A bipartisan bill in Congress, the Texas Equal and Fair Opportunity Settlement Act (H.R. 4985), that would recognize the sovereign right of two Texas tribes to offer gaming has the support of the Trump administration.
The bill would legalize the Class II gaming the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (aka the Tigua Tribe) are offering, and which are under a legal assault from the state of Texas. Texas Rep. Brian Babin, who sponsors the bill commented, “This bill is not asking for anything special or out of the ordinary. In fact, it would simply ensure that the Alabama-Coushatta, as well as the Tiguas, receive the same treatment that the federal government extends to other tribes.”
Darryl LaCounte, acting director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, agrees and says Congress should clarify the sovereign status of the tribes. He testified to lawmakers on the House Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs, “An amendment is important because it would restore the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo to the same footing as other federally recognized Indian tribes in the United States.”
Tribal leaders, including Chairwoman Jo Ann Battise of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe, and Governor Carlos Hisa testified that their casinos have brought financial benefits to their members.
The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe operates Naskila Gaming while the Tiguas operate the Speaking Rock Entertainment Center in El Paso.
Hisa told lawmakers, “We never know when the judge is going to come down with a decision and ask us to shut down. We sort of limit the way we need to operate and the way we need to help our people.”
A companion bill has yet to be introduced in the U.S. Senate.
The bill would amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act of 1987 which gave them federal recognition after they were terminated in the 1960s. A section of that law contains a provision that a federal court of appeals has interpreted to say that tribes can’t offer games that are illegal in Texas, including slot machines and card games.
The tribes argue that bingo, on which Class II games are based, are not illegal in Texas. The new bill would clarify that. This is particularly important since two appeals courts, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals and the 5th Circuit, which includes Texas, disagree on this point. The Supreme Court has yet to step in to decide between them.
