Posted on 02/27/2005 8:31:55 AM PST by SmithL
A deal to bring the state's first metropolitan casino to San Pablo figured to quickly surface when the state Legislature reconvened in early January.
Instead, the compact that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed last August with the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians remains in limbo, as the tribe struggles to find political support in the Capitol.
"It's got an uphill battle," said Senate Republican leader Dick Ackerman of Tustin. "I sense a lot of reluctance on it for a variety of reasons."
If the Legislature ratifies it, the compact would allow the tribe to operate up to 2,500 slot machines and request more slots as early as 2008, while paying state and local agencies 25 percent of casino revenues pegged at $500 million or more.
Ackerman said many lawmakers object less to the size of the proposed casino than to how the tribe won federal gaming rights in the first place. The Casino San Pablo card club and its nine acres became Lytton tribal land after Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, slid a rider into a massive Indian bill in 2000, overstepping the usual federal approval process.
Some state lawmakers want to wait until federal hearings are held on a bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein that would undo Miller's legislation. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the new chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, has promised to hold a hearing on Feinstein's bill, but no date has been set.
Schwarzenegger remains committed to the Lytton compact, which replaced an earlier deal for 5,000 slots that spurred an uproar.
He is working with the Legislature to decide "the appropriate time and mechanism for bringing the compact up for consideration," said spokesman Vince Sollitto.
Recognizing the lack of votes, the tribe and the casino workers' union are quietly lobbying local legislators and trumpeting public support. The tribe this month unveiled a scaled-down version of the project and released studies touting a big economic ripple and downplaying negative impacts.
"We feel we're in a good position and that the Legislature will view our efforts in a positive way when the bill comes up for ratification," said Lytton spokesman Doug Elmets.
Still, no local lawmaker appears eager to embrace the casino plan. One Indian gaming expert said the governor miscalculated when he sprung the deal at the end of the last session and called on lawmakers to quickly ratify it. They refused.
"He has done such a good job in playing the game of politics, I was surprised he did this one without talking to the local legislators first," said I. Nelson Rose, who teaches gambling law at Whittier Law School and has consulted for both tribes and card clubs.
"All the other members are going to back (local legislators) up. It may be in their area next time."
If the Legislature fails to ratify, the tribe could sue, claiming a breach of federal law requiring the state to enter into "good faith" negotiations with gaming tribes.
One gambling watchdog who backs the Lytton deal envisions a worst-case scenario: arbitration that grants the tribe a big casino and leaves the state without environmental, labor and other protections in the Lytton compact.
Cheryl Schmit said the chill in the Capitol reveals ignorance of federal gaming law, and the influence of big-money tribes that oppose the Lytton compact.
"What you're seeing here is the Legislature-as-normal operating," said Schmit.
The Legislature can't negotiate a new compact directly with the tribe. But it could reject the governor's compact and suggest changes. That scenario echoes the governor's comments to the Times on Feb. 4 about the Legislature's role in the deal.
"They may come back with more cuts in slot machine(s). Go ahead, it makes no difference ... just as long as you know that every time you make a cut, it's less money for the state," he said.
Ackerman said the Legislature will wait for the governor to decide when it takes up the compact.
"He probably has a timeline, but I don't know what it is. I don't think it's on the front burner."
The Bulwer-Lytton Tribe: Known for their bad writing.
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