Governor Signs Tribal Gaming Bills
by Jake Henshaw
Desert Sun Sacramento Bureau
July 10, 2007SACRAMENTO - The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians along with two other tribes this morning reached the end of a campaign to expand their tribal casinos when the governor signed bills ratifying revised gambling agreements.
The four bills signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will allow the Agua Caliente and Morongo tribes alone to add up to 8,500 new slot machines.
Together the revised agreements will allow the four tribes that also include the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation to add a total of 17,000 new slot machines.
Under the old agreements, known as compacts, the Agua Caliente, Morongo and Pechanga each operate up to a total of 2,000 slot machines.
After lengthy, and sometimes intense, negotiations with the governor and the legislature, tribal leaders said they were pleased to reach the end of their bid to meet growing demand.
``Needless to say we're all pleased to be here,'' Agua Caliente chairman Richard Milanovich said. ``It is a quite an accomplishments.''
``We've secured the future for our tribe, our community and our region,'' added Pechanga chairman Mark Macarro.
But after the long effort, Milanovich concluded: ``It's almost anti-climatic.''
Schwarzenegger signed the bills in a private ceremony along with an additional measure known as a Memorandum of Agreement that the Assembly Democrats required the tribes to accept as a condition of passing the ratification measures.
The MOAs addressed issues like financial audits, workers' compensation, enforcement of child support payments, and problem gambling.
The governor didn't put out statement but his press secretary Aaron McLear said the administration is glad the compacts, which were signed last year, now have made through the Capitol.
``These are the right agreements,'' McLear said. ``We're pleased they are in place.''
The bills take effect Jan 1. The compacts and the MOA still are subject to review of the U.S. Department of Interior.
PD gets mobile station
Mona Shadia, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
May 4, 2007BANNING - Consider taking an entire police station to a crime scene.
It's what Banning Police Department's Mobile Command Center does.
The state-of-the-art center - which looks like a white, 34-foot motor home with blue lettering - runs on 490 horsepower and is equipped with satellite radio and satellite phones. It can run off microwave or cellular technology.
"In case we have a major incident like a homicide or a scenario where officers need to be on scene for several hours to several days to several weeks, we can use it like an office," said Officer Joe Feola, one of two officers capable of deploying the command center.
Banning Police Department's new command center is now the only one in the Pass area. And police officials say they plan to make it accessible to surrounding cities and agencies during emergencies.
"We would run it for them in their cities," Feola said. "We have it, we paid for it, but if something major goes on in the city and they need it and asked, we'd be happy to deploy it for them."
The more than $300,000 vehicle was financed primarily with money from the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, along with grants from the state Department of Homeland Security and other state grants.
"The good thing is that we formed a strong partnership with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, and through their support, we've been able to work together toward a common goal of interest for public safety in our community," said Deputy Police Chief Leonard Purvis.
It took about nine months to find, design and build the command center. It was built by Farber Speciality Vehicles and completed last November. However, it wasn't ready for operations until about a month ago, Feola said.
The front portion of the command center is designed for the administrative area and the back portion is designed for the dispatch area.
The prospect of having a command center began when Police Chief John Horton presented the idea to the city, Feola said.
And with the growing population in the Pass area - as well as the rest of the Inland Empire - the command center will likely be in demand.
"You can't predict the future, but you can predict the patterns, and if something major happens and you're not prepared for it, it's much tougher to deal with the situation," Feola said. "This is going to help us deal with a major crime or a major disaster. We're ready."
U.S. Gambling Revenues Up 6.8 Percent: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
AP
U.S. Gambling Revenues Up 6.8 Percent to $32.4 Billion
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Gambling revenues at U.S. commercial casinos rose 6.8 percent to a record $32.4 billion in 2006, according to a survey released Tuesday by the American Gaming Association.
The survey collected data from state regulatory agencies on 460 commercial casinos in 11 states. The casinos employed 366,197 people, up 3.2 percent from a year earlier, and contributed $5.2billion in gambling taxes to state and local governments, up 5.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the survey.
The survey found strong growth in the 36 racetrack casinos across 11 states, which reported 16 percent more in gambling revenue than the previous year, or $3.6 billion. Employment at the properties rose by 30 percent.
Arnold Schwarzenegger: Lease the lottery? The case is clear
By Arnold Schwarzenegger -
Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, May 18, 2007
When I presented my revised budget Monday, I laid out a proposal that will bring our state tens of billions of dollars in new revenue by leasing the California Lottery, while still maintaining state ownership, to a private concessionaire.
The possible deal could also free up $1.5 billion a year now used to pay off debt. It is an innovative idea that was presented to my administration, and I felt this was worth sharing with the Legislature to debate whether it makes sense for our state and taxpayers.
