[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 9, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5873-S5874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN:
  S. 1347. A bill to amend the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act to modify 
the date as of which certain tribal land of the Lytton Rancheria of 
California is deemed to be held in trust and to provide for the conduct 
of certain activities on the land; to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Lytton 
Gaming Oversight Act of 2007, a bill seeking to ensure that Native 
American tribes follow the regular process under Federal law prior to 
establishing and operating gaming facilities.
  I believe this approach provides a good step forward as it has the 
support of both the local community and the Lytton tribe.
  I am pleased to have worked closely with representatives of the local 
community, such as California Assemblymember Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, 
as well as my colleague Senator Specter in crafting this piece of 
legislation.
  I introduced similar legislation in the 108th and 109th Congresses, 
but these bills would have effectively required closure of the casino 
operations, until a point when and if the Lytton successfully completed 
the two-part determination process.
  This legislation, however, stalled. The legislation introduced today 
breaks that stalemate and seeks to prevent a massive expansion of 
gaming in the Bay Area.
  The bill requires that the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians follow 
critical oversight guidelines laid out in Section 20 of the Indian 
Gaming Regulatory Act, IGRA, before engaging in Class III gaming.
  This legislation would amend language inserted into the Omnibus 
Indian Advancement Act of 2000.
  That language mandated that the Secretary of Interior take a card 
club and adjacent parking lot in the San Francisco Bay Area into trust 
for the Lytton tribe as their reservation and backdate the acquisition 
to October 17, 1988, or pre-IGRA.
  This backdating was done expressly with the goal of allowing the 
Lytton tribe to circumvent IGRA's ``two-part determination'' process, 
an important step that requires both Secretarial and Gubernatorial 
approval, in addition to consultation with nearby tribes and the local 
community and its representatives.
  The legislation that I have introduced would simply return the Lytton 
tribe to the same status as all other tribes seeking to pursue Class 
III, or Nevada-style gaming, on lands acquired after the passage of 
IGRA in 1988.

  It would allow the tribe to continue operating its Class II gaming 
facility provided it follows all IGRA regulations regarding gaming on 
newly acquired lands going forward.
  Finally, it would also preclude any expansion of the facility used by 
the Lytton for Class II gaming.
  I would like to emphasize what the bill would not do. It would not: 
Remove the tribe's recognition status; Alter the trust status of the 
new reservation; or take away the tribe's ability to conduct gaming 
through the normal IGRA process.
  This legislation was solely crafted to restore IGRA's rightful 
oversight of the gaming process, just as Congress intended.
  Section 20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act provides clear 
guidelines for addressing the issue of gaming on so-called ``newly-
acquired'' lands, or lands that have been taken into trust since the 
enactment of IGRA in 1988.
  Most importantly, in my opinion, IGRA's ``two-part determination'' 
process provides for both Federal and State approval, while protecting 
the rights of nearby tribes and local communities.
  Circumventing this process creates a variety of serious and critical 
multi-jurisdictional issues, issues which can negatively affect the 
lives of ordinary citizens and deprive local and tribal governments of 
their ability to effectively represent their communities.

[[Page S5874]]

  Without passage of this bill, the Lytton could take the former card 
club and the adjacent parking lot that is now their reservation and 
turn it into a large gambling complex outside the regulations set up by 
the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. In fact, this is exactly what was 
proposed in the summer of 2004.
  While the tribe announced that it was dropping its pursuit of a 
sizable casino, it could reverse these plans at any time and proceed 
with Class III gaming without first going through the regular process.
  Allowing this to happen would set a dangerous precedent not only for 
California, but every State where tribal gaming is permitted.
  I do not think it is asking too much to require that the Lytton be 
subject to the regulatory and approval processes applicable to all 
other tribes by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
  This bill would do just that.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1347

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. LYTTON RANCHERIA OF CALIFORNIA.

       Section 819 of the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act (Public 
     Law 106-568; 114 Stat. 2919) is amended--
       (1) in the first sentence, by striking ``Notwithstanding'' 
     and inserting the following:
       ``(a) Acceptance of Land.--Notwithstanding'';
       (2) in the second sentence, by striking ``The Secretary'' 
     and inserting the following:
       ``(b) Declaration.--The Secretary''; and
       (3) by striking the third sentence and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(c) Treatment of Land for Purposes of Class II Gaming.--
       ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), 
     notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Lytton 
     Rancheria of California may conduct activities for class II 
     gaming (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Gaming 
     Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703)) on the land taken into trust 
     under this section.
       ``(2) Requirement.--The Lytton Rancheria of California 
     shall not expand the exterior physical measurements of any 
     facility on the Lytton Rancheria in use for class II gaming 
     activities on the date of enactment of this paragraph.
       ``(d) Treatment of Land for Purposes of Class III Gaming.--
     Notwithstanding subsection (a), for purposes of class III 
     gaming (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Gaming 
     Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703)), the land taken into trust 
     under this section shall be treated, for purposes of section 
     20 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2719), as 
     if the land was acquired on October 9, 2003, the date on 
     which the Secretary took the land into trust.''.
                                 ______