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MARCH 12, 2001

New Mexico House Speaker Ben Lujan introduced a bill last week that requires tribes to make full back payments owed to the state but directs half of the casino money into tribal-infrastructure accounts.

The 12 gaming tribes are required by gaming compacts signed in 1997 to share 16 percent of their revenues with the state. So far, about $66 million out of an estimated $100 million has been paid.

The tribes all stopped making payments because they felt the rate was too high. Attorney General Patricia Madrid sued them as a result.

Lujan's bill passed the House Taxation and Revenue Committee by an 8-7 vote Friday. It will go to the full House for deliberation.

Get the Story:
Bill Targets 50% of Revenue Share to Tribal Lands (The Albuquerque Journal 3/11)