BOISE, Idaho (AP) - An Idaho House panel has killed a bill aimed at banning lucrative video gambling at tribal casinos in Idaho.
The Spokesman-Review reports (https://bit.ly/2ldFf3k) that the House State Affairs Committee on Thursday voted 8-7 to kill the bill concerning what gambling is allowed on Indian reservations.
Tribal members had warned that the proposed law would violate contracts between the tribes, state and federal government.
“It’s discouraging to see a bill like this come up, but we are pleased that the committee members recognized the confusion that would be created by this bill and saw fit to keep it from moving any further,” said Coeur d’Alene Tribal Chairman Chief Allan in statement.
Republican Rep. Tom Loertscher of Iona backed the legislation that would have removed a key section of a 2002 law detailing that video machines could not be defined as illegal slot machines.
He contended the bill wasn’t about banning tribal gambling, and that if the tribes’ gambling machines are in compliance the bill would have no effect.
“If not, then the machines will have to be brought into compliance,” he said. “Even in that circumstance, gaming will continue with machines that are found to be in compliance with the Constitution.”
Republican Rep. Joe Palmer, of Meridian, voted to kill the bill, though noted he’s against gambling.
“If I thought this piece of legislation would in any way help us to remove those machines, I would be in support of it,” he said. “However, I do not think that that is what this piece of legislation will accomplish. I believe it will put us into a lawsuit that we will not win.”
Opponents of the bill had argued it went against federally-approved agreements on what types of gambling can take place on a reservation because those agreements were built around certain laws. They said that changing the laws before the compacts are renegotiated or replaced with the state could spark multiple lawsuits.
Republican Rep. Brent Crane, of Nampa, voted to kill the bill because it attempted to go around a negotiated compact with the tribes. He said a better method would be to talk with the tribes directly.
“I think the state of Idaho has recognized that the tribes are a good partner,” he said, “and we have entered into a contractual obligation with a partner.”
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, https://www.spokesman.com
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