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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06272006 - C.33 �TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORSsAYo Contra FROM: SUPERVISOR FEDERAL GLOVER ALTERNATE MEMBER 3, „srr`n '" . Costa BAY AREA COUNTIES CAUCUS ��a��o......� County DATE: JUNE 27, 2006 33 SUBJECT: BAY AREA COUNTIES CAUCUS MEETING SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: ACCEPT the report on actions taken by the Bay Area Counties Caucus at their June 15, 2006 meeting. BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION: The Bay Area Counties Caucus (BACC) is a new organization comprised of Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma counties. The purpose is to identify issues of common interest among Bay Area counties and to advocate for those issues. At the June 15, 2006 meeting, three issues were discussed: ➢ Assembly Bay Area Caucus — Assemblyman Ira Ruskin has convened a caucus of State Assembly representatives from the Bay Area (membership list will be forwarded to us at a later date). The Assembly Caucus is new and has identified areas of mutual interest including Indian Gaming, the infrastructure bonds, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the San Francisco Bay Conservation Development Commission (BCDC) and Emergency Preparedness. The three top priorities are high speed rail, state budget and emergency preparedness, including water. Assemblyman Ruskin told the caucus members that his group is interested in working with the BACC. A copy of their agendas will be forwarded to BACC on a regular basis. ➢ CSAC's Agricultural and Natural Resources Platform — Supervisor Susan Adams, Marin County, reviewed the draft platform and identified areas where the platform is geared towards rural counties, not urban counties. She suggested that BACC become more active in developing this policy platform. From Contra Costa County's perspective, illegal dumping, which is apparently under the purview of the Committee, needs to be addressed, since it has a major impact on the built environment. ➢ Indian Gaming — Our County gave an update on Indian Gaming, including the federal legislation, growing use of Class II bingo-style slot machines and our experience with the casino projects in our county: As a result of that discussion, BACC recommended that their member counties adopt a resolution similar to that of Sonoma County's, which supports federal legislation that would restrict reservation shopping. (Resolution is a separate agenda item for the Board's consideration.) CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATI N OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON LI, APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED _ OTHER I VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN UNANIMOUS(ABSENT AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE AYES: NOES: SHOWN. 41 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTESTED ?g&42 CONTACT: Sara Hoffman JO C C ERK O THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR CC: County Administrator %., Cathy Christian,Nielsen Merksamer B �- DEPUTY Status of Federal Legislation on Indian Gaming H.R. 4893 (Congressman Pombo) -A bill to amend section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to restrict off-reservation gaming, has not been scheduled for markup by the House Resources Committee. Although Chairman Pombo has indicated he wants to move quickly on this legislation, the Committee has taken no action on the bill since the hearing on 4/5/06. As of last Friday, the Minority staff had not been contacted regarding a future date for a markup. Until the bill is marked up and reported out of Committee, no House vote can be scheduled. We have heard a rumor that the Congressman may be planning to move the bill in July, however, have not yet heard confirmation. S.2078 (Senator McCain) - A bill to amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to clarify the authority of the National Indian Gaming Commission to regulate class III gaming, to limit the lands eligible for gaming, and for other purposes—was-reported out by the Committee on Indian Affairs on 6/6/2006. However, as of this morning, the Committee Report S. Rpt.109-261 was not available for viewing on line. The legislation has been placed on the Senate Calendar, but no date for floor consideration has been set by the Senate leadership. SA 13 (Senator Feinstein)—A bill to modify the date as of which certain tribal land of the Lytton Rancheria of California is deemed to be held in trust, was reported out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee on 9/12/2005. It is our understanding that the legislation has not moved to the floor for consideration because of"holds" on the bill placed on the bill by other Senator. Until the "holds" are removed no further action on this bill can take place. However, similar legislative could be included in other germane legislation. 