II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1260 

To make technical corrections to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 16, 2005 

Mr. VITTER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

A BILL 

To make technical corrections to the Indian Gaming 

Regulatory Act, 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 ‘‘Common Sense Indian 

5 Gambling Reform Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CONSULTATION WITH STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL 

7 GOVERNMENTS. 

8 Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 

9 U.S.C. 2719) is amended— 
2 

•S 1260 IS

1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (2) 

2 and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) the Indian tribe has no reservation as of 

4 October 17, 1988, and the land is located in the 

5 State of Oklahoma and— 

6 ‘‘(A) is within the boundaries of the former 

7 reservation of the Indian tribe, as defined by 

8 the Secretary; or 

9 ‘‘(B) is contiguous to other land held in 

10 trust or restricted status by the United States 

11 for the benefit of the Indian tribe in the State 

12 of Oklahoma.’’; 

13 (2) in subsection (b)— 

14 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and 

15 (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; 

16 (B) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by 

17 subparagraph (A)), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

18 (2)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (3)(B)’’; and 

19 (C) by striking ‘‘(b)(1) Subsection’’ and all 

20 that follows through clause (iii) of paragraph 

21 (1)(B) and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

24 ‘‘(A) EFFECT ON COMMUNITY.—Subject to 

25 subparagraph (B) and paragraph (2), sub-
3 

•S 1260 IS

1 section (a) shall not apply to Indian lands for 

2 which the Secretary, after consultation with the 

3 Indian tribe and officials of all State, local, and 

4 tribal governments that have jurisdiction over 

5 land located within 60 miles of such Indian 

6 lands, determines that a gaming establishment 

7 on that land— 

8 ‘‘(i) would be in the best interest of 

9 the Indian tribe and its members; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) taking into consideration the re11 sults of a study of the economic impact of 

12 the gaming establishment, would not have 

13 a negative economic impact, or any other 

14 negative effect, on any unit of government, 

15 business, community, or Indian tribe lo16 cated within 60 miles of the land. 

17 ‘‘(B) CONCURRENCE OF AFFECTED

18 STATE.—For a determination of the Secretary 

19 under subparagraph (A) to become valid, the 

20 Governor and legislative body of the State in 

21 which a gaming activity is proposed to be con22 ducted shall concur in the determination. 

23 ‘‘(C) EFFECT OF PARAGRAPH.—This para24 graph shall not apply to any land on which a 

25 gaming facility is in operation as of the date of 
4 

•S 1260 IS

1 enactment of the Common Sense Indian Gam2 bling Reform Act of 2005. 

3 ‘‘(2) PRIMARY NEXUS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The land described in 

5 paragraph (1) shall be land— 

6 ‘‘(i) within a State in which the In7 dian tribe is primarily located, as deter8 mined by the Secretary; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) on which the primary geographic, 

10 social, and historical nexus to land of the 

11 Indian tribe is located, as determined in 

12 accordance with subparagraph (B). 

13 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION.—For purposes of 

14 subparagraph (A), a geographic, social, and his15 torical nexus to land of an Indian tribe shall 

16 exist with respect to land that is— 

17 ‘‘(i)(I) owned by, or held in trust by 

18 the United States for the benefit of, an In19 dian tribe; 

20 ‘‘(II) located within the boundaries 

21 of— 

22 ‘‘(aa) the geographical area, as 

23 designated by the Secretary, in which 

24 financial assistance and social service 

25 programs are provided to the Indian 
5 

•S 1260 IS

1 tribe, including land on or contiguous 

2 to a reservation; or 

3 ‘‘(bb) the geographical area des4 ignated by the Indian tribe during the 

5 Federal acknowledgment process of 

6 the Indian tribe as the area in which 

7 more than 50 percent of the members 

8 of the Indian tribe reside in a group 

9 composed exclusively or almost exclu10 sively of members of the Indian tribe; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(III) located within the geographical 

13 area in which the Indian tribe dem14 onstrates that the Indian tribe has histori15 cally resided, as determined by the Sec16 retary; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) located— 

18 ‘‘(I) in a State other than the 

19 State of Oklahoma; and 

20 ‘‘(II) within the boundaries of the 

21 last recognized reservation of the In22 dian tribe in any State in which the 

23 Indian tribe is located as of the date 

24 on which a determination under this 

25 subparagraph is made.’’; 
6 

•S 1260 IS

1 (3) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

2 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 

3 (4) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(c) CONTIGUOUS LAND REQUIREMENT.—Notwith6 standing any other provision of this Act, an Indian tribe 

7 shall conduct any gaming activity subject to regulation 

8 under this Act on 1 contiguous parcel of Indian lands.’’. 

