Connecticut | Legislation

Sen. Feinstein pushing for anti-gaming language in Carcieri fix

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill on October 21, 2015. Photo from Facebook

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) continues to hinder efforts to fix to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar.

Her latest missive comes in the form of an unusual amendment that first surfaced in the Senate in May. It seeks to bar certain tribes from pursuing commercial gaming projects even though such efforts are not outlawed by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

Lawmakers from Connecticut successfully prevented the amendment from being included in a defense bill because it would have punished two tribes in their state. But Feinstein isn't giving up -- she told The Connecticut Mirror that she might try to add the language to the S.1879, a Carcieri fix also known as the Interior Improvement Act.

The bill passed the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in December but it does not address gaming. It does address local and state participation in the land-into-trust process, something that has raised suspicions in Indian Country.

The bill has not been brought up for consideration on the Senate floor and efforts to fix the Carcieri decision remain extremely controversial on Capitol Hill. So Feinstein's efforts might not go very far.

In addition to hindering a clean Carcieri fix, Feinstein has repeatedly tried to amend IGRA to limit new casinos, arguing there are too many in California. She claimed there were more than 100 tribal facilities in her state when in fact there are only about 70.

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