S-0039.3  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 5265

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1997 Regular Session

By Senators Schow, Wojahn, Horn, Stevens and Benton

Read first time 01/21/97.  Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

Requiring that agreements between the state and Indian tribes be approved by the senate.

    AN ACT Relating to approval of agreements between the state and Indian tribes; amending RCW 9.46.360; and adding a new section to chapter 39.34 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

    Sec. 1.  RCW 9.46.360 and 1992 c 172 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

    (1) The negotiation process for proposed or amended compacts with federally recognized Indian tribes for conducting class III gaming, as defined in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. Sec. 2701 et seq., on federal Indian lands is governed by this section.

    (2) The gambling commission through the director or the director's designee shall negotiate compacts for class III gaming on behalf of the state with federally recognized Indian tribes in the state of Washington.

    (3) When a tentative agreement with an Indian tribe on a proposed or amended compact is reached, the director shall immediately transmit a copy of the proposed or amended compact to all voting and ex officio members of the gambling commission and to the ((standing committees designated pursuant to subsection (5) of this section)) majority and minority leaders of the senate.

    (4) Notwithstanding RCW 9.46.040, the four ex officio members of the gambling commission shall be deemed voting members of the gambling commission for the sole purpose of voting on proposed or amended compacts submitted under this section.

    (5) ((Within thirty days after receiving a proposed compact from the director, one standing committee from each house of the legislature shall hold a public hearing on the proposed compact and forward its respective comments to the gambling commission.  The president of the senate shall designate the senate standing committee that is to carry out the duties of this section, and the speaker of the house of representatives shall designate the house standing committee that is to carry out the duties of this section.  The designated committees shall continue to perform under this section until the president of the senate or the speaker of the house of representatives, as the case may be, designates a different standing committee.

    (6))) The gambling commission may hold public hearings on the proposed or amended compact any time after receiving a copy of the compact from the director.  Within forty-five days after receiving the proposed or amended compact from the director, the gambling commission, including the four ex officio members, shall vote on whether to return the proposed or amended compact to the director with instructions for further negotiation or to forward the proposed or amended compact to the senate for approval and then to the governor for review and final execution.

    (((7) Notwithstanding provisions in this section to the contrary,)) (6) If the director forwards a proposed or amended compact to the ((gambling commission and the designated standing committees within ten days)) senate before the beginning of a regular session of the legislature, or during a regular or special session of the legislature, ((the thirty-day time limit set forth in subsection (5) of this section and the forty-five day limit set forth in subsection (6) of this section are each forty-five days and sixty days, respectively)) the senate has until the adjournment of the regular session to approve the proposed or amended compact.  If the senate fails to approve the proposed or amended compact before the adjournment of the regular session, the gambling commission shall renegotiate the proposed or amended compact and resubmit the proposed or amended compact to the senate no later than the first day of the next regular session of the legislature.

    (((8))) (7) Funding for the negotiation process under this section must come from the gambling revolving fund.

    (((9))) (8) In addition to the powers granted under this chapter, the commission, consistent with the terms of any compact, is authorized and empowered to enforce the provisions of any compact between a federally recognized Indian tribe and the state of Washington.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 39.34 RCW to read as follows:

    An agreement between the state and an Indian tribe is not effective until the agreement has been approved by the senate.

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