performance, injunctive relief, declaratory relief, and/or any other forms of relief

other than monetary damages.

(6) The claim must be made in
(a) any judicial forum or other dispute resolution system established by the

Tribe,
(b) the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San

Francisco, California, or
(c) the Superior Court for the State of California for the County of Del Norte

County in Crescent City, California.

§7. Effect of Ordinance on Other Tribal Ordinances

This Ordinance supercedes any conflicting or contrary superceding ordinances passed by the
Tribe.

§8. Severability

If any provision of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held
invalid, its invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of this Ordinance, and to
this end the provisions of this Ordinance are severable.

§9. Amendments

This Ordinance may be amended at any time by the Tribal Council.

§10. Effective Date

This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon passage.

CERTIFICATION

As the Chairperson of the Tribal Council for the Smith River Rancheria, I hereby certify that the
Tribal Council adopted this Ordinance at a duly called meeting at which a quorum was present
by a vote of _6 for, with__O _ against, with _1 abstaining, with _O absent, on

this 8th_ day of August » 2000

Me Flonracle> some, 00

Eoten Bommelyn, Chairperson // Date

At noe cee Angust 8, 2000

Luanna Scott, Tribal Secretary Date

Ordinance on Tort Liability for Tribal Gaming Operations Page 4 of 4


legitimate claims will be paid.

§6. Sovereign Immunity

a. Except as set out in sub-section (b) below, the sovereign immunity of the Tribe is in no
manner waived by this Ordinance or by any action of the Tribal Council or staff of the Tribe
acting pursuant to this Ordinance, even though Section 6.4.2(d) of the Tribal-State Gaming
Compact requires the Tribe to carry public liability insurance.

b. In its sole discretion and subject to the conditions and limitations described herein, the Tribal
Council may waive the Tribe’s sovereign immunity from suit, by express written
authorization, solely to the extent of the limitations of the public liability insurance policy
purchased by the Tribe in conformance with this Ordinance.

To request a waiver of the Tribe’s sovereign immunity from suit for a patron claim, the

patron must take the following actions:

(1) The patron allegedly suffering the injury to person or property must present the
patron claim, in detail and in writing, to the Tribal Council, which shall have
thirty (30) days to either
(a) waive the Tribe’s sovereign immunity from suit, by express written

authorization and under the conditions described in this section, or
(b) refuse to waive the Tribe’s sovereign immunity from suit.

(2) A failure by the Tribal Council to take any action on the patron claim within thirty
(30) days shall be automatically deemed to be a refusal to grant a waiver of the
Tribe’s sovereign immunity from suit.

The Tribal Council may only grant a waiver of sovereign immunity by express written

authorization in conformance with the Tribal Council’s established procedures for taking

i.

ii.

action.
iii. Any waiver of sovereign immunity granted by the Tribal Council under this section shall

be subject to the following conditions, in addition to any other conditions that the Tribal
Council may add:

(1) The claim must be made by the patron allegedly suffering the injury to person or
property and not by any representative, agent, partner or other entity of or
connected with the patron allegedly suffering the injury to person or property, or
by any other person, corporation, partnership, or entity.

(2) The patron allegedly suffering the injury to person or property must follow all
claims procedures established by the Tribe and the company providing the Tribe's
public liability insurance.

(3) Any such waiver of sovereign immunity shall be strictly limited by and to the
terms and conditions of the Tribe’s public liability insurance purchased in
conformance with this Ordinance.

(4) Any such waiver of sovereign immunity shall be limited to patron claims, as this
term is defined in this Ordinance.

(5) The claim must seek monetary damages. Any waiver granted pursuant to this
section shall not be effective as to any patrons or other persons seeking specific

Ordinance on Tort Liability for Tribal Gaming Operations Page 3 of 4


oe 'No,

5 *
wy,
“On aw

‘Ne comm”
JAN 10 200!

Honorable Loren Bommelyn
Chairperson, Smith River Rancheria
250 North Indian Road

Smith River, California

Dear Chairperson Bommelyn:

This letter responds to your request to the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) for the
review and approval of the September 20, 2000, Smith River Rancheria Gaming Ordinance as
amended, as well as the September 20, 2000, Smith River Rancheria Ordinance Establishing the
Smith River Rancheria Gaming Agency and the August 8, 2000, Smith River Rancheria Ordinance
on Tort Liability for Tribal Gaming Operation, which were received in this office on October 26,
2000. The Chairman of the NIGC approved the original Ordinance on August 25, 1995. The
Ordinance was amended and the Chairman approved a previous amendment on September 13,
1999. This letter constitutes approval of your submission under the Indian Gaming Regulatory
Act (GRA). Such approval does not constitute approval of specific games. It is important to note
that the gaming ordinance is approved for gaming only on Indian lands, as defined in the IGRA,
over which the Tribe exercises jurisdiction.

