Gambling legislation advances in Nebraska

Scott Bauer

Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2002 | 9:54 a.m.

LINCOLN, Neb. -- The third time was the charm for a proposal to legalize casino gambling on Indian reservations in Nebraska.

The proposed constitutional amendment received the minimum 25 votes Monday needed to advance to the second of three rounds of debate.

It marks the first time in three years the measure advanced in legislative debate.

The first two years Lincoln Sen. DiAnna Schimek introduced the proposal, it never made it out of committee.

"I'm just ecstatic about it," Schimek said after her proposal advanced. She was in tears two years ago when an attempt to pull it from committee for floor debate failed.

"I'm so pleased the Legislature is seriously considering the issue," she said.

Despite its advancement, the measure still faces obstacles. It needs 30 votes to pass on final reading. And if passed, it (6CA) would have to be approved by voters in November before being added to the constitution.

"It's a great victory for us getting this discussion where it is now," said Darren Wolfe Sr., a spokesman for the Omaha tribe. "We've still got a ways to go."

Judi Gaiashkibos, director of Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs, said she was cautiously optimistic supporters would get the 30 votes needed to pass the measure.

Lawmakers rejected attempts to broaden where gambling would be allowed.

Supporters of allowing the state's five horse racing tracks to have slot machines argued that it would be the only way they could compete with casinos elsewhere in Nebraska. An amendment allowing slots at the tracks failed.

Lincoln Sen. Chris Beutler said the best approach to more gambling would be to allow it within two miles of neighboring states that already offer it. However, lawmakers chafed at that idea as well, rejecting the proposal last week and again Monday.

That left Schimek to argue for the original proposal, which would let voters decide whether to allow casinos on reservation lands owned by the Omaha, Winnebago and Santee Sioux tribes. A small portion of land used as a burial ground by the Ponca tribe in Knox and Boyd counties also would qualify.

All the lands eligible for casinos are in northeast Nebraska.

The tribes say it is their sovereign right to decide for themselves whether to allow casinos on their land. They also say the revenue generated would help them improve their depressed economic lot.

The tribes would have preferred Beutler's proposal to have casinos outside the reservations, but allowing them on their land will be an economic benefit, Schimek said.

The Santee Sioux tribe has operated a small casino on its reservation for nearly six years, which state and federal officials contend is illegal.

Two groups are circulating petitions to put other constitutional amendments up for a public vote in November that would allow for video slot machines.

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