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RS _ :..� » CONTRA
To: BOARDof surERvlso _ - _
COSTA
FROM: John Sweeten,County Administrator �' COUNTY
DATE: September i3,2005
SUBJECT: SB 288(Baffin and D—ucheny)-Oppose Unless Amended
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SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)& BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMnENDATIONJ-S):
OPPOSE AB 288 (Baffin and Ducheny) which would appropriate $20 million from the Indian Gaming Special
Distribution Fund to specified local governments, UNLESS AMENDED to add additional eligibility criteria so
that counties that are experiencing significant costs, .such as Contra Costa County, could apply for those funds.
BACKGRO D/REASONJn FOR KEC TION
On April 5, 2005,the Board of Supervisors adopted policy on Indian Gaming, including:
. . : the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors authorizes and directs staff to take and support any
and all administrative, legal or legislative actions in furtherance of this position [of opposition to the
creation or expansion of In&an.guming casinos in Contra Costa County]
in accordance with this direction, the County has spent considerable time and monies to support its position of
opposition to Indian Casino projects at Point Molate,North Richmond and San Pablo. Actions have included:
• Submitting comments on the scope of the Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for the Point Molate
Casino,,North Richmond Casino and Casino San Pablo;
• Submitting comments on Administrative Draft EIS for the North Richmond Indian Casino Project;
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE=
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR ...RECOMMENDATION 1NffITTEE
_,•APPROVE _OTHER
SIGNATURE(S):
ACTION OF APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A
UNANIMOUS(ABSENT 11I0 TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN
(AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ON MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF
SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
Contact: Sara Hofiinan,335-1090
ATTESTED C( - e;lof 00�
cc: CAO jCMN SWEETEN,CLERK OF
Nielsen Merksamer THE 6oa1tD of SUPERVISORS
AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
gy DEPUTY
BACKGRaUND/REASON[S)EOR RECOMMENDATION kont'd):.
• Lobbying vigorously in support of S 113 (Feinstein) which would require the Casino San Pablo to
undergo the two part determination process required for the other casino projects;
• Convening an Ad Hoc Committee of public agencies, a collaborative forum on the impact of casinos;
• Commissioning a study of the public health and emergency medical services impacts of the Casino San
Pablo; and
• Cooperatively developing a scope of work for a comprehensive transportation impact study on the three
casinos(currently soliciting contributions to finance that study).
Contra Costa County's ability to document the impact of the proposed and existing Indian Casinos in Contra
Costa County is limited by its financial resources. The Transportation Impact Study is estimated to cost over
$300,000. Funding is also necessary for the County's legal advisor an Indian Affairs and consultants that can
help analyze the Environmental Impact Statements.
The Special Distribution Fund(SDF)was created to provide funding to local governments impacted by tribal
government gaming. As currently drafted, SB 288 would add an additional $2a million to the Special
Distribution Fund for grants to local government agencies impacted by tribal gaming. Unfortunately, the
distribution formula for these funds is weighted heavily infivor of only a very few Counties and Tribes.
Moreover, the bill would repeal the current sunset date of 2009, thereby locking in this disparity.
A review of the 1999 tribal-state compacts which established the Special Distribution Fund demonstrates that this
fund was only part of an overall scheme to both offset the state and local costs incurred because of tribal gaming,
and provide revenue to non-gaming tribes. The mechanism for collecting the revenues for these funds divided
the responsibility between two groups of tribes., those with gaming operations as of September 1, 1999 and
those whose gaming operations were established after that date. The compact did not limit eligibility for funds to
offset impacts only those Counties with Tribes conducting gaming operations on that date.
The current distribution formula for the Special Distribution Fund, enacted in SB 621 (Ch. 858, Stats. 2003),
returns 95%of the money collected to only those Tribes and Counties in which gaming was conducted on
September 1, 1999, although the impact of tribal gaming has grown tremendously since that date. There is no
policy justification for limiting the funds in this way,just as there would be no reason to limit the geographic
scope of the funds distributed to non-gaming tribes. Indeed, Section 5.2 (b)of the compact provides that the
Legislature may appropriate the Special Distribution Fund revenues for"grants, including any administrative
costs, for the support of state and local government agencies imparted by tribal government gaming," without
limitation as to the local government agencies that can be so supported.