We note that two additional ordinances were submitted on which we are taking no action. The
Chairperson or the Tribal Secretary has not certified the first, the Smith River Rancheria
Employment Discrimination Ordinance. The second ordinance is the August 22, 2000, Smith
River Rancheria Environmental Policy Ordinance. The NIGC is presently developing regulations
governing the requirements for tribal environmental, health and safety ordinances to the extent
they impact gaming operations. The proposed regulations contemplate a review and approval of
the Tribe’s ordinances under the standards established in the regulations. When the regulations
are published as final regulations, you should review your environmental, health and safety
ordinances to assure compliance with the regulations.

Thank you for submitting the tribal gaming ordinances of the Tribe for review and approval. The
NIGC staff and I look forward to working with you and the Community in implementing the
IGRA. If you have questions or require further assistance, please contact Ms. Frances Fragua at
202/632-7003.

Sincerely yours,

fw

Montie R. Deer
Chairman

NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS 1441 L St. NW, Suite 9100, Washington, DC 20005 Tel: 202.632.7003 Fax: 202.632.7066 WWW.NIGC.GOV

REGIONAL OFFICES Portland, OR; Sacramento, CA; Phoenix, AZ; St. Paul, MN; Tulsa, OK


OCy
SMITH RIVER RANCHERIA 26 ayn
ORDINANCE ON TORT LIABILITY FOR

TRIBAL GAMING OPERATION

The Tribal Council of the Smith River Rancheria, empowered by the Tribal Constitution to
enact ordinances, hereby ordains the following:

§1. Findings and Declarations
The Smith River Rancheria finds and declares that —

Gaming provides economic development opportunities and a source of revenue for the Smith
River Rancheria and its members.

On September 10, 1999, the Smith River Rancheria and various other Indian tribes entered
into a Tribal-State Gaming Compact with the State of California in furtherance of Indian

gaming.
The Tribal-State Gaming Compact requires the Smith River Rancheria to adopt a tort liability

ordinance to provide for the processing of patron claims.

Therefore, the Tribal Council adopts this Ordinance to comply with the Tribal-State Gaming
Compact and to protect and promote the political integrity, economic security, health, safety and
welfare of the Tribe, its members, and all persons living on, or passing through, the Smith River

Rancheria.

§2. Definitions

For the purposes of this ordinance, the following words shall have the following meanings:
a. The term "Tribal Council" means the Tribal Council of the Smith River Rancheria.

b. The term “Class II] gaming” means the forms of Class III gaming defined as such in 25
U.S.C. Section 2703(8) and by regulations of the National Indian Gaming Commission.

c. The term “Gaming Activities” means the Class III gaming activities authorized under the
Tribal-State Gaming Compact as defined in Section 2.4 therein.

d. The term “Gaming Facility” means any building in which Class III gaming activities or
gaming operations are offered by the Tribal Gaming Operation within the boundaries of the

Smith River Rancheria.

e. The term “patron” means an individual who uses the services of the Tribal Gaming


Operation.

f. The term “patron claims" means a claim, made in conformance with the procedures set forth
in this Ordinance, for money damages resulting from injuries to person or property at the
Gaming Facility or in connection with the Tribal Gaming Operation.

The term "Smith River Rancheria" means all land, air, and water located within the exterior
boundaries of the Smith River Rancheria.

The term "State" means the State of California or any administrative agency thereof.

i. The term “Tribal Gaming Operation” means the business enterprise of the Smith River
Rancheria that offers and operates Class III gaming activities, whether exclusively or

otherwise, within the boundaries of the Smith River Ranchenia.

j. The term "Tribal-State Gaming Compact" means the Compact entered into between the State
of California and the Smith River Rancheria and various other federally recognized on

September 10, 1999 pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (18 U.S.C. Sec.
1166, et seq. And 25 U.S.C. Sec. 2701, et seq.)

k. The term "Tribe" means the Smith River Rancheria, a federally recognized Indian tribe.

§3. Applicability of Ordinance

This Ordinance applies solely to the Tribal Gaming Operation and activities occurring within the

Gaming Facility.

§4. Public Liability Insurance
The Tribe shall carry no less than five million dollars ($5,000,000) per year in public liability
insurance for patron claims. At its discretion, the Tribal Council may delegate this requirement

to the Tribal Gaming Operation.

§5. Procedure for Processing Patron Claims

All patron claims shall be handled by the company providing the Tribe the public liability
insurance described above, except that the Tribal Gaming Operation has the discretion to
resolve patron claims up to the amount of the deductible under the Tribe’s public liability
insurance policy, at its sole discretion and in compliance with any requirements of the Tribe’s

public liability insurance policy.

a.

b. In cooperation with the company providing the Tribe the public liability insurance described
above and subject to the limits of the public liability insurance policy, the Tribe shall provide
reasonable assurances that patron claims will be promptly and fairly adjudicated, and that

Ordinance on Tort Liability for Tribal Gaming Operations Page 2 of 4