AGs protest fed rule on Indian gaming

Tuesday, July 2, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa has joined colleagues in 23 other states to protest a proposed federal rule that would usurp the states' power to regulate Indian gaming.

The letter signed by 24 attorneys general said it was "clearly contrary to law and inappropriate" for Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to establish a rule that grants permission to these Indian tribes to have slot machines and video gambling.

Under current procedures, the tribes and the states must sign compacts for Indian gambling. If the tribe complains that the state is not negotiating in good faith, it can file suit. But the state can raise the defense that it is immune from suit under the 11th amendment.

Del Papa said Babbitt wants a regulation to bypass the judicial system when a states raises the immunity defense. She said Babbitt's proposed rule would permit him to grant Class III gaming -- slot machines and video games -- on Indian land without a state's direct involvement. This could even occur in states that don't allow gaming.

Babbitt also would be allowed to approve gaming for the tribe even if a state was found by a court to have acted in good faith in the negotiating process with the tribe.

The attorneys general argue that the law passed by Congress only authorizes Babbitt to act as a last resort and only in consultation with a court-appointed mediator who is familiar with the positions and interests of the tribes and states.