Local governments want voice in Calif. casino talks

Erica Werner

Thursday, Feb. 27, 2003 | 10:08 a.m.

LOS ANGELES -- As the state of California and Indian tribes prepare to renegotiate their gambling compacts, city and county government officials are seeking a voice in the talks.

They want a way to address environmental, public safety, traffic and other impacts they say casinos have created for some communities since the compacts allowing Indian gambling in the state were signed three years ago.

"Development of the casinos has significantly impacted counties and county services, and we feel that in the current compacts the language isn't broad enough to give us any leverage," said Jolena Voorhis, a legislative analyst for the California State Association of Counties.

"The county supervisors really feel like they want a seat at that table," she said.

The county association and the League of California Cities have written to Gov. Gray Davis asking to participate in the negotiations, set to begin next month.

Some local government officials were set to meet in Sacramento Thursday for a symposium on their role in the compact talks organized by Stand Up For California!, a casino watchdog group that advocates for more regulations.

But while some local officials contend casinos have created burdens on police and fire departments and environmental and traffic strains, tribal officials say they've created hundreds of jobs and been good neighbors.

Jacob Coin, executive director of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, which represents 50 tribes, said local officials must understand that tribes are sovereign governments that build their casinos on federally recognized lands.

"They're really trying to direct how developments on Indian lands are to be conducted or pursued. It would be like suggesting California ought to have a say in how developments happen in Arizona," he said.

The current compacts, which were signed with 61 of the state's 109 federally recognized tribes, provide that tribes should incorporate state environmental policies "consistent with the tribe's governmental interests."

County officials say this is a loophole and some tribes have disregarded local building, fire and other codes. Coin said most tribes are satisfied with the existing compact language.

Casinos have been built or planned in 25 of the state's 58 counties, according to the California State Association of Counties. There are now 51 casinos in California that generate an estimated $5 billion a year according to the state, a figure tribes call inflated.

The current compacts provide that the state can request talks on off-reservation environmental impacts by March 1. Davis spokeswoman Amber Pasricha said the state would be doing so.

"We've seen an increase in traffic, air pollution, water and sewage problems that need to be re-addressed in the compact to try to minimize any off-reservation impacts," she said.

It remains to be seen how the tribes will respond. Deron Marquez, chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, said his band, for one, will not be open to talks on the issues.

"The state has no standing, in our view, to open talks, because we have no problems with our local governments," he said. San Manuel operates a casino in San Bernardino County.

Local government officials will be invited to meet with the governor's negotiating team but will not participate directly in the compact talks, Pasricha said. Tribal representatives also said they don't see a formal role for local officials in the talks.

Relationships between counties and tribes are better in some cases than in others. Some tribes have negotiated agreements with counties to provide revenue in exchange for services. Elsewhere, tribal building has generated conflict with local officials.

Attorney Howard Dickstein, who represents a 21-tribe negotiating coalition, said there's no doubt that casino expansion raises legitimate concerns about off-reservation impacts.

"But the way to resolve those concerns is through voluntary agreements between local governments and Indian tribes," he said.