6/13/06 Casino finds a wild card in knockoff slots State has no say over lucrative Lytton games By James P. Sweeney COPLEY NEWS SERVICE May 27, 2006 SACRAMENTO—Nearly a year after pushing ahead "' IN01 Miles rqa without a state gambling agreement and the slot #�abto# machines it offered, a controversial Indian casino just outside San Francisco is thriving. , 5 ` 80 aner Scaled back from a planned high-rise mega-casino, M Av San Pa the Lytton.band's modest San Pablo Lytton Casino is ° ��� E3erlce[ey on a pace to gross more than $100 million in its first , ,�. year solely with gaming devices—strikingly similar 5� 8a Oakland to slots—that do not require state approval. Sari Franca sao The knockoff slots—slower, bingo-based machines t3cean are netting more than $330 a day each, an eye- poppingfig in fi. ure that is double the take for slots on the SOUAC ,ESM;releklas UNTO v-TAIOU E g Las Vegas strip and more than slots earn at some of the state's bigger Indian casinos. The tribe has started making regular payments to its 279 members, and the city of San Pablo is receiving nearly 25 percent more than it expected from the operation. However, the state, which was promised billions of dollars over the life of a Lytton compact that was never ratified by the Legislature, is getting nothing. And it might never get anything from the casino. Lytton Chairwoman Margie Mejia said the tribe is no longer interested in the tentative deal it negotiated with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. That agreement offered the state an unprecedented 25 percent of the net win from Lytton's slots and card games. Initial projections pegged the state's cut at up to $200 million a year. "The numbers speak for themselves," said Larry Stidham, a Ramona attorney who represents the tribe. "There would have to be a lot stronger incentive for us to reach an agreement with the state at this point. The one we had is off the table." Even more troubling for the state, Lytton's wildly successful bingo machines appear to be persuading other tribes that they have a viable alternative when they can't get what they want from the state in a new compact. The Legislature refused to ratify the Lytton compact when Republicans, Democrats and influential Southern California tribes objected to the urban location adjacent to Interstate 80, one of the nation's busiest freeways. Just 20 miles northeast of San Francisco,the casino represents the deepest urban penetration of Indian gambling in the state. Critics also complained about how Lytton obtained the 9.5-acre site and cleared the way to convert a former card club there to an Indian casino. The tribe and its backers skirted what would have been a lengthy and uncertain approval process with an amendment quietly slipped into federal legislation. In the months since state lawmakers refused to even consider Lytton's compact,the tribe has discovered that its casino does quite well with the bingo-based games. The games, known as Class 2 machines, do not require a state's consent and had been generally deemed as less desirable than real slot machines. In contrast to slots, Class 2 games must replicate the basic format of bingo, including play against other players. Gamblers also must touch or"daub"the machines several times during each play, as they do in bingo. As a result, the games are slower than slots. However,under federal law,the bingo devices are not subject to state controls, limits or fees. Lytton's success has drawn the attention of other tribes, including the Jamul band of San Diego County, which hopes to start construction later this year on a high-rise casino that also will be largely dependent on Class 2 machines. "We have some pretty good ideas on how well San Pablo is doing,"Jamul Chairman Lee Acebedo said. The numbers have added to the tribe's confidence that its planned casino will be successful with largely Class 2 machines. Jamul has a compact that authorizes 350 slots. Requests to renegotiate and expand that agreement:have been rebuffed by Schwarzenegger and former Gov. Gray Davis. The success of Lytton's San Pablo casino is largely a result of its location—it is uniquely situated within a huge, untapped urban market. The nearest competitors with real slots are more than an hour's drive away. Jamul's six-acre reservation in East County is the closest .to downtown San Diego—a 22-mile drive—although major competitors like the Viejas and Sycuan casinos are not much farther away. Other tribes, frustrated at their inability to renegotiate state agreements that limit most casinos to 2,000 slots, also have been turning increasingly to Class 2 machines. Lytton's experience could hasten that trend. "Just about every casino in the,state is looking at the possibility of Class 2," said one industry insider, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Pechanga and Morongo already have hundreds of the devices. San Manuel has 200, with plans to add 