Nebraska proposal allowing Indian gambling remains stalled in committee

Scott Bauer

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2000 | 8:45 a.m.

LINCOLN, Neb. - A proposal legalizing casino gambling on American Indian lands remains one vote short of the five needed to advance it to the full Legislature.

Unless someone changes his mind, General Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Ray Janssen of Nickerson said Tuesday, the issue will not be discussed again.

Four committee members are in favor of the proposed constitutional amendment (LR289CA) and four are opposed.

The amendment's sponsor is not giving up hope.

"One way or the other this issue will be discussed," Lincoln Sen. DiAnna Schimek said.

If a fifth vote to advance the bill out of committee cannot be found, Schimek said she will ask for the entire Legislature to pull it out. That takes 25 votes.

The earliest such a vote could be taken is Feb. 14. There is no deadline under the rules for when a vote could be requested.

Janssen said he agrees that the issue needs to be debated, but no one on the committee appears ready to change their positions.

Those voting last week against advancement were Sens. Paul Hartnett of Bellevue, Adrian Smith of Gering, Robert Dickey of Laurel and Mark Quandahl of Omaha.

All four said Tuesday that they had not changed their minds.

"I don't think this is the way to go," Hartnett said.

Supporters argue that the entire Legislature should have a chance to discuss the measure, even if a majority of the committee doesn't agree.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it gets advanced for the sake of dialogue," said Sen. Jim Cudaback of Riverdale, who voted to advance the amendment.

Dickey said a survey he distributed in his legislative district in northeast Nebraska shows that most people are against gambling on American Indian land.

But Schimek said people who have contacted her office overwhelmingly support it. The public wants to give American Indians a chance to bolster their economies through revenue generated from gambling, she said.

The earliest gambling could legally take place on American Indian lands in the state is 2001.

First the amendment must be advanced to the full Legislature. If it passed through three rounds of debate, it would be placed on the November ballot.

If voters approved, then the tribes and the state would have to enter into a compact detailing the parameters of the gambling to take place.

That would then have to be approved by the Legislature.

The state's four recognized American Indian tribes all back the measure.

Only tribes that have owned reservation land in Nebraska since 1988 would qualify under the amendment. Those are the Santee Sioux, Winnebago and Omaha. Although the Ponca are a recognized tribe, they do not have a reservation in the state.

The Santee Sioux Tribe has been operating a casino on its reservation since 1996. It has argued its sovereign status under federal law gives it the right to operate the casino.

In February 1999, U.S. District Judge William Cambridge imposed a $3,000 daily fine on the tribe, doubling it in July after the tribe refused to close its casino.

The tribe now owes the government $1.4 million.