The Third District Court of Appeal has upheld the action that put land into trust for a Northern California tribe. The Enterprise Rancheria of Maidu Indians broke ground on their 6 million Fire Mountain Resort and Casino in April, and the ruling means they will continue to build.
The three-judge appellate court ruled last week that Governor Jerry Brown acted within his authority when he gave the nod to putting 40 acres in Yuba County into trust—and overruled the objections of a rival gaming tribe, the United Auburn Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria, whose own Thunder Valley Casino Resort is 20 miles distant.
The Auburn tribe had challenged Brown’s authority to allow the off-reservation casino, which he did in 2012 after the Department of the Interior had allowed the transfer. Because the land was off-reservation, it required the so-called two-part determination. In such cases a governor’s ascent is also needed. The Auburns argued that the ascent of the legislature was also required. The courts disagreed.
The Auburn tribe purchased the land, which is about 30 miles from Sacramento, with money paid in compensation for losing its original reservation to flooding caused by the building of the Oroville Dam
Writing for the majority, Judge Coleman Blease said, “The governor’s power to concur has the characteristics of an executive, rather than a legislative act, thus the governor’s power does not depend on legislative delegation.” He added that the governor’s action “did not create California’s tax, land use, or gaming policy. Instead, the governor was informed by these policies when he made his decision.”
The Auburns had also argued that Brown erred when he negotiated a compact with the Maidus before the land was officially put into trust. Once again, the appeals panel disagreed. Blease wrote, “The governor did not negotiate a compact for the conduct of gaming on non-Indian land. The gaming would occur, and could only occur, if the land became Indian land. Thus, the gaming would be conducted on Indian land, just as the state constitution provides.”
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) normally requires that tribes build on their reservations that existed before 1988, but not only land they acquire after that year. The Department of the Interior is allowed to make exceptions under the two-part determination, which is that the action will benefit the tribe and does not harm the surrounding community. Thus the governor’s ascent is required.
The Auburn tribe has not said whether it plans to appeal.