9 SEC. 3. TRIBAL GAMING ORDINANCES. 

10 Section 11 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 

11 U.S.C. 2710) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (b)(1)— 

13 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘, 

14 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

15 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

16 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(C) the class II gaming is conducted— 

19 ‘‘(i) on lands that were Indian lands 

20 before the date of enactment of this sub21 paragraph; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) on land taken into trust for the 

23 benefit of the Indian tribe after the date of 

24 enactment of this subparagraph, but only 

25 if the application of the Indian tribe re-
7 

•S 1260 IS

1 questing that the land be taken into trust 

2 for the benefit of the Indian tribe stated 

3 the intent of the Indian tribe to conduct 

4 class II gaming activities on the land.’’; 

5 and 

6 (2) in subsection (d)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

9 (I) in clause (i), by striking 

10 ‘‘such lands,’’ and inserting ‘‘the In11 dian lands;’’; 

12 (II) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘, 

13 and’’ and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (III) in clause (iii), by striking 

15 the comma at the end and inserting a 

16 semicolon; 

17 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

18 ‘‘, and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

19 (iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

20 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

21 and’’; and 

22 (iv) by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(D) conducted— 
8 

•S 1260 IS

1 ‘‘(i) on lands that were Indian lands 

2 before the date of enactment of this sub3 paragraph; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) on land taken into trust for the 

5 benefit of the Indian tribe after the date of 

6 enactment of this subparagraph, but only 

7 if the application of the Indian tribe re8 questing that the land be taken into trust 

9 for the benefit of the Indian tribe stated 

10 the intent of the Indian tribe to conduct 

11 class III gaming activities on the land.’’; 

12 and 

13 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(10) DEFINITION OF STATE.—In this sub15 section, the term ‘State’ means the Governor of the 

16 State and the legislative body of the State.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. INVESTIGATION AND APPROVAL. 

18 (a) POWERS OF THE CHAIRMAN.—Section 6(a) of the 

19 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2705(a)) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

22 end; 

23 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at 

24 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

25 (3) by adding at the end the following: 
9 

•S 1260 IS

1 ‘‘(5) approve or disapprove the involvement in 

2 a gaming activity subject to regulation by the Com3 mission of any 1 of the 10 persons or entities that 

4 have the highest financial interest in the gaming ac5 tivity, as identified by the Commission under section 

6 7(b)(3)(A).’’. 

7 (b) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.—Section 7(b) of 

8 the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2706(b)) 

9 is amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(3) shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) identify the 10 persons or entities 

13 that have the highest financial interest (includ14 ing outstanding loans, debt-based financing, 

15 and other financial interests) in each gaming 

16 activity subject to regulation by the Commis17 sion; and 

18 ‘‘(B) conduct a background investigation 

19 of— 

20 ‘‘(i) each of the persons and entities 

21 identified under subparagraph (A); and 

22 ‘‘(ii) any other person or entity, as the 

23 Commission determines to be appro24 priate.’’. 
10 

•S 1260 IS

1 (c) TRIBAL GAMING ORDINANCES.—Section 

2 11(b)(2)(F) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 

3 U.S.C. 2710(b)(2)(F)) is amended by striking clause (i) 

4 and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(i) ensures that— 

6 ‘‘(I) a background investigation 

7 will be conducted by the Commission 

8 on— 

9 ‘‘(aa) each tribal gaming 

10 commissioner; 

11 ‘‘(bb) key tribal gaming em12 ployees, as determined by the 

13 Commission; 

14 ‘‘(cc) primary management 

15 officials; and 

16 ‘‘(dd) key employees of the 

17 gaming enterprise; and 

18 ‘‘(II) oversight of the individuals 

19 described in subclause (I) will be con20 ducted on an ongoing basis; and’’. 

21 (d) COMMISSION FUNDING.—Section 18(a)(2)(B) of 

22 the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 

23 2717(a)(2)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘$8,000,000’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘$16,000,000’’. 
11 

•S 1260 IS

1 SEC. 5. CHANGING USE OF INDIAN LAND. 

2 The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 

3 et seq.) is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating sections 21 through 24 as 

5 sections 22 through 25, respectively; and 

6 (2) by inserting after section 20 the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 21. CHANGING USE OF INDIAN LANDS. 

8 ‘‘Before an Indian tribe uses any Indian lands for 

9 purposes of class II or class III gaming, the Indian tribe 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) submit to the Secretary an environmental 

12 impact statement that the Secretary determines to 

13 be in accordance with the National Environmental 

14 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) relating 

15 to that use; and 

16 ‘‘(2) obtain the consent of the Secretary with 

17 respect to the change in use of the Indian lands.’’. 

18 SEC. 6. EFFECT OF ACT. 

19 This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, 

20 shall not affect any compact or other agreement relating 

21 to gaming subject to regulation under the Indian Gaming 

22 Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) in existence on 

23 the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