Compact outline

Here is an outline of the compacts five tribes signed Monday with California Gov. Pete Wilson. These agreements provide:

-No slot machines; only legal lottery devices deemed by the state. Each tribe is granted a period to transition its current operations to legal lottery devices, at which time slot machines (which are illegal under state law) will be prohibited.

-A statewide limit on the number of devices. California is allowed 19,900. There are 100 federally recognized tribes in California, each of which could open up a gaming facility. Accordingly, the State has allocated 199 devices to each tribe; however, tribes can increase the number of devices - up to 975 - by licensing them from other tribes, who would then forego operating the devices themselves. These compacts also allow the tribes to obtain licenses directly from the state where unused allocations are available.

-Non-gaming tribes, many of whom are located in remote areas, can thereby share in the gaming revenues by licensing their allocation of 199 lottery devices to tribes in better locations for operating a gaming facility. This will allow non-gaming tribes to benefit (annual revenues for a license of the full 199-device allocation is expected to be as high as $1 million) and will discourage a proliferation of small gaming centers throughout this State.

-The Legislature will be encouraged to enact economic development zones, which generate revenues that can substitute for the gaming revenues. The compact calls for a reduction in lottery devices that represent 50 percent of the net income from any investments that benefit from these zones, thereby giving the Legislature an incentive to establish such zones for the tribes.

-Employees at tribal gaming facilities will be under the protection of the State's workers' compensation, unemployment insurance and disability insurance laws. And, for the first time anywhere in the United States, service employees (any housekeeping, cleaning, food and beverage, or hotel employees) will be granted the same collective bargaining rights that employees at non-tribal facilities have.

-The local community will be given a significant voice in the provisions of the compact over all local issues, including the environment and compensation for local police and other services. Each tribe will be given up to 270 days to reach agreement with the county to mitigate all significant environmental effects. In addition, in those counties that have not authorized gaming (through the establishment of card rooms), the local electorate will have the right to an advisory vote over the compact. A majority vote against the compact will be taken into account in negotiating the county's agreement with the tribe and can trigger a renegotiation of the compact.

-Patrons will be protected against injury and property damage through the requirement that the tribe maintain public liability insurance in the amount of $5 million per occurrence. Moreover, if the tribe refuses to pay any patron who wins a lottery game, the patron has the right to require binding arbitration of the dispute.

-Compliance with California's casino prohibition: The tribe may not offer its gaming devices in a hotel; it may not have card games in the same room as the gaming devices; and complimentary alcoholic beverages are prohibited. These restrictions are designed to comply with the California constitutional prohibition against casinos of the type operating in Nevada and New Jersey. However, the compacts provide different ways in which the tribes can substantially comply with the requirement that their card games be in a separate area from their gaming devices during the transition period.

-Impact of the Tribal Initiative. In fairness to the tribes which have agreed to enter a compact, if the tribal statutory initiative passes, and is upheld as constitutional, the tribes would be permitted to terminate the compact in order to take advantage of the initiative.

Source: California Governor's Office

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