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California Governor's Slot Proposal Shocks Natives

"It was, depending on whom one talked to, a `draft,' a `premature release' or `a computer glitch.'

"Whatever it was, it was enough to shock the tribal world of Southern California because at issue is who controls the licensing of slot machines and, ultimately, the proliferation of gambling in the state.

"The order, which the governor's office said was released prematurely, would grant the state's new Gambling Control Commission authority to license slot machines on American Indian lands. That power now rests with the tribes themselves.

"While some North County tribes are taking a pragmatic approach to the order, others say their sovereignty as individual and separate nations is at stake.

"…Tribes with established gambling facilities want to keep as much control as they can over the gambling operations on their reservations. That includes slot machines, which are considered the cash cows of American Indian gambling, providing up to 80 percent of revenues for American Indian casinos.

"Believing the order, D-31-01, had been signed and issued by the governor, the gambling commission's chairman, John Hensley, told reporters Thursday that his commission had been granted the authority to issue licenses for the machines.

"The announcement by the commission's chairman on Thursday shocked tribes.

"…After signing the gambling agreements with the state last spring, tribes held several secret drafts to issue licenses for slot machines. Since then, no one besides the tribes and the accounting firm they hired to handle the licensing fees knows exactly how many slot machines tribes drew from the pool.

"Part of the fees contribute to a trust fund, about $36 million according to the commission, to be divided among non-gambling tribes in the state. But before the commission can issue the money, the commission has to figure out whether the money was paid for new licenses, renewals or other fees. Tribes have refused to cooperate.

"…At the Gambling Control Commission's meeting in January, Hensley said he believed the commission had the authority to issue the licenses, but Jacob Coin, the director of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, a consortium of tribes in the state, said he had some concerns about that assumption.

"Because of the compact's vague language on these issues, the governor's order could weigh in heavily on issues of authority, but critics argue that political contributions from gambling tribes is influencing legislators to weaken the commission's authority, which after nearly a year is still operating with four of the five commissioners appointed, a string budget and borrowed staff…"

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