Bill Text: CA AB174 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 174 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Tribal gaming: compact ratification.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-10-03 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 435, Statutes of 2017. [AB174 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB174-Amended.html

Amended IN Senate August 28, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 174

Introduced by Assembly Member Bigelow
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Aguiar-Curry, Caballero, Dahle, Gallagher, Mathis, and Wood)

January 17, 2017

~~An act to amend Section 14502 of the Government Code, relating to transportation.~~ An act to add Section 12012.86 to the Government Code, relating to tribal gaming, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 174, as amended, Bigelow. ~~California Transportation Commission: membership.~~ Tribal gaming: compact ratification.

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 tribal-state gaming compacts, subject to ratification by the Legislature. Existing law expressly ratifies a number of tribal-state gaming compacts, and amendments of tribal-state gaming compacts, between the State of California and specified Indian tribes.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment, as defined, or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect.
This bill would ratify the amendment to the tribal-state gaming compact entered into between the State of California and the United Auburn Indian Community, executed on August 23, 2017. The bill would provide that, in deference to tribal sovereignty, certain actions related to that compact are not projects for purposes of CEQA.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law creates the California Transportation Commission, with various powers and duties relative to the programming of transportation capital projects and allocation of funds to those projects pursuant to the state transportation improvement program and various other transportation funding programs.
Existing law provides that the commission consists of 13 members, 11 voting members, of which 9 are appointed by the Governor subject to Senate confirmation, 1 is appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, and 1 is appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, and 2 Members of the Legislature who are appointed as nonvoting ex officio members.
~~This bill would require that at least one voting member reside in a rural county with a population of less than 100,000 individuals.~~

Vote: ~~MAJORITY~~2/3 Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 12012.86 is added to the Government Code, to read:

12012.86.
(a) The amendment to the tribal-state gaming compact entered into in accordance with the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 (18 U.S.C. Secs. 1166 to 1168, inclusive, and 25 U.S.C. Sec. 2701 et seq.) between the State of California and the United Auburn Indian Community, executed on August 23, 2017, is hereby ratified.
(b) (1) In deference to tribal sovereignty, none of the following shall be deemed a project for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code):
(A) The execution of an amendment to the tribal-state gaming compact ratified by this section.
(B) The execution of the amended tribal-state gaming compact ratified by this section.
(C) The execution of an intergovernmental agreement between a tribe and a county or city government negotiated pursuant to the express authority of, or as expressly referenced in, the amended tribal-state gaming compact ratified by this section.
(D) The execution of an intergovernmental agreement between a tribe and the Department of Transportation, or other state agency, negotiated pursuant to the express authority of, or as expressly referenced in, the amended tribal-state gaming compact ratified by this section.
(E) The on-reservation impacts of compliance with the terms of the amended tribal-state gaming compact ratified by this section.
(2) Except as expressly provided in this section, this subdivision does not exempt a city, county, or city and county, or the Department of Transportation, or any state agency or local jurisdiction, from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.

SEC. 2.
This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to enhance, at the earliest possible time, the economic development, long-term stability, and self-sufficiency of the United Auburn Indian Community, and to protect the interests of the tribe and its members, the surrounding community, and the California public, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.

SECTION 1.Section 14502 of the Government Code is amended to read:
14502.
~~The commission consists of 13 members appointed as follows:~~
(a)Nine members shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. One member shall be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and one member shall be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, with neither of these members subject to confirmation by the Senate. A member appointed pursuant to this subdivision shall not simultaneously hold an elected public office, or serve on any local or regional public board or commission with business before the commission.
(b)One Member of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and one Member of the Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly shall be ex officio members without vote and shall participate in the activities of the commission to the extent that such participation is not incompatible with their positions as Members of the Legislature.
(c)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a voting member of the commission may serve on the High-Speed Rail Authority as established in Division 19.5 (commencing with Section 185000) of the Public Utilities Code.
~~(d)(1)At least one voting member shall reside in a rural county with a population of less than 100,000 individuals.~~
(2)When an appointment is made to the commission after January 1, 2018, the Governor, Speaker of the Assembly, and Senate Committee on Rules shall ensure that it is made in conformance with this subdivision.