If you have never heard of the roughly 2,000 member North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians, than I can assure you that you are not a member of the State Legislature. Last year Governor Brown signed a gaming compact with this tribe, which is up for ratification by the legislature in short order.

In March of 2000, voters by nearly a two-thirds margin approved Prop. 1A. In doing so voters passed an initiative which, according to the Attorney General’s summary: “Modifies existing gambling prohibitions to authorize Governor to negotiate compacts with federally recognized Indian tribes, subject to legislative ratification, for operation of slot machines, lottery games, and banking and percentage card games on Indian lands.”

Nearly 60 tribes were immediate beneficiaries of Prop. 1A, and more tribes have benefitted from it since then. Indian casinos proliferate California, from the… Read More