HOUSE BILL 1308 – UNREGULATED INDIAN GAMBLING
House Bill 1308 by state Rep. Norma Chavez of El Paso amends the Texas Penal Code in an attempt to allow the Tigua Tribe in El Paso and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe in Livingston, north of Houston, to reopen the very same casinos they have operated twice illegally.
Only after the Texas Attorney General sued both tribes twice in the early 1990s and then again in 2000 did they cease their illegal activities. Each time, federal courts found Texas acted correctly.
In a 2004 opinion (GA-0278), Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott held that changes in federal statutes are necessary before the Tiguas or Alabama-Coushatta could legally conduct gaming operations in Texas.
HB 1308 fails for the following reasons:
The casinos will be unregulated. Both tribes are non-IGRA (federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act) tribes, meaning they are not subject to the federal regulatory framework for gaming tribes. Texas has no regulatory framework for casinos.
- HB 1308 has NO licensing mechanism. No federal or state licensing commission. NO licensing fees and NO regulation.
- HB 1308 has NO state enforcement of criminal laws for illegal gambling.
- HB 1308 has NO background checks for employees and management.
- HB 1308 has NO required payout percentage for slots (as gaming licenses require).
- HB 1308 has NO immediate payout requirements (as gaming licenses require).
- HB 1308 has NO compact requirement to ensure enforceable taxing rights for the state.
HB 1308 fails because federal law trumps state law, and federal law prohibits gambling by these two tribes (the Tribes Texas Restoration Act and TWO US Fifth Circuit rulings, (36 F.3rd 1325 (1994), writ denied and 220 F.Supp. 2d 668 (2001), writ denied)). HB 1308 invites outside corruption and very costly endless state and federal litigation. HB 1308 is a losing bet!
LAND-CLAIM-FOR-CASINOS-SWAP IN 12 COUNTIES
HB 1308 is likely to trigger mass litigation of a historic Indian land claim for 6.4 million acres of all or part of 12 Texas counties including: Montgomery, Walker, Angelina, Hardin, Jasper, Liberty, Newton, Orange, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity and Tyler.
HB 1308 gives an incentive for tribes to sue every land owner in the 12 counties; this has happened in several states.
HB 1308 puts Texas in line with Illinois, Michigan, New York and California to settle the mass litigation of land claims by allowing multiple casinos.
HB 1308 allows the tribes to leverage the litigation of land claims to bust limits and regulations attempted by Texas Legislature
HB 1308 allows the biased rules of the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to trump state interests (see case by 14 Attorneys General)
Unregulated and Illegal Indian Casinos - Wrong for Texas
Texas Historical Indian Tribes
Red = Tribes in Texas today with recognition, eligible to conduct gambling if enacted
Blue = Tribes with legitimate claims to Texas, living outside of the state, with recognition, eligible to conduct gambling if enacted.
Other Tribes do not exist as federally-recognized, but may exist without recognition. In past cases, tribes which had not pressed claims due to fiscal costs had those costs subsidized by Casino developers.
- Apache – The descendants of the Lipan Apaches (the branch that existed in Texas) live on the Mescalero Reservation in New Mexico. The Mescaleros have recognition, and other Apache tribes do, but the Lipans as such do not yet, since they get their benefits through the Mescaleros.
The Mescalero Apaches currently operate the Casino Apache, on the Mescalero Reservation in New Mexico.
- Akokisas a part of the Atakapans
- Atakapan coastal Indians of east Texas.
- Alabama Coushatta Existing, recognized tribe.
- Bidias See the Atakapan
- Black (African) Seminoles
- Caddo East Texas farmers – In Oklahoma.
The Caddo do not currently have a reservation in Oklahoma, although they have entered negotiations with that state to do so.
- Coahuiltecans
- Comanche – Have reservation in Oklahoma
The Comanches have four casinos in Oklahoma.
- Concho West Texas relatives of the Jumano
- Cherokee Have reservations in Oklahoma.
The Cherokee have several casinos in Oklahoma. Related groups of the tribe have casinos in other states.
- Deadose a part of the Atakapans
- Han a part of the Atakapan groups
- Huacos see Waco below
- Jumano Wide ranging Puebloan traders from west Texas
- Karankawa The coastal people
- Kickapoo Have reservation in Texas
- Kiowa North Texas plains Indians. – Have reservations in Oklahoma.
The Kiowa currently have casinos in Oklahoma.
- Patarabuay, another name for the Jumanos
- Pueblo, see the Tigua for Texas Puebloan Indians
- Tigua The Pueblos of Texas
- Tonkawa A band of the Wichita. Have reservations in Oklahoma.
The Tonkawa currently have casinos in Oklahoma.
- Waco a band of the Wichita – In Oklahoma, a band of the Wichita tribe.
- Wichita farmers and hunters of central Texas – In Oklahoma
At-A-Glance
Only one casino currently operates on Texas land, the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino in Eagle Pass, TX. The casino is limited by law to poker and bingo, although the tribe - supported by Big Gambling interests in and outside the state - has long pushed to be allowed to expand into traditional casino-style games.
Read the rest of the article here.
Native American Casinos in Texas: A Closer Look
By all accounts, the growth and expansion of Indian casinos in the United States is startling. This growth can be seen, in a June 18, 2008 press release, where Phillip N. Hogen, Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) announced, "The Indian gaming industry has experienced tremendous growth since the inception of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) twenty years ago in 1988 when the Indian gaming industry saw revenues of $200 million, to now over $26 billion in 2007." This unprecedented expansion of casinos has left many states, local governments, and citizens helpless in defending their laws and communities. Texas has not had to face this nightmare, and must learn of the consequences that accompany the phenomenon of Indian casinos.
Read the rest of the article here.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/19/MNP0VO5TH.DTL
Casino cash eludes vast majority of Indians*Bold Kevin Fagan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, April 20, 2008
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/20/MNJNVJC72.DTL
Tribes toss out members in high-stakes quarrel Kevin Fagan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, April 20, 2008
(04-19) 18:42 PDT