The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) on Thursday announced it will
revise casino regulations that tribal leaders say are too intrusive.
In a statement, NIGC chairman Phil Hogen, a Bush administration appointee,
said he is forming a tribal advisory committee to re-examine
the minimum internal control standards, also known as MICS.
"Meaningful tribal input in the early stage of this process will facilitate
the prompt attention needed to correct and update the MICS," he said.
The MICS were implemented during the Clinton administration and the most
recent changes were finalized by Clinton appointees in June 2002.
Covering everything from the management of casino cash to background
checks of employees, they seek to establish a nationwide set of standards
for the $14.5 billion and growing Indian gaming industry.
But industry leaders say the MICS are an unwarranted expansion of
NIGC's authority. Although they were developed in consultation
with Indian Country, many tribes oppose them. The National Indian
Gaming Association (NIGA), a trade group representing more than
150 tribes, has called for their repeal.
Bush administration officials have heard those complaints and
the creation of the advisory committee reflects the need to address
them. The committee will consider amendments to correct any
deficiencies in the MICS, including new gaming technologies.
"If it needs to be revised, it will be revised," NIGC commissioner
Chuck Choney said at the annual National Congress
of American Indians (NCAI) convention last November.
"If it needs to be deleted, it will be deleted. We are going to work with you."
The objections to MICS center on the competing sovereigns responsible
for Indian gaming. Tribal casinos are triply regulated by
tribal, state and federal authorities.
Many tribal leaders strongly feel that Class III gaming, consisting of
slot machines, card games and related games, should be governed
by agreements between tribal and state governments.
"It's a matter for tribal-state compacts not an NIGC rule,"
said Mark Van Norman, executive director of NIGA, at the NCAI
convention.
NIGA and several tribes have supported a legal challenge to the
standards. They backed an Arizona tribe that argued the rules were
not permitted by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
In the closely-watched case, a Department of Interior judicial official
agreed with the tribes. "NIGC is not achieving the carefully
orchestrated purpose of the IGRA because it impinges on
the very sovereignty of the tribes and the states,"
Judge Candida S. Steel of the Office of Hearings and Appeals
ruled in May 2002.
But Steel's opinion was only advisory in nature, and it was rejected by
outgoing Clinton administration appointees a month later, right
before the latest MICS revisions were finalized.
Hogen ended up settling part of the dispute with the Colorado
River Indian Tribes (CRIT). In September, he reduced a fine
imposed on the tribe from $20,000 to $2,000. Tribal officials agreed to
a MICS-related audit that they had interrupted but preserved
a challenge in the federal courts.
Last year, Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), chairman of the Senate
Indian Affairs Committee, introduced a bill that would affirm
NIGC's authority to impose the MICS. Van Norman said tribes oppose
the provision. The bill failed to make it out of committee late
in the session.
The advisory committee will be composed of federal officials and
tribal leaders. NIGC is accepting nominations up until February 9.
Nominations can be made through the agency.
Relevant Documents:
Minimum Internal
Control Standards; Final Rule (6/27)
Relevant Links:
National Indian Gaming Commission - http://www.nigc.gov
National Indian Gaming Association - http://www.indiangaming.org
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