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California Lawmakers Back Request for Gambling Commission Audit

"Each of the three accepted tens of thousands of dollars in contributions from gambling tribes within the last election cycle, campaign records show.

"…The criticism of the California Gambling Control Commission comes as commission chair John Hensley is in Fresno for meetings over renegotiation of tribal gambling compacts with the state, all of which expire next year.

"It's the latest in a series of increasingly heated – and personal – exchanges between the Indian Gaming Association and the commission. Dissent over the strategy has prompted at least six tribes to withdraw from the Indian Gaming Association the state's largest organization of tribal governments, with 75 member tribes.

"The association wants lawmakers to investigate whether the commission is exceeding its authority under the 1999 compacts negotiated with Gov. Gray Davis' administration. The Indian Gaming Association contends the commission's regulations and rulings violate tribal sovereignty provisions under the compacts and the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

"It also wants an audit of the Revenue Sharing Trust Fund account established to distribute a share of gambling profits to non-gambling tribes. Payments from the $57 million account have been delayed for months, while other payments have gone to ineligible tribes, the association alleges…"

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