Contra Costa County should be eligible for SDF grants. The County is currently home to one tribal casino,
Casino San Pablo operated by the Lytton Band of Porno Indians. The Legislature has not approved the compact
allowing the tribe to operate Class III.slot machines,but on August 2, 2005, the tribe installed the first 500 of its
Class II`Bingo" machines, which results in many of the impacts of a Class III facility. Because these are Class II
machines, hundreds more could be installed at any time. The County is incurring extensive costs in ascertaining
and managing the scope of the tribal impacts, all of which must be absorbed by the County's taxpayers. Many
other counties are similarly situated and should also he eligible to receive SDS grants.
Due to the time urgency of this issue(the language in the original SB 288 was totally deleted and the current
language substituted an August 18, 2005), the County's representative sent a letter expressing this position on
the SDF to the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization aider consulting with the County
Administrator's Office. The letter urged the Committee to withhold approval of SB 288 in its current form and
advanced the following position:
The sunset date an the&stributionfor m- ula in current law should not be lifted until the Legislature
receives additional evidence about the scope of tribal gaming impacts across the State. Any additional
money appropriated for the purpose of offsetting impacts to state and local governments should not be
distributed according to the old formula. If any additional money is available this year, we suggest that
additional eligibility criteria should beW_"",%_0"so that Counties who are experiencing significant costs
can apply for those funds
This Board Order will ratify this position, which is consistent with the Board's previous direction to st
aff.
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18,2005
A►MEENDED IN SENATE APRIL,21,2005
SENATE BILL No. 288
Introduced by ISCMA&I—O&OFAm Senators Baffin and Ducheny
(Principal coauthors:Assembly Members Baca,Benoit,Bogh, and
Garcia)
February 16,2005
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*Oasa ova ax:—An act to amend Section 12716 of, and to repeal Section
12718 of, the Government Code, relating to gaming.- and making an
appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
��ttekea� Baffin.��:Gaming.
SB 288,as am 5
(1) Existing law, in effiect until January 1, 2009, establishes the
method of calculating the distribution of appropriations from the
Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund for grants to local
government agencies impacted by tribal gaming.
This bill would delete that date, thereby making those provisions
operative indefinitely.
(2) Existing law requires each county that administers grants from
the Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund to provide an annual
report to the Legislature by April I of each-year. detailing the specific
projects funded by all grants in that county's jurisdiction.
This bill also would require that report to be provided to the
Department of Finance and the California Gambling Control
Commission. The bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive
changes to that provision of law.
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SB 288 -2-
(3) Existing law authorizesfiunds within the Indian Gaming Special
Distribution Fund to be used to provide grants to local government
agencies impacted by tribal gaming.
This bill would appropriate $20,000,000 from the Indian Gaming
Special Distribution Fundfor that purpose. 0
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Vote: majority. Appropriation: eyes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
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-3- SB 288
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 12716 of the Government Code is
2 amended to read:
3 12716. Each county that administers grants from the
4 Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund shall provide an annual
5 report to the Legislature, the Department of Finance, and the
6 Californias Gambling Control Commission by April-1-9 1 of each
7 year detailing the specific projects funded by all grants in-4heir
8 the county's jurisdiction.
9 SEC. Z. Section 12718 of the Government Code is repealed.
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14 SEC. 3. The sum of twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) is
15 hereby appropriated from the Indian Gaming Special
16 Distribution Fund, in augmentation of Item 0855-101-0367 of
17 Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2005,v to provide for grants to
18 local government agencies pursuant to Section 12715 of the
19 Government Code.
20
21
22 All matter omitted in this version of the bill
23 appears in the bill as amended in Senate,
24 April 21,2005.
25
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