California | Compacts

California governor keeps busy with tribal gaming compacts

Thursday, September 22, 2016

The Casino Pauma in Pauma Valley, California. Photo from Facebook

Gov. Jerry Brown (D) appears to be on a roll when it comes to Class III gaming compacts with tribes.

So far in 2016, Brown has concluded negotiations on 11 compacts, Northern California Record reports. Six were signed in August, four were signed in June and one was signed in May.

"California is the largest jurisdiction for tribal gaming in the nation,” a spokesperson for the governor’s office told the Northern California Record.

Brown hasn't negotiated a new agreement with the Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians. But he did sign Senate Bill 1187 into law on September 9 that requires state to repay $36.2 million to the tribe in connection with a compact dispute.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) forced the tribe into sharing more revenues with the state in exchange for adding slot machines to the Casino Pauma. The decision was the first of its kind in California and appears to be the first of its kind in the nation.

Read More on the Story:
California to return $36.2 million to Pauma Band after decade-long casino fight (Northern California Record 9/21)

9th Circuit Court of Appeals Decision:
Pauma Band of Luiseno Mission v. State of California (October 26, 2015)