I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3745

To amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to require State legislature 

approval of new gambling facilities, to provide for minimum requirements 

for Federal regulation of Indian gaming, to set up a commission to 

report to Congress on current living and health standards in Indian 

country, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 28, 2004

Mr. SHAYS (for himself and Mr. WOLF) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Resources 

A BILL

To amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to require 

State legislature approval of new gambling facilities, to 

provide for minimum requirements for Federal regulation 

of Indian gaming, to set up a commission to report 

to Congress on current living and health standards in 

Indian country, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tribal and Local Com5 munities Relationship Improvement Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. STATE LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL NEEDED FOR GAM2 ING UNDER CERTAIN COMPACTS AND EXCEP3 TION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 11(d)(3) of the Indian 

5 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2710(d)(3)) is amend6 ed by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

7 ‘‘(D) Any Tribal-State compact approved after 

8 the date of the enactment of the Tribal and Local 

9 Communities Relationship Improvement Act shall 

10 not be valid unless approved by the Governor and 

11 the State legislature of the State with which the 

12 Tribal-State compact was negotiated. This subpara13 graph shall not apply to a Tribal-State compact that 

14 is a renewal or renegotiation of a Tribal-State com15 pact that was in effect on the date of the enactment 

16 of the Tribal and Local Communities Relationship 

17 Improvement Act if the renewed or renegotiated 

18 Tribal-State compact does not include new terms or 

19 provisions which result in an expansion of the gam20 ing operations covered by the Tribal-State compact 

21 that was in effect on the date of the enactment of 

22 the Tribal and Local Communities Relationship Im23 provement Act.’’. 

24 (b) APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR GAMING UNDER EX25 CEPTION.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 20(a) of the Indian 

2 Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2719(a)) is 

3 amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 20. (a) Gaming regulated by this Act shall not 

5 be conducted on lands acquired by the Secretary in trust 

6 for the benefit of an Indian tribe after October 17, 1988, 

7 unless the Secretary, after consultation with the Indian 

8 tribe and appropriate State and local officials, including 

9 officials of other nearby Indian tribes, determines that a 

10 gaming establishment on such land would be in the best 

11 interest of the Indian tribe and its members, and would 

12 not be detrimental to the communities in surrounding 

13 counties and parishes, but only if the Governor and legis14 lature of the State in which the gaming activity is to be 

15 conducted concurs in the Secretary’s determination.’’. 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

17 20(b) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 

18 U.S.C. 2719(b)) is amended—

19 (A) by striking paragraph (1); 

20 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘para21 graph (2)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

22 (1)(B)’’; and 

23 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and 

24 (3) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively. 
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1 SEC. 3. LIMIT ON NUMBER OF PARCELS OF LAND ON 

2 WHICH CLASS III GAMING MAY BE CON3 DUCTED BY AN INDIAN TRIBE. 

4 Section 11(d)(8)(A) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory 

5 Act (25 U.S.C. 2710(d)(8)(A)) is amended by adding at 

6 the end the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding 

7 sentence, after the date of the enactment of the Tribal 

8 and Local Communities Relationship Improvement Act, 

9 the Secretary shall not approve any Tribal-State compact 

10 that would result in an Indian tribe conducting class III 

11 gaming regulated under this Act on more than 1 parcel 

12 of land or, if an Indian tribe conducted class III gaming 

13 regulated under this Act under 1 or more valid, approved 

14 Tribal-State compacts on the date of the enactment of the 

15 Tribal and Local Communities Relationship Improvement 

16 Act, on the number of parcels of land on which the Indian 

17 tribe conducted such gaming on that date.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL REGULA19 TION. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President shall establish 

21 an advisory committee to be known as the ‘‘Advisory Com22 mittee on Minimum Regulatory Requirements and Licens23 ing Standards for Indian Gaming’’ (hereinafter referred 

24 to as the ‘‘Advisory Committee’’). 