260. San Diego's Sycuan and Rincon casinos also have installed Class 2 machines, and several other tribes are weighing the option. "Tribes see that clearly there is an opportunity with Class 2 machines," said Cheryl Schmit of Stand Up for California, a grass-roots organization prominent in the fight against gambling expansion. "You don't have to have a compact for Class 2 machines, you don't have to deal with this governor . . . or address social justice issues." The emergence of Class 2 games that look, feel and play a lot like conventional slots has prompted a federal move to tighten and clarify the legal definition of the bingo-based devices. The National Indian Gaming Commission on Thursday released a new set of proposed guidelines that will be the subject of hearings later this year. The games,in Lytton's casino were developed and manufactured by industry leader International Games Technology. The tribe and IGT representatives have said the games were designed to meet the commission's criteria, although they have not been formally blessed by the agency. Lytton pays nothing to the state, but it does pay 7.5 percent of its gross gaming revenues to the city of San Pablo. The tribe, like virtually all others, refuses to discuss revenue figures. However, conservative calculations based on its payments to the city show the tribe is netting more than $330 a day from its bingo-slot machines. Other knowledgeable sourees said Lytton's average daily win per machine is much higher, approaching $500. "Wow," said Frank Streshley, a senior analyst with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. b Over the past year, slots netted an average $121 a day throughout Nevada and $160 in Las Vegas, Streshley said. Lytton's casino could do well over$100 million a year even though it is operating with just 805 gaming devices, a little more than half the 1,500-machine capacity of the building. The casino started in August with 500 machines and gradually increased the number. The tribe is expanding slowly so it can closely monitor traffic and other associated impacts. I1.also doesn't want to fan opposition that continues to push federal legislation by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.,that could shut down the casino. "We gave our commitment to the city of San Pablo, to the whole East Bay, that we cared about the impacts the casino would have on them,"Lytton Chairwoman Mejia said. "So we've been very careful. "We're going to progress very slowly. I'm not sure that we'll ever get up to (1,500 machines)." Feinstein's legislation would rescind the backdating of Lytton's purchase of the San Pablo property. That would require the tribe to secure state and federal approval of the casino. It also would force Lytton to shut down the gambling operation during that process, said 1 � ` Stidham,the tribe's attorney. Although the opposition has so far failed to block the casino, local legislators who lead the fight said they have no regrets about the amount of money the state left on the table. "That money would not have mitigated the negative impacts of the casino," said Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley. "Government exists to enhance people's lives. Enriching government at the expense of people who lose their money and whose lives are ruined . . . is not a good deal for anybody." x a M' .,�,a�.Ess.�w.... cw�.usM.,�.., .t....,_..�. ` � ::..:' SONOMA SUPES PASS RESOLUTION OPPOSING RESERVATION SHOPPING 06/13106 7:10 PDT SANTA ROSA(BCN) Sonoma County supervisors approved a resolution this moming that supports amendments to pending federal legislation that limit reservation shopping for tribal casino development. Senate bill 2078 by Sen.John McCain,R-Ariz.and House bill 4893 by Rep.Richard Pombo,R-Tracy,limit the ability of tribes to take land into trust for casino development. There is one Indian casino in Geyserville and three more gaming facilities are planned in Petaluma,Rohnert Park and Cloverdale. The Dry Creek Band of Pomo Indians operates the River Rock Casino in Geyserville and plans to build a casino near Petaluma.The:Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria plan to build a hotel and casino in Rohnert Park and the Cloverdale Band of Pomo Indians wants to build a casino in Cloverdale. Supervisor Mike Kerns,who sponsored the resolution,said the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and the Cloverdale Band of Pomo Indians are not accused of reservation shopping in the resolution.Representatives from those tribes denied this morning they were planning reservation shopping. Kerns opposes the Dry Creek Band of Pomo Indians'proposed casino near Petaluma and he said their proposal could be considered reservation shopping.Kems said the three tribes are mentioned in the resolution because they have recently submitted gaming-related requests to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Tribes eye land off reservations for new casinos By TODD MILBOURN Sacramento Bee 12-3UN-06 SACRAMENTO, Calif.