Gaming briefs for April 23, 2004

Friday, April 23, 2004 | 11:02 a.m.

Tribal recognition bill's fate unclear

WASHINGTON -- A Senate plan to change the tribal recognition process got mixed reviews Wednesday, making passage an "iffy" proposition this year, the bill's sponsor said.

While former leaders of the Bureau of Indian Affairs praised efforts to beef up funding and staff to expedite decisions, members of Congress said the plan will weaken the regulations and make it easier for groups with casino ambitions to become sovereign tribes.

It's "fifty-fifty" that the bill will pass this year, said Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., adding that it's only "iffy" that the Senate Indian Affairs Committee will approve the bill before the August recess. Time is too short, he said, and Congress has many other bills to consider.

"If it was easy we would have done this 15 years ago," Campbell, chairman of the panel, said. "I'm not sure we can get it to the floor."

Connecticut lawmakers, meanwhile, said they plan to introduce their own bill this week that will set in law the recognition criteria used by the BIA. Connecticut is home to two of the largest Indian casinos in the country. The bill, said Rep. Rob Simmons, R-Conn., will also force BIA officials to wait one year after leaving their government job to take a lobbying position.

Tribe proposes casino

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Unsuccessful in two previous attempts to establish a casino in Louisiana, the Jena Band of Choctaws has presented Gov. Kathleen Blanco with a proposal for a full casino to be located on tribal land in Grant Parish.

The tribe has given the administration a proposed compact similar to those that govern tribal casinos in Marksville, Charenton and Kinder.

"We are going to start a very serious review of that picture," Blanco responded. "I don't think it's a secret that I'm not ecstatic about more gambling in Louisiana. We understand we have to negotiate in good faith, and we'll see where it leads us."