25 (b) MEMBERS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Committee 

2 shall be composed of 8 members who shall be ap3 pointed by the President not later than 120 days 

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, of 

5 which—

6 (A) 3 members, selected from a list of rec7 ommendations submitted to the President by 

8 the chairperson and vice chairperson of the 

9 Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and 

10 the chairperson and ranking minority member 

11 of the Committee on Resources of the House of 

12 Representatives, shall be members of, and rep13 resent, Indian tribal governments involved in 

14 gaming covered under the Indian Gaming Reg15 ulatory Act; 

16 (B) 3 members, selected from a list of rec17 ommendations submitted to the President by 

18 the majority leader and the minority leader of 

19 the Senate and the Speaker and the minority 

20 leader of the House of Representatives, shall 

21 represent State governments involved in gaming 

22 covered under the Indian Gaming Regulatory 

23 Act, and shall have experience as State gaming 

24 regulators; and 
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1 (C) 2 members shall be employees of the 

2 Department of Justice. 

3 (2) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the Advisory 

4 Committee shall not affect its powers, but shall be 

5 filled in the same manner as the original appoint6 ment. 

7 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MINIMUM FEDERAL

8 STANDARDS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

10 after the date on which all initial members of the 

11 Advisory Committee have been appointed under sub12 section (b), the Advisory Committee shall develop 

13 and submit to the entities referred to in paragraph 

14 (2) recommendations for minimum Federal stand15 ards as described in subsection (d). 

16 (2) RECIPIENTS OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—The 

17 Advisory Committee shall submit the recommenda18 tions required by paragraph (1) to the Committee on 

19 Indian Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Re20 sources of the House of Representatives, the Na21 tional Indian Gaming Commission, and each feder22 ally recognized Indian tribe. 

23 (3) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—The min24 imum Federal standards recommended pursuant to 

25 this subsection—
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1 (A) may be developed taking into account 

2 industry standards existing at the time of the 

3 development of the standards; and 

4 (B) shall be developed taking into ac5 count—

6 (i) the unique nature of tribal gaming 

7 as compared to non-Indian commercial, 

8 governmental, and charitable gaming; 

9 (ii) the broad variations in the scope 

10 and size of tribal gaming activity; and 

11 (iii) the inherent sovereign right of In12 dian tribes to regulate their own affairs. 

13 (d) REGULATIONS.—Upon receipt of the rec14 ommendations of the Advisory Committee, the National 

15 Indian Gaming Commission shall hold public hearings on 

16 the recommendations. After the conclusion of the hear17 ings, the Commission shall promulgate regulations estab18 lishing minimum Federal regulatory requirements sub19 stantially in accordance with the recommendations made 

20 by the Advisory Committee, taking into consideration pub21 lic comment when appropriate. Such regulations shall in22 clude requirements for—

23 (1) background investigations, licensing of per24 sons, and licensing of gaming operations associated 

25 with the conduct or regulation of class II and class 
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1 III gaming on Indian lands by tribal governments; 

2 and 

3 (2) the operation of class II and class III gam4 ing activities on Indian lands, including—

5 (A) surveillance and security personnel and 

6 systems capable of monitoring all gaming activi7 ties, including the conduct of games, cashiers’ 

8 cages, change booths, count rooms, movements 

9 of cash and chips, entrances and exits to gam10 ing facilities, and other critical areas of any 

11 gaming facility; 

12 (B) procedures for the protection of the in13 tegrity of the rules for the play of games and 

14 controls related to such rules; 

15 (C) credit and debit collection controls; 

16 (D) controls over gambling devices and 

17 equipment; and 

18 (E) accounting and auditing. 

19 (e) TRAVEL.—Each member of the Advisory Com20 mittee who is appointed under subparagraph (A) or (B) 

21 of subsection (b)(1) and who is not an officer or employee 

22 of the Federal Government or a government of a State 

23 shall be reimbursed for travel and per diem in lieu of sub24 sistence expenses during the performance of duties of the 

25 Advisory Committee while away from the home or the reg-
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1 ular place of business of that member, in accordance with 

2 subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (f) TERMINATION.—The Advisory Committee shall 

4 terminate 10 days after the Advisory Committee submits 

5 the recommendations under subsection (c). 

6 (g) EXEMPTION FROM FEDERAL ADVISORY COM7 MITTEE ACT.—All activities of the Advisory Committee 

8 shall be exempt from the Federal Advisory Committee Act 

9 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

10 SEC. 5. COMMISSION ON NATIVE AMERICAN POLICY. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com12 mission to be known as the ‘‘Commission on Native Amer13 ican Policy’’ (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Commis14 sion’’). 

15 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com16 posed of 13 members appointed for the life of the Commis17 sion as follows: 

18 (1) A representative from the National Gov19 ernors’ Association, chosen by the members of that 

20 association. 

