Opinion ID: 2001496
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 13

Heading: Requirements for Class III Gaming

Text: IGRA provides, Class III gaming activities shall be lawful on Indian lands only if such activities are (A) authorized by an ordinance or resolution that (i) is adopted by the governing body of the Indian tribe having jurisdiction over such lands, (ii) meets the requirements of subsection (b) of this section, and (iii) is approved by the Chairman, (B) located in a State that permits such gaming for any purpose by any person, organization, or entity, and (C) conducted in conformance with a Tribal-State compact entered into by the Indian tribe and the State under paragraph (3) that is in effect (25 USC § 2710 [d] [1]). [17] In determining whether class III gaming will be allowable on Indian lands, the tribal-state compacting requirement is of primary importance under IGRA. However, before discussing this requirement, it is necessary to examine IGRA's legislative history regarding compacts because this history makes clear that Congress: (1) considers a state and Indian tribe engaged in compact negotiations to be equal sovereigns; (2) considers the state's interest, in ensuring that its law and public policy are adhered to, important to the compacting process; and (3) does not require a state to abandon its own constitution or laws in order to have or regulate class III gaming. The Senate Report, which accompanied the bill (US Senate Bill S 555) that eventually became IGRA and sets forth IGRA's legislative history, provides, in pertinent part:  Class III  tribal-State compacts. . . . [T]he [Select Committee on Indian Affairs (Committee)] concluded that the use of compacts between tribes and states is the best mechanism to assure that the interests of both sovereign entities are met with respect to the regulation of complex gaming enterprises such as pari-mutuel horse and dog racing, casino gaming, jai alai and so forth. The Committee notes the strong concerns of states that state laws and regulations relating to sophisticated forms of class III gaming be respected on Indian lands where, with few exceptions, such laws and regulations do not now apply. The Committee balanced these concerns against the strong tribal opposition to any imposition of State jurisdiction over activities on Indian lands. The Committee concluded that the compact process is a viable mechanism for setting various matters between two equal sovereigns (S Rep No. 100-446, 100th Cong, 2d Sess, Explanation of Major Provisions, at 13). The Senate Report further provides that: both State and tribal governments have significant governmental interests in the conduct of class III gaming. States and tribes are encouraged to conduct negotiations within the context of the mutual benefits that can flow to and from tribe and States. This is a strong and serious presumption that must provide the framework for negotiations. A tribe's governmental interests include raising revenues to provide governmental services for the benefit of the tribal community and reservation residents, promoting public safety as well as law and order on tribal lands, realizing the objectives of economic self-sufficiency and Indian self-determination, and regulating activities of persons within its jurisdictional borders. A State's governmental interests with respect to class III gaming on Indian lands include the interplay of such gaming with the State's public policy, safety, law and other interests, as well as impacts on the State's regulatory system, including its economic interest in raising revenue for its citizens ( id. [emphasis added]). Regarding the Committee's intent, the Senate Report provides that: It is the Committee's intent that the compact requirement for class III not be used as a justification by a State for excluding Indian tribes from such gaming or for the protection of other State-licensed gaming enterprises from free market competition with Indian tribes ( id. ). Further, States are not required to forgo any State governmental rights to engage in or regulate class III gaming except whatever they may voluntarily cede to a tribe under a compact ( id. at 14 [emphasis added]). With respect to the tribal-state compact requirement, IGRA provides that an Indian tribe, seeking to conduct class III gaming on its land, may initiate the compacting process by asking the state in which the proposed activity is to take place to engage in negotiations for the purpose of entering a tribal-state compact ( see 25 USC § 2710 [d] [3] [A]). When the tribe requests a state to enter into compact negotiations, both the tribe and the state shall negotiate in good faith ( id. ). [18] However, IGRA does not require that a state accept or enter into a compact. Moreover, class III gaming shall not be imposed on states where such gaming is forbidden. 25 USC § 2701 (5) provides: Indian tribes have the exclusive right to regulate gaming activity on Indian lands if the gaming activity is not specifically prohibited by Federal law and is conducted within a State which does not, as a matter of criminal law and public policy, prohibit such gaming activity  (emphasis added). Based on the foregoing, as long as the proposed class III gaming activity is not prohibited by a state's criminal law and public policy, an Indian tribe can initiate the tribal-state compacting process under which a state is obligated to negotiate in good faith, subject to 25 USC § 2710 (d) (7). However, in the instant case, the commercialized casino gaming contemplated is prohibited under New York law and public policy. [19] Because the proposed casino gaming is prohibited under the New York State Constitution and Penal Law, and such gaming conflicts with New York State's strong public policy against commercialized gambling, the Legislature did not have the power to enact the instant legislation authorizing the Governor to negotiate and enter into compacts with Indian tribes for the establishment of for-profit casino gaming in New York State. Moreover, IGRA does not and cannot force or require the Legislature to pass a law authorizing the Governor to execute agreements for the establishment of activity that is violative of New York State's laws and public policy. As indicated above, without valid legislative approval, the Governor can neither negotiate nor bind the State by entering into a compact.