. On the surface, I don't have a problem with the SEC. 6 severability provision.