The Tohono O'odham Nation slammed the Arizona House for approving HB2297, a bill that seeks to prevent the tribe from pursuing an off-reservation casino.

The tribe called the bill illegal because it allows the city of Glendale to annex 135 acres of tribally-owned fee land without consent. “HB 2297 is unconstitutional and a direct attack against the Tohono O'odham Nation," Chairman Ned Norris Jr. said in a press release. "It is also an affront to all Arizona tribes and indeed, all Arizonans. It undermines the basic constitutional rights afforded to all of us as Americans."

The tribe asked former U.S. Solicitor General Seth Waxman for an opinion on the bill. Waxman, who served during the Clinton administration and now works in private practice, concluded it would violate several clauses of the U.S. Constitution and would interfere with existing federal law.

“The manner in which the bill strips a tiny group of landowners of the rights accorded to all other landowners, without any apparent justification for the distinction, suggests that it is not rationally related to a legitimate government purpose," Waxman said in the opinion. “Both the purpose of HB 2297 and the means it employs to achieve that purpose raise significant due process questions. ... Frustrating Indian tribes’ ability to exercise their rights under federal law is not a legitimate purpose for state legislation.”

The House voted 31-26 in favor of the bill. According to The Arizona Capitol Times, it barely received the minimum votes to pass.

The tribe acquired the 135-acre site in 2003. Normally, land acquired after the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 can't be used for gaming.

But the law contains an exception for land acquired in connection with a land claim settlement. Congress passed the Gila Bend Indian Reservation Lands Replacement Act that says the Tohono O'odham Nation can acquire "unincorporated" land.

The city of Glendale believes if it annexes the tribe's fee land, it can stop the casino. Last week, a state court judge ruled that the city already annexed about a third of the tribe's property.

The tribe plans to build the $550 million West Valley Resort on the land.

Get the Story:
House OKs bill to block casino (The Arizona Capitol Times 3/17)
House approves bill to casino near Glendale (AP 3/17)
Bill backs Glendale in casino fight (Capitol Media Services 3/18)
City prevails over tribe in annexation suit (The Glendale Star 3/18)

Earlier Stories:
Vote planned on bill targeting Tohono O'odham casino (3/16)
Tohono O'odham Nation loses ruling in gaming site case (3/12)
NCAI joins Tohono O'odham off-reservation casino fight (3/9)
Tohono O'odham off-reservation casino bid still at BIA (3/8)
Bill affects Tohono O'odham off-reservation casino bid (2/26)
Bill targets Tohono O'odham off-reservation casino bid (2/3)
Tohono O'odham Nation 'more committed' to casino (1/28)
Sen. Kyl voices opposition to Tohono O'odham casino (1/27)
McCain joins opposition to off-reservation casino bid (1/21)
Tohono O'odham Nation won't drop off-reservation bid (1/20)