Schwarzenegger signs Yurok Tribe's gaming compact 

by Kara Machado

July 10, 2007

The signature of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday morning ratified the Yurok Tribe’s “long-awaited compact” that will “(help) start them down the road to self-sufficiency.”

“(Tuesday’s) signature constitutes the final step in the ratification process,” said David W. Miller, a spokesperson for North Coast Sen. Pat Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa). “Given that this agreement was literally several years in the making, it is understandable that the Yurok Tribe may have been hesitant to plan too far into the future, but now that it is indeed a done deal, it is our expectation that they will be finalizing their plans quickly, including time lines.”

Miller forwarded further questions about the Yurok’s plans to the tribe itself. However, calls to the Yurok Tribe’s spokesperson were not returned by the end of business day Tuesday.

Schwarzenegger signed the legislation around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, the first of several ratifications he signed into law that day, Miller said.

The stall of the ratification of the Yurok’s compact, Miller said, was due to it being caught in the “cross-fire of big-money tribes (and) Senate and Assembly leadership politics for two years.”

One of the initial steps to ratify the compact occurred on the afternoon of June 28 when the California Assembly voted 70 to 1, Miller said, to ratify Senate Bill 106 — legislation written by Wiggins.

Under the terms of the new compact, Miller said, the tribe may operate up to 99 slot machines, with up to 20 slots at a reservation fuel mart and the remainder at a future on-reservation casino.

“Existing federal law, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, provides for the negotiation and execution of tribal-state gaming compacts for the purpose of authorizing certain types of gaming on Indian lands within a state,” Miller said. “The California Constitution authorizes the governor to negotiate and conclude compacts, subject to ratification by the Legislature.”

Miller said other “facets of the compact” include that the Yurok Tribe “will prepare an environmental impact report to assess the potential environmental effects of new and expanded gaming facilities and detail how environmental damages will be mitigated; the compact requires that the tribe resolve all disputes with employees, visitors and surrounding communities through binding arbitration — California tort law will govern any personal injury or third-party property damage claims — and the tribe will provide liability coverage; and any new construction must meet or exceed the building and safety codes of both the county and the city where new construction will occur.”

With it’s nearly 5,800 members, the Yurok Tribe is “the largest in the state,” Miller said.

The Yurok’s reservation consists of approximately 3,000 acres in trust and is located along 47 miles of the Klamath River in Humboldt and Del Norte counties, Miller said.

“The tribe has agreed to negotiate an agreement with the two counties to mitigate environmental impacts,” Miller said.