Nebraska lawmakers to vote on pulling Indian gambling proposal out of committee

Scott Bauer

Wednesday, March 1, 2000 | 11:18 a.m.

LINCOLN, Neb. - Proponents say American Indians should have the right to gamble on their reservations in Nebraska.

Opponents say gambling is unhealthy and should not be allowed anywhere in the state.

The two sides were pitted against one another today in the Legislature over a proposed constitutional amendment legalizing casino gambling on Indian reservations in the state.

A motion to pull the amendment out of committee was scheduled for debate.

The proposal (LR289CA) has been deadlocked in the General Affairs Committee since late January, without enough votes to advance or kill it.

The motion to place the amendment in the first round of debate needed 25 votes to succeed.

If unsuccessful, the amendment dies.

If the amendment is passed by the Legislature it would appear on the November ballot for voters to decide.

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

If voters approved, tribes and the state would have to enter into a gambling compact that would be subject to the Legislature's approval.

The earliest that gambling could legally take place on Indian lands in the state would be 2001.

Only tribes that have owned reservation land in Nebraska since 1988 would qualify. Those include 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 has been operating a casino on its northeast Nebraska 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.