--An Indian tribe rooted in Lake County,Calif., is pushing a Las Vegas-style casino in the East Bay near San Francisco Tribes from Humboldt and San Diego counties are vying to open casinos along busy Interstate 15 in Barstow, Calif. And a tribe from Oklahoma is searching beyond its reservation_even across state lines_to build a casino near Denver. Across the country, Indian tribes,often backed by wealthy investors,are aspiring to build casinos in lucrative markets_even if those spots bear little or no historic connection to the tribe. The trend is often assailed as"reservation shopping." It's stoking a national debate that might reshape the $20 billion-a-year Indian gaming industry. Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif.,and Sen.John McCain, R-Ariz.,are leading the charge to corral the practice. Both argue that some tribes and their non-Indian backers are simply trying to get rich off a law intended to alleviate tribal poverty. "This is not what the public thought they were getting when they approved Indian gaming,"said Alison Harvey,executive director of the California Tribal Business Alliance,a Sacramento-based tribal gambling association that generally opposes off-reservation gaming."It's coming to a head." California already is the nation's largest Indian gambling state, home to 55 casinos that generate$13 billion a year,according to the state attorney general. Across the state,at least 40 tribes are proposing off-reservation casinos,according to Stand Up for California, a Penryn-based gambling watchdog group. Almost all of those proposals face long odds_even under current law. Even so,opponents of casino expansion are paying close attention, recalling that tribal gambling interests have proved adept at finding loopholes. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act generally restricts casinos to tribal lands established before the act took effect on Oct. 17, 1988. Only a handful of tribes have successfully navigated a labyrinth of federal and-state rules to obtain permission to build casinos beyond their reservations. The difficulty of the approval process,coupled with growing political opposition to off-reservation gambling, has spurred some observers to argue that fears of an off-reservation casino boom are overhyped. "The law as written makes it very,very tough,"said Anthony Miranda, chairman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, a coalition of gaming and non-gaming tribes that does not take an official stance on off-reservation casinos. Only three U.S.tribes ever have secured state and federal approval required for an off-reservation casino, Miranda said.Another two dozen have been authorized using legal exceptions,which include provisions for tribes rendered landless in the past and tribes whose federal recognition was restored after the deadline. Howard Dickstein,a Sacramento attorney who represents the region's largest gambling tribes,said most of the current proposals are merely investor-fueled speculation. He noted that both Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger and the federal Department of the Interior have taken tougher stances on off-reservation casinos in recent years. Some local communities have grown leery,too. For instance,Amador County residents overwhelmingly said "no"to more casinos in a non-binding advisory vote in 2005. "Most of these are pie in the sky,"Dickstein said of the proposals."If anything,the climate in this country on gaming is going the other direction_they want to take away what's already out there. "It's not like it was 15 years ago when most tribes had reservation land and simply built casinos on it," Dickstein continued."Now you have to deal with a very skeptical federal and state government and newly empowered local governments that are focused on mitigating impacts." t Yet tribes like the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians continue to roll the dice. Backed by Florida investors,the tribe is pushing for a Vegas-style casino with 2,000 slot machines in Richmond, Calif.The tribe's ancestral land is more than 100 miles away in rural Lake County. Tribal chairman Don Arnold insists the tribe has historic ties to the San Francisco Bay Area, pointing to a never-ratified 1851 treaty that ceded Indian lands that once reached into the North Bay. His pitch often draws on the tragic history of California Indians: His 201-member tribe was terminated in the late 1950s and restored,without land, in 1991. "The tribes that are trying to set up casinos without a reservation are the ones who were treated the worst; they were the ones who were raped, starved and terminated,"said Arnold."The most important thing here is that Indian gaming was created for benefit of Native Americans in this country, not for cities, counties or other people involved." (Distributed by Scripps-McClatchy Westem Service, http://www.shns.com.)