The California Assembly voted 68 to 1 Thursday afternoon to ratify Senate Bill 106, legislation by Sen. Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa) ratifying the tribal-state gaming compact for the Yurok Tribe.
The proposed gaming operation in the agreement — the result of negotiations between the Yurok Tribe and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s administration — is considered by Wiggins to be modest in size with only 99 slot machines.
Under the terms of the compact, which expires in 2025, the tribe will be allowed to operate up to 20 slot machines at a fuel mart and the remainder at a future on-reservation casino, the release indicated. “Ratification of their compact helps put the Yuroks on the road to self-sufficiency,” Wiggins stated in the release. “The Yurok Tribe is considered by many to be the state’s poorest tribe.”
Assemblymember Patty Berg (D-Eureka) is listed as a principal co-author of the bill.
“The Yurok people have waited a long, long time for this,” Berg stated in a news release. “I hope the money this generates will help lift them out of poverty and into a new era of opportunity.”
According to the release, the Yurok Tribe’s 3,000 acres of reservation land lies along 47 miles of the Klamath River in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. The Yurok Tribe is the largest tribe in the state with more than 4,800 members.
David W. Miller, Wiggins’ press secretary, said the ratification of the Yurok gaming compact has “been a long time coming.”
“It’s been a tough fight,” Miller said. “Former Sen. Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata) put in a lot of effort and energy to try and make this happen.
“It’s unfortunate that this compact got lumped in with some other compacts that had issues separate and unique from the Yurok Tribe, but, in the end, this is a good thing for the tribe and for the state.” |