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Panel Votes Against California Tribal Casino Plans

CALIFORNIA – As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle: "A Senate panel Wednesday approved Sen. Dianne Feinstein's bill to force the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians to scrap its plans for a casino in San Pablo and go through rigorous state and federal approvals before moving ahead with slot-machine gambling at its card club off Interstate 80.

"The Senate Indian Affairs Committee's 9-3 vote in favor of the bill by the California Democrat is another blow to the tribe, which has seen its hopes for a major urban casino in the Bay Area thwarted by strong opposition in the state Legislature.

"The bill still must be approved by the full Senate, and no one in the House has offered similar legislation. But Senate Indian Affairs Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., said the vote showed the deep concerns many lawmakers have about off-reservation gaming and urban casinos.

"…The 275-member Lytton tribe had purchased the Casino San Pablo card club after being stripped decades ago of their federally recognized land in Sonoma County's Alexander Valley.

"Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, boosted the tribe's fortunes by inserting language into a 2000 appropriations bill that backdated the purchase of the land to put the sale before Congress' passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 -- essentially allowing the Lyttons to bypass the normal regulatory approval process.

"When the tribe proposed building a mega-casino larger than many Las Vegas resorts, Feinstein introduced her measure to rescind Miller's provision and require the tribe to seek federal and state approval to conduct gaming…"

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