1111512017 15:28 (FAX) 

I ~~CA-l:Al'tr~~ 

~ NATION -" 

Office of the Gaming Commissioner 

VVednesday,November15,2017 

FAX COVER SHEET 

TO: Chairman Chaudhuri 

FAX NUMBER: 202-632-7066 

FROM: Danielle Brashear, Gaming Commissioner 

RE: 

Number of Pages, Including Cover: -~3 __ _ 

MESSAGE: Please see attached comments regarding the Proposed Rule, thank you for your time 

and consideration. 

This facslmile transmission is intended only for the addressee. It may contain Information 

that Is privileged, confidential or otherwise protected from disclosure. Any review, 

dissemination or use of this transmission or its contents by persons other than the 

addressee Is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please 

notify us immediately by telephone and mail the original to the address noted below . 

p' 0011003 

.. ·- ~-- ------- ---

23703 So1Jth 655 Road, Grov•, OK 74344 I Tele~hone: 918. 787 .9703 I FaK: 918. 1$1 .2430 I dbraf1'101r@'ic:trlb1.com 
11)15/2017 15:28 

Office of the Gamins Commissioner 

Mr. Jonodev Chaudhuri, Chairman 

Natlonal Indian Gaming Commission 

1849 C Street NW 

Mallstop #1621 

Washington, DC 20240 

November 151 2017 

(FAX) 

Re: Comments Pertaining to Proposed Rule 25 C.F.R. Part 517 

Dear Chairman Chaudhuri: 

P.002/003 

The Seneca-Cayuga Office of the Gaming Commissioner, on behalf of the Seneca-Cayuga 

Nation, hereby provides the following comments on the National Indian Gaming Commission's 

(NIGC) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Proposed Rule) issued on October 17, 2017 containing 

proposed amendments to 25 C.F.R. Part 517 (Part 517), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

procedures for the NIGC. The United States Congress has amended FOIA twice since the last 

comprehensive revisions to Part 517 on April 191 2006. We are pleased that the NIGC is now 

willing to take up the Important task of updating Part 517 to reflect the latest amendments to 

FOlA, and we applaud the NIGC's efforts to bring greater clarity and transparency to the FOIA 

process. 

While we generally support the NIGC's efforts to streamline FOIA processing, we are very 

concerned with the proposal to remove the term "record" from the definitions section of the 

regulation. It is unclear to us whether this action was due to an oversight or an intentional 

omission since the Proposed Rule does not provide any explanation for this proposed change. 

Nonetheless, we find the proposed removal of such a critical definition to be deeply troubling. 

The term is not only used repeatedly throughout Part 517, but Is the very term that describes 

what is being sought in a FOIA request. The term, is, therefore, essential to understanding and 

interpreting the NIGC1s FOIA process. We note that under FOIA, agencies are given the 

discretion to develop their own definitions of "record," and that most agencies, including the 

U.S. Department of the Interior, have adopted specific definitions of "record" in their FOIA 

procedures. 

We believe the NIGC's current definition of "record" in 25 C.F.R. § 517.3(h) appropriately 

describes the scope of materials accessible via a FOIA request to the NIGC. We, therefore, urge 

the NIGC to retain the existing definition of "record" in order to ensure that the final rule 

properly defines the scope of Information that will be subject to the FOIA processes contained 

therein. 

24703 South 655 Road, Grove, OK 74344 I Telephone: 918.787.9703 I Faic: 918.787.2430 I dbrasllear@sctrlbe.com 
11/15/2017 15:28 (FAX) P.003/003 

Wednesday, November 15, 2017 

In closing, we would like to thank you for this opportunity to share our views and comments on 

the proposed changes reflected In the Proposed Rule for Part 517. We respectfully seek your 

favorable consideration of our comments and ask that you carefully consider our views and 

concerns as you move through the rulemaklng process. 

Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can provide any additional information. 

Sincerely, 

~\:> Danielle Brashear, Gaming Commissioner 

Seneca-Cayuga Nation Office of the Gaming Commissioner 

24703 South 655 Road, Grove, OK 74344 I Telephone: 918. 787.9703 I Fax: 918.787.2430 I dbrashear@sctribe.com