James Ramos

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. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to negotiate and conclude compacts, subject to ratification by the Legislature.

 Existing law ratifies a number of tribal-state gaming compacts between the State of California and specified Indian tribes that were executed in 1999. Existing law provides that any other tribal-state gaming compact entered into between the state and a federally recognized Indian tribe that is executed after September 10, 1999, is ratified if it is identical in all material respects to any of the compacts expressly ratified by these provisions and if the compact is not rejected by each house of the Legislature within 30 days of the date of the submission of the compact to the Legislature by the Governor. If the 30-day period ends during a joint recess of the Legislature, existing law extends the period to reject the compact until the 15th day following the day that the Legislature reconvenes. 

This bill would instead, if a 30-day period to reject a compact ends during a joint recess, extend the period until the 20th day following the day that the Legislature reconvenes.