I believe that it does.
My proposal to lease the California Lottery has sparked a wide-ranging discussion and reaction, which is great all by itself. But the idea is really based on a simple proposition: Government should always explore ways to partner with the private sector to make sure taxpayers get maximum value and return on investment for public assets.
Voters established the lottery in 1984 to supplement funding for education. But compared to other states, the California Lottery is an underachiever.
In 2005, for example, our lottery sales were just two-thirds of those in Massachusetts , even though we have six times the population.
Average per capita sales for lotteries around the nation is $158. California's per capita sales are little more than half that amount, at $81.
At the rate our lottery performs now and at the values being proposed, taxpayers would come out ahead if we simply converted the program to cash and let the money sit in an interest-bearing savings account.
On top of our dismal national ranking, California lottery sales have been flat. For the fiscal year that begins in July, gross revenues are projected to drop nearly 11 percent. Our net -- the amount that goes to education -- is expected to decline 12 percent.
If a private firm could boost California Lottery sales just to the national average, the $1.1 billion the state is expected to net from the lottery in 2007-08 would nearly double.
Leasing the lottery would stabilize and guarantee annual education funding, which has gone up and down from year to year depending on how the lottery performs. And we would structure the deal in such a way that our schools are held harmless. In other words, their funding level would be legally guaranteed. It won't go down, as it has in the past.
Running the lottery is essentially a retail and marketing job. The private sector, with its vast supply of capital and competitive know-how, is far more adept at such tasks. A private concessionaire can take better advantage of the tremendous room for growth in our lottery -- all to the benefit of California taxpayers.
California would maintain ownership of the lottery, but the private operator would be subject to our corporate income tax, which would generate tens of millions of dollars a year over the term of a 40-year lease.
And perhaps most appealing of all, leasing the lottery would allow us to pay off Economic Recovery Bonds we sold to correct the budget disaster I inherited when I took office.
My new budget allocates $3.1 billion to retire that debt this year, and we plan to pay another $3.1 billion in 2008-09. With the lottery deal, whose value was pegged by one firm at $37 billion, we could pay off those bonds all at once, strengthen our credit rating and have tens of billions left over for other investments.
State government cannot generate revenue like that on its own. What I am saying with this proposal is, "Let's get creative. Let's team up with the private sector to maximize our resources without putting a burden on taxpayers so we can pay our debts, refurbish our infrastructure and make smart investments that secure California's future." Exactly how to use the lottery lease proceeds is a decision to be made jointly by the executive and legislative branches of state government, but a carefully crafted deal would provide a boon to the state's resources that we would be irresponsible to ignore.
By teaming up with the private sector, we would continue to own and regulate the lottery to make sure it was operated responsibly and in the public interest. And by using the private sector's management and marketing skills to full advantage, we could make sure taxpayers' -- and our schools -- get the benefits that were envisioned when the lottery was approved in the first place.
Energy right-of-way talks on Indian lands best left to tribes: US
16 May 2007
Platts Commodity News
The US Departments of Energy and Interior have told Congress that energy rights of way on Indian lands are best left to tribes and energy companies to negotiate without government interference.
In a report submitted to Congress Tuesday and made public Wednesday, the agencies, however, left the door open for the federal government to step in if the nation's need for energy was ever deemed to be jeopardized by tribal decisions.
The joint study was assigned to the departments as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which included other provisions encouraging energy production and transmission on tribal lands.
Energy companies have sometimes complained that building pipelines and other infrastructure on tribal lands is costly, and that tribes can be capricious in giving their consent.
Indian tribes maintain that they have the right to enter into energy production and right of way agreements at their own discretion, and that federal oversight of their business choices is illegitimate.
While the report found that the negotiation processes for establishing or renewing rights of way on tribal land "could benefit from mutually agreed-upon practices, procedures, and actions that would improve understanding and collaboration among the parties," it said the "valuation of energy [rights of way] on tribal lands should continue to be based on terms negotiated between the parties." But, the report added that if a "failure in the negotiations over the grant, expansion, or renewal of an energy [right of way] has a signficiant regional or national effect on the supply, price or reliability of energy resources" then Congress "should consider resolving such a situation through specific legislation rather than making broader changes that would affect tribal sovereignty or self-determination generally."
Chairman Martin testified before the California State Senate GO Committee
Last week Chairman Martin testified before the California State Senate GO Committee on why the Morongo compact should be ratified promptly. His presentation was effective and well-received. Media coverage of his comments and the hearing was statewide in both print and broadcast.
Click here for the full transcript of the Chairman's statement.
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