California gov, several tribes reach casino agreement

Brendan Riley

Friday, Sept. 10, 1999 | 9:11 a.m.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Gray Davis and more than 50 tribes reached agreements late Thursday and early today aimed at keeping Indian casinos open despite a state Supreme Court ruling clearing the way for their shutdown.

A major break came when Davis, labor-friendly legislators and tribal leaders agreed to keep a controversial provision on union organizing rights for casino workers separate from the compacts.

Under the final plan, the labor proposal would have to be endorsed by each tribe by Oct. 13 or the newly signed compacts would be nullified.

That will give all sides more time to work out terms acceptable to unions, which want strong protections for casino employees, and for tribes, which worry including such a requirement in the compacts infringes on their sovereignty.

A big factor for many of the smaller tribes was a change in the way slot machines would be allocated, said Scott Crowell, an attorney for several of those tribes.

Under the plan, the tribes with no slots would have the first opportunity to draw from a pool of machines available to all Indian casinos. It's estimated the number of slots would more than double to at least 43,000.

"This represents a very historic agreement, and concludes several weeks of very intense and sometimes grueling negotiations," said Davis spokesman Michael Bustamante. "The governor worked very hard over these past weeks to treat the tribes with the dignity and respect they deserve and negotiate in a fair and honest way to reach agreement."

Bustamante didn't comment on gripes by some tribal representatives that they were pressured to sign quickly. Asked about other complaints about the cap on slots, he added, "The governor has been very clear that he was interested in only a modest expansion of gambling."

Lawmakers also were nearing final action on a related proposal that would change the California Constitution to get around a recent state Supreme Court ruling against Indian casinos. They were expected to consider it before adjourning today.

"That measure, together with the compacts that we are agreeing to tonight, will finally allow California Indian tribes to achieve the self-reliance that we have long been seeking and will protect the thousands of people employed by tribal gaming operations throughout the state," said Anthony Pico, chairman of the Viejas band in San Diego County.

The constitutional change proposed by Senate leader John Burton, D-San Francisco, also must be approved by voters next March. It would give tribes a monopoly on slots and Nevada-style blackjack games.

The state Supreme Court's decision overturned Proposition 5, a 1998 voter-approved measure that allowed a major expansion of Indian casinos. Justices said the initiative sought to allow types of Nevada-style gambling banned by a 1984 amendment to the state constitution.

Federal prosecutors have threatened to shut down the casinos in mid-October.

At least one major holdout remained - the Agua Caliente band, whose 1,200-slot casino in Palm Springs is one of the state's biggest.

Tribal Chairman Richard Milanovich said he plans to move ahead with a rival ballot proposal that, like the Burton measure, would cancel last month's state Supreme Court ruling against the Indian casinos.

Asked why he wouldn't sign the compact, Milanovich said, "I just don't care for the terms and the conditions. It's still a document that's still undergoing changes, and we don't care to sign."

While the Agua Caliente band could be in danger of a casino shutdown due to a pending federal court order and their failure to sign, Milanovich added, "What's that saying? It's not over until the old fat lady sings?"