Court Rules Governor Acted Illegally, Rules Pala Compact Invalid; Legislators Call on Assembly to Kill Pala Bill.SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 25, 1998--In a major legal victory for California tribes and state legislators, a state court ruled today that Gov. Wilson acted illegally in signing a gaming compact with the Pala Band of Mission Indians Mission Indians, Native Americans of S and central California; so called because they were under the jurisdiction of some 21 Spanish missions that were established between 1769 and 1823. . The decision concurs with the California Legislative Counsel's 1998 finding that the governor has no authority to sign tribal-state agreements. "Justice was done today," said tribal attorney Anna Kimber of Crowell Law Offices. "The court will issue a writ of mandate writ of mandate (mandamus) n. a court order to a government agency, including another court, to follow the law by correcting its prior actions or ceasing illegal acts. instructing Gov. Wilson to rescind the execution of the Pala Compact and direct him to execute no other compacts until authorized to do so by the state legislature A state legislature may refer to a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. The following legislatures exist in the following political subdivisions: In May, State Superior Court Judge Lloyd G. Connelly directed Wilson to refrain from taking any further action on the Pala Compact or show cause at today's hearing as to why the court should rule in favor of the tribes and legislators. "The governor is attempting to have it both ways," said Kimber. "On the one hand, Gov. Wilson declared to the Department of the Interior that he had the authority to execute the Pala Compact when the fact is that he has been heavily lobbying SB 1502 to obtain authority from the legislature." Five state lawmakers -- State Sen. Richard Polanco Richard G. Polanco, is a former California State Senate Majority leader and member of the California State Assembly. He is known for his significant efforts in increasing Latino representation in the California Legislature. , Assembly Members Tom McClintock Thomas Miller "Tom" McClintock (born July 10, 1956 in White Plains, New York) is a California State Senator. He ran for Governor of California in the 2003 California recall election of Gray Davis and finished third out of 135 candidates with 13.5% of the overall vote. , Jan Goldsmith, Tony Cardenas Tony Cardenas served in the California State Assembly. In the Assembly, he had the powerful position of chair of the Budget Committee. He is now a Los Angeles City Councilman, representing the 6th district, which includes parts of the San Fernando Valley. and Jim Battin Jim Battin is the California State Senator for district 37 which includes Banning, Beaumont, Bermuda Dunes, Cabazon, Calimesa, Canyon Lake, Cherry Valley, Corona, Desert Hot Springs, East Hemet, El Cerrito, Hemet, Home Gardens, Homeland, Idyllwild, Indian Wells, California, La -- filed the suit with four California tribes -- the Tule River Tule River is a river in Tulare County, California. The river originates in the Sierra Nevada east of Porterville and consists of three forks, North, Middle and South. The North Fork and Middle Fork meet above Springville. The South Forks meets the others at Lake Success. Indian Tribe INDIAN TRIBE. A separate and distinct community or body of the aboriginal Indian race of men found in the United States. 2. Such a tribe, situated within the boundaries of a state, and exercising the powers of government and, sovereignty, under the national , the Rincon Band of Mission Indians, the Bishop Paiute Tribe and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. "This is a long overdue victory," said Polanco. "The court supports what we have known all along -- that the governor was wrong to have executed this back-room deal and has violated the law. He cannot dictate his destructive policy towards tribal governments to the legislature or to the people of California. "We can only hope that state lawmakers will act with the same fairness in finally rejecting SB 1502 and protecting thousands of California jobs that have been created for Indians and non-Indians." Earlier newspaper editorials called for a "quick death" to this legislation, citing the fact that "the Pala agreement was ... egregiously unfair and condescending ... (and) negotiated without ... input from tribes that operate gaming businesses." After 18 months of secret negotiations, Wilson announced in March an agreement between the state and the Pala tribe regarding gaming. The majority of gaming and non-gaming tribes throughout the state immediately condemned the proposed compact and the manner in which it was negotiated. In April, more than 50 California Indian California Indian Any member of the various North American Indian peoples living in and around present-day California, U.S. Of the many California groups, most were composed of independent territorial and political units that were smaller than the average groupings of other tribes packed the Department of the Interior's hearing in Sacramento to testify their opposition to the Wilson agreement. "Although the Department of the Interior approved this compact, other compacts throughout the country have been declared void by state courts who ultimately determined that the governors in those states were not authorized to execute tribal-state compacts unless authorized by the state legislature," said Kimber. "This court's decision is clear -- the governor is wrong. He attempted to use his power to shut down gaming that our tribes have had for many years. In the past 200 years, the government used its power to take away the lands, resources, rights and even lives of California Indians. These attacks were always cloaked in the claim that they were legal," said CNIGA CNIGA California Nations Indian Gaming Association Chairman Dan Tucker. "But today this court stood up for justice and this ruling underscores that what Gov. Wilson is trying to do to the Indians is flat-out wrong." Tribal attorneys asserted that the Wilson/Pala compact, which seeks to impose its terms on all California tribes, violated the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (Pub.L. 100-497, 25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) is a 1988 United States federal law which establishes the jurisdictional framework that presently governs Indian gaming. which states that tribal-state compacts concerning gaming "shall be specific to the tribes so making the election and shall not be construed to extend to other tribes." "All the tribes are asking for is to protect what they already have," said Tucker. "Tribal gaming is the most viable economic development tool available to tribes in the last two centuries. Tribes are no longer dependent on handouts, welfare and the stale provisions from government commodity trucks, and we have resolved that we are not going back."
CONTACT: CNIGA, Sacramento
Susan Jensen, 916/448-7606
or
Cerrell Associates, Los Angeles
Sarah Cheaure, 213/505-2658 (cell)
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