A state lawmaker who worked for an anti-gaming governor is behind an Alabama county's campaign to question the status of lands held in trust for the Poarch Creek Band of Indians.

Sen. Bryan Taylor (R) was the policy director for former governor Bob Riley (R). He helped Riley shut down non-Indian facilities that were offering electronic gaming machines, The Montgomery Advertiser reported.

Before he left office, Riley said he wanted to go after the Poarch Creeks. As an attorney for the Escambia County Commission, Taylor is carrying on that campaign by questioning whether the tribe's casinos are on trust land.

“Bryan’s had an ax to grind with anybody involved with gambling in Alabama since I first heard his name,” Sen. Marc Keahey (D) told the paper. “The first time I heard his name he worked for Bob Riley. He clearly still has the same axe to grind.”

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar restricts the land-into-trust process to tribes that were "under federal jurisdiction" in 1934. The Poarch Band didn't gain federal recognition until 1984.

The county claims the decision applies retroactively, which would mean the tribe's casinos are not on trust land. The tribe says the ruling only applies to future land-into-trust acquisitions.

Get the Story:
Court ruling puts future of Creek casinos in doubt (The Montgomery Advertiser 4/22)

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Opinion: Poarch Creeks are big winners in gaming debate (4/20)
Alabama county cites Carcieri in bid to tax Poarch Creeks (4/16)