21 (2) A representative from the National Associa22 tion of Attorneys General, chosen by the members of 

23 that association. 

24 (3) The Attorney General, or a designee. 
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1 (4) The Secretary of the Treasury, or a des2 ignee. 

3 (5) The Secretary of the Interior, or a designee. 

4 (6) The Secretary of Commerce, or a designee. 

5 (7) The Chairman of the National Indian Gam6 ing Commission, or a designee. 

7 (8) 1 representative from Indian tribes that op8 erate Indian gaming facilities, appointed by the ma9 jority leader of the House of Representatives and the 

10 majority leader of the Senate. 

11 (9) 1 representative from Indian tribes that do 

12 not operate Indian gaming facilities, appointed by 

13 the majority leader of the House of Representatives 

14 and the majority leader of the Senate. 

15 (10) 1 representative from Indian tribes that 

16 operate Indian gaming facilities, appointed by the 

17 minority leader of the House of Representatives and 

18 the minority leader of the Senate. 

19 (11) 1 representative from Indian tribes that do 

20 not operate Indian gaming facilities, appointed by 

21 the minority leader of the House of Representatives 

22 and the minority leader of the Senate. 

23 (12) 1 representative from a unit of local gov24 ernment that is located near an Indian gaming facil25 ity appointed by the majority leader of the House of 
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1 Representatives and the majority leader of the Sen2 ate. 

3 (13) 1 representative from the chamber of com4 merce of a unit of local government that is located 

5 near an Indian gaming facility appointed by the ma6 jority leader of the House of Representatives and the 

7 majority leader of the Senate. 

8 (c) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall 

9 be filled in the manner in which the original appointment 

10 was made. 

11 (d) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

12 Commission shall constitute a quorum but a lesser number 

13 may hold hearings. 

14 (e) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Commis15 sion shall be elected by the members of the Commission. 

16 The term of office of the Chairperson shall be for the life 

17 of the Commission. 

18 (f) BASIC PAY.—

19 (1) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each mem20 ber of the Commission who is not an officer or em21 ployee of the Federal Government, or whose com22 pensation is not precluded by a State, local, or Na23 tive American tribal government position, shall be 

24 compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent 

25 of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for Level 
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1 IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of 

2 title 5, United States Code, for each day (including 

3 travel time) during which such member is engaged 

4 in the performance of the duties of the Commission. 

5 All members of the Commission who are officers or 

6 employees of the United States shall serve without 

7 compensation in addition to that received for their 

8 services as officers or employees of the United 

9 States. 

10 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the 

11 Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, includ12 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates author13 ized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of 

14 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 

15 away from their homes or regular places of business 

16 in the performance of service for the Commission. 

17 (g) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may, for 

19 the purpose of carrying out its duties, hold hearings, 

20 sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and 

21 receive evidence as the Commission considers appro22 priate. The Commission may administer oaths or af23 firmations to witnesses appearing before it. 

24 (2) WITNESS EXPENSES.—Witnesses requested 

25 to appear before the Commission shall be paid the 
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1 same fees as are paid to witnesses under section 

2 1821 of title 28, United States Code. The per diem 

3 and mileage allowances for witnesses shall be paid 

4 from funds appropriated to the Commission. 

5 (h) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem6 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the 

7 Commission, take any action which the Commission is au8 thorized to take by this section. 

9 (i) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 

10 may secure directly from any department or agency of the 

11 United States information necessary to enable it to carry 

12 out its duties. Upon request of the Chairperson of the 

13 Commission, the head of that department or agency shall 

14 furnish that information to the Commission. 

15 (j) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 

16 States mails in the same manner and under the same con17 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United 

18 States. 

19 (k) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon 

20 the request of the Commission, the Administrator of Gen21 eral Services shall provide to the Commission, on a reim22 bursable basis, the administrative support services nec23 essary for the Commission to carry out its duties. 

