All sides appear at odds in talks involving California tribal casinos

Brendan Riley

Wednesday, Sept. 8, 1999 | 10:37 a.m.

SACRAMENTO -- All bets were off Tuesday on the final form of Indian gambling legislation as lawmakers touted rival proposals, tribal leaders disagreed on key issues and critics sniped at the entire process.

Gov. Gray Davis, whose plan includes slot-machine limits strongly opposed by some tribes, said negotiations were progressing. But he was cautious about "a few hurdles to overcome."

"Whether we can get done between now and the end of Friday remains to be seen," Davis said.

The Legislature adjourns for the year Friday. If there's no compact with the tribes by then, some Indian casinos could be shut down by Oct. 13 under a federal court order, the governor warned.

That would be fine with critics of Indian gambling, including a group called Stand Up for California that called Tuesday for a federal grand jury probe into tribal campaign contributions to state lawmakers.

Indian leaders called the critics tools of big Nevada casino interests who would love to see tribal casinos close.

Representatives of more than 50 tribes returned to Sacramento to try for a deal with the governor and lawmakers. But some also moved ahead with their own ballot proposal to counter last month's state Supreme Court decision striking down Proposition 5, a 1998 voter-approved measure that allowed a major expansion of Indian-run gambling.

The justices said the initiative was unconstitutional because it sought to permit the type of Nevada-style gambling prohibited by a 1984 amendment to the state constitution.

The Indians' new ballot proposal would change the constitution to allow such games at tribal casinos. It is pushed by Richard Milanovich, chairman of the Agua Caliente Band, which has a big casino in Palm Springs.

Boxes of signatures were turned in to the voter registrar in Los Angeles to start qualifying the plan for the March 2000 ballot -- despite Davis' efforts to scrap that proposal and go with one of two ballot questions moving through the Legislature.

Mark Macarro, tribal chairman of the Pechanga Band in Temecula, said a deal with the governor would be best. That would include a compact with Davis plus another ballot proposal by Senate leader John Burton, D-San Francisco.

Burton's proposed constitutional amendment would give tribes a monopoly on casinos and roughly double the number of slot machines to more than 30,000.

Macarro said there's a need for "some semblance of certainty" that the Indian casinos can stay open pending the outcome of March balloting.

"I know that a compact with the governor together with Burton's (plan) provides us that semblance," said Macarro, adding that another proposal presented Tuesday to the tribes by Sen. Richard Polanco "does not provide the certainty we need."

Polanco's proposal, like the tribes' ballot initiative, would rewrite Proposition 5 to get around the constitutional challenges.

Milanovich said Burton's proposal is tied to an objectionable compact proposed by Burton and Davis that would limit slot machines, let casino workers unionize and require tribes to share gambling revenue with the state and with tribes that did not have casinos.

"I'm not saying we should go with Polanco," he said. "But it has a better likelihood of addressing the immediate needs and concerns of the tribes."

Milanovich was also critical of the negotiations with the Davis administration and lawmakers.

"What negotiations?" he said when asked about the talks, adding that Davis has been unyielding in his push for limits on Indian casino expansion.

While tribes are divided on slot limits, Milanovich said most oppose a Davis effort to mandate protection for unions in any compact.

Burton questioned whether Polanco's late-emerging ballot proposal would get very far, saying, "The governor doesn't want it, and as I understand it the tribes 32-to-1 endorse the governor's language, so I don't see the need to do anything different."

Polanco said he realized his plan faces an uphill battle, but added that it's designed to get around the conflicts that may doom Burton's proposal.

He also said the incremental filing of signatures for the Indians' ballot plan -- about 300,000 of the roughly 700,000 needed -- was a smart maneuver. The tribes would lose all negotiating power by dropping that plan before the week is out, Polanco said. And if there's no agreement this week, the Indians' plan will be on the March ballot.

"If we can't remedy this between now and the time we leave, then we go to the people," he said. "And they'll get a better shot with the people."