The U.S. House announced on Friday that it had postponed a vote on a proposed legislation that would block the launch of a tribal casino in Glendale, Arizona, if approved by legislators. They were to vote on the measure on Monday.
Last week, HR 308 was placed on a suspension calendar. Generally speaking, this is a process that bypasses floor debate on a given proposal and allows lawmakers to vote on it without being put on record.
Although the vote was originally scheduled for Monday, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced that the process would be delayed as he had agreed to Arizona Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva’s demand for the bill to be removed from the suspension calendar. According to the Arizona legislator, such a procedure was improper as the matter was too controversial.
The House did not provide any reason for its decision and has not set a date for a formal vote yet.
Despite Mr. Grijalva’s efforts, the bill is likely to be approved by the House. Two similar measures have been passed in recent years. However, they have never advanced out of the Senate.
Two Arizona Republican Senators – Jeff Flake and John McCain – presented a similar legislation earlier this year. S 152 was even approved by members of the Committee on Indian Affairs. However, it has not reached House floor yet.
Both S 152 and HR 308, which is sponsored by Republican Rep. Trent Franks, call for the Tohono O’odham Nation to be prevented from opening a casino in Glendale on land that the tribe was allowed to buy back in 1986 after a federal dam project had flooded more than 10,000 acres of reservation land not far from Gila Bend.
If approved, the two measures would allow the tribe to retain the said portion of land as compensation for their destroyed property. However, it would not be authorized to conduct any gambling activities there until 2027 when Arizona’s gaming compacts with tribes are due to expire.
Back in 2002, Arizona residents voted on whether tribes should be given the exclusive right to provide gambling options in exchange for a portion of their revenues. According to Rep. Franks and his supporters, the Tohono O’odham Nation purposefully misled voters that it would operate casinos only on reservation land.
U.S. District Court Judge David Campbell ruled against that claim, saying that the ballot wording in fact allowed the tribe to launch a gambling venue on the portion of land that was purchased in 1986.
However, Arizona gaming officials have repeatedly refused to grant the Tohono O’odham Nation the necