A key committee of the California Assembly has approved bill AB 341 that would revive the 25-year moratorium on new cardrooms in the Golden State that the legislature failed to renew last year.
This action drew approving comments from gaming tribes and the cardrooms themselves, with tribes asserting that it would allow for “measured growth” of the industry. However the bill must get the stamp of approval from several other committees before it is passed.
The Assembly’s Governmental Organization Committee approved the measure, the Gambling Control Act of 1997, that was introduced January 30 by Rep. James Ramos, a San Bernardino lawmaker and the first Native American elected to the California legislature.
That year is when the moratorium was first enacted. The bill has bipartisan support. It also has something even rarer: cooperation between the cardroom and tribal gaming industry, neither of which want more competition.
According to the Orange County Register report, the original bill was supported by the cardroom industry because it prevented new cardrooms from being licensed and limited the expansion of existing ones, with the ultimate goal being to prevent saturation of the market.
Each year for 13 years the legislature routinely extended the 10-year moratorium—until last year, when it failed to garner the votes, after Senate Governmental Organization Committee Chairman Bill Dodd voted no after the committee voted 3-3. This meant the bill missed the deadline for passage last year.
The new measure would be in force for 20 years.
The vote followed testimony March 8 from gaming tribes and cardroom spokespeople. Morongo Tribal Chairman Charles Martin told the panel: “We believe the rationale for the original cardroom moratorium still exists today and it’s why tribes and cardrooms worked together on this measure which we believe is a compromise that provides a balance by allowing measured growth of the cardroom industry.”
Keith Sharp, president of the California Cardroom Alliance, told lawmakers, “We commend the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee in supporting the measure to reinstate the cardroom license moratorium while addressing the need for an expansion of tables at small California cardrooms. The legislation recognizes the contributions made in local communities every day by cardrooms through jobs, economic activity, and tax revenues for vital city services.”
Backers of AB 341 are led by the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Commerce Casino & Hotel, Hawaiian Gardens Casino, Kings Card Club, Morongo Band of Mission Indians among others. Also California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA), California Cardroom Alliance, Communities for California Cardrooms and California Cities for Self-Reliance JPA.
The Cahuilla Band, Morongo Band, San Manuel Band, Santa Ynez Band and Soboba Band issued a joint statement: “We believe the proposed legislation by Assemblymember Ramos provides a balance by allowing for a measured expansion of California’s cardroom industry. We look forward to working with the Legislature, the cardroom industry and the tribal community on finding a balance that is consistent with California voters’ support of tribal gaming.”
The California Cardroom Alliance added, “Assembly Bill 341 addresses the need for an expansion of tables at California cardrooms while maintaining a cardroom license moratorium that has been in place for decades. We look forward to working with the tribal community, the State Legislature and the Governor’s Administration to pass a measure that supports communities across California.”
The measure allows for existing cardrooms that have 20 or fewer tables to expand by as many as 10 more tables during the life of the 20-year moratorium—which would expire in 2043. But slowly, by no more than two tables per year.
Ramos’s office issued this statement: “I have brought the tribes and cardrooms together to work out a consensus. That has resulted in AB 341 which has received broad support from both the cardrooms and tribes. It provides a path forward for allowing measured cardroom growth without overexpansion to ensure the vitality of the gaming industry in the coming years.”
Now that the bill has been approved by the Government Organization Committee it must sit for 30 days before the Assembly Rules Committee assigns it to the proper committee for voting and will eventually move to the floor for a final vote.
