"As legislators ratified a new state budget last week, it's doubtful that many of them considered the dangers to that budget posed by the final legal smackdown of California's attempt to get a cut of millions of dollars in tribal gaming revenue.

Now, there are signs that legal defeat puts at least a reasonably sized question mark in a budget that, to pencil out, needs every dollar it can get.

My story on this morning's edition of The California Report examines the early signs of financial fallout over the case known officially as Brown v. Rincon Band of Luiseno Mission Indians.

That name, though, is a bit misleading; after all, the original case -- containing the crux of the matter -- was filed by the San Diego area tribe, not the state. And it was a case sparked by the policies not of the current governor, but the former one.

But the bottom line is one Governor Jerry Brown now inherits: California's demand for a slice of the profits during negotiations with an Indian gaming tribe was illegal. And some say it could impact the deals that were actually consummated."

Get the Story:
Capital Notes: State Poised to Lose Indian Casino Cash? (KQED 7/8)
State May Lose Indian Gaming Income (The California Report 7/8)

9th Circuit Decision:
Rincon Band v. Schwarzenegger (April 20, 2010)

Related Stories:
Pala Band still willing to share revenues under a new casino deal (7/6)
Pala Band seeks to renegotiate gaming compact with governor (6/28)
Supreme Court won't hear Rincon Band gaming compact case (6/27)
DOJ submits brief to Supreme Court in Rincon gaming case (5/25)
Rincon Band compact case still pending at Supreme Court (5/23)
Supreme Court asks DOJ for views in Rincon Band compact case (12/14)