Indian Gaming

California voters approved Indian casinos in 1998 and have generally defended the rights of the state's more than 50 tribes to expand since then. In Februrary of this year, voters approved four contested compacts that allowed tribes to expand. These compacts ratified the Schwarzenegger administration's strategy in Indian gaming: allow expansion in return for increased payments to the state. The governor has sought this money to help fund transportation and ease the state's budget problem.

But the recent ruling of a federal judge has put this approach at risk. In a case brought by the Rincon band in San Diego County, a judge found that Schwarzenegger's demand for more funds amounts to "illegal taxes." The judge ordered the state and tribe to reach an agreement on a compact by the end of June, or he would send the best offers of each to an arbitrator, who would then decide. This story from the Union-Tribune describes Schwarzenegger's effort to appeal the decision.