24 (l) SUBPOENA POWER.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a person fails to supply 

2 information requested by the Commission, the Com3 mission may by majority vote require by subpoena 

4 the production of any written or recorded informa5 tion, document, report, answer, record, account, 

6 paper, computer file, or other data or documentary 

7 evidence necessary to carry out its duties. The Com8 mission shall transmit to the Attorney General a 

9 confidential, written notice at least 10 days in ad10 vance of the issuance of any such subpoena. A sub11 poena under this paragraph may require the produc12 tion of materials from any place within the United 

13 States. 

14 (2) INTERROGATORIES.—The Commission may, 

15 with respect only to information necessary to under16 stand any materials obtained through a subpoena 

17 under paragraph (1), issue a subpoena requiring the 

18 person producing such materials to answer, either 

19 through a sworn deposition or through written an20 swers provided under oath (at the election of the 

21 person upon whom the subpoena is served), to inter22 rogatories from the Commission regarding such in23 formation. A complete recording or transcription 

24 shall be made of any deposition made under this 

25 paragraph. 
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1 (3) CERTIFICATION.—Each person who submits 

2 materials or information to the Commission pursu3 ant to a subpoena issued under paragraph (1) or (2) 

4 shall certify to the Commission the authenticity and 

5 completeness of all materials or information sub6 mitted. The provisions of section 1001 of title 18, 

7 United States Code, shall apply to any false state8 ments made with respect to the certification required 

9 under this paragraph. 

10 (4) TREATMENT OF SUBPOENAS.—Any sub11 poena issued by the Commission under paragraph 

12 (1) or (2) shall comply with the requirements for 

13 subpoenas issued by a United States district court 

14 under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 

15 (5) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a per16 son refuses to obey a subpoena issued by the Com17 mission under paragraph (1) or (2), the Commission 

18 may apply to a United States district court for an 

19 order requiring that person to comply with such sub20 poena. The application may be made within the judi21 cial district in which that person is found, resides, 

22 or transacts business. Any failure to obey the order 

23 of the court may be punished by the court as civil 

24 contempt. 
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1 (m) IMMUNITY.—The Commission is an agency of the 

2 United States for the purpose of part V of title 18, United 

3 States Code (relating to immunity of witnesses). Except 

4 as provided in this subsection, a person may not be ex5 cused from testifying or from producing evidence pursuant 

6 to a subpoena on the ground that the testimony or evi7 dence required by the subpoena may tend to incriminate 

8 or subject that person to criminal prosecution. A person, 

9 after having claimed the privilege against self-incrimina10 tion, may not be criminally prosecuted by reason of any 

11 transaction, matter, or thing which that person is com12 pelled to testify about or produce evidence relating to, ex13 cept that the person may be prosecuted for perjury com14 mitted during the testimony or made in the evidence. 

15 (n) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—To the extent or in the 

16 amounts provided in advance in appropriation Acts, the 

17 Commission may contract with and compensate govern18 ment and private agencies or persons for services, without 

19 regard to section 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 

20 5). 

21 (o) STUDY; REPORT.—

22 (1) STUDY.—Not later than 18 months after 

23 funds are first made available for this section, the 

24 Commission shall complete a study on the following: 
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1 (A) Living standards in Indian country, in2 cluding health, infrastructure, economic devel3 opment, educational opportunities, and housing. 

4 (B) The effectiveness of current Federal 

5 programs designed to improve living standards 

6 in Indian country, including health, infrastruc7 ture, economic development, educational oppor8 tunities, and housing. 

9 (C) Crime control on Indian reservations. 

10 (D) The influence of non-Native American 

11 private investors on the Indian Federal recogni12 tion process. 

13 (E) The influence of non-Native American 

14 private investors on the establishment and oper15 ation of Indian gaming facilities. 

16 (F) The influence of organized crime on 

17 Indian gaming. 

18 (G) The impact of Indian gaming facilities 

19 on local communities, including the impact on 

20 economic, environmental, and social issues. 

21 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 

22 completion of the study required by paragraph (1), 

23 the Commission shall submit to Congress a report 

24 containing a detailed statement of the findings and 
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1 conclusions of the Commission, together with its leg2 islative recommendations for improving—

3 (A) the welfare of Native Americans, in4 cluding health infrastructure, economic develop5 ment, educational opportunities, and housing; 

6 (B) the relationship between tribal entities 

7 and nontribal communities that live in the same 

8 area as tribal entities or Indian gaming facili9 ties; and 

10 (C) regulations that govern tribal gaming 

11 to reduce the potential for crime and exploi12 tation of Indians and Indian tribes. 

13 (p) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

14 30 days after submitting its final report pursuant this sec15 tion.

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