Committee rejects bill ratifying Pala tribe pact

Monday, June 29, 1998 | 6:36 a.m.

Indians from some of the three dozen California tribes that are bitterly opposed to the pact cheered when the 7-10 vote was announced in a Capitol hearing room.

The deal between Gov. Pete Wilson and the Pala Band of Mission Indians has been repeatedly denounced by casino-operating tribes because it would require them to shut down their lucrative video slot machines.

The Pala tribe does not currently operate a casino, but wants to open one.

The author of the bill, Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, said he would try again in future weeks to get the Senate-passed bill approved by the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee.

"A compact is akin to a treaty and I think it's something the entire body (Legislature) should be voting on," Burton said.

Ron Low, a spokesman for the Republican governor, also said Monday's vote was merely the first round.

"Senator Burton is a skilled and determined legislator, and has stated that he will get this bill passed," Low said. "When he sets out to accomplish something, there are few who can stand in his way."

The issue of the gambling machines Indian tribes can operate has been festering for years and is showing no signs of resolution. Voters in November will get a chance to express their opinions on the dispute that pits state and federal authority against tribal sovereignty.

Wilson and the Pala Band signed the compact - the first between the state and a tribe - in March, after nearly two years of negotiations. It was approved by the U.S. secretary of the interior in April.

At one time the Pala Band agreement was expected to be a model for other tribes. But the compact did not resolve the long dispute over Indian gambling; in fact, it only intensified it.

Wilson has refused to negotiate with any tribes using the video slot machines, which he contends are illegal under the state constitution. The Pala compact would allow tribes to operate a limited number of interconnected video machines that allow players to complete against one another, rather than the house.

Federal prosecutors around the state have started the prolonged process of getting court orders to shut down casinos where tribes have refused to negotiate on Wilson's terms.

A Sacramento County Superior Court judge last week said Wilson must get legislative approval for any Indian gambling agreement.

The Indian tribes opposed to the Pala compact have put an initiative on the November ballot that would allow them to keep the current machines and require the governor to negotiate without preconditions.

The California Nations Indian Gaming Association says the compact and the bill would devastate the economic self-reliance and prosperity that gambling has brought to California's once-impoverished tribes.

Burton's bill states that it would apply only to the Pala Band and its conditions would not be binding on other tribes. It also says the machine caps in the compact - 199 for each of the state's 100 Indian tribes - would apply only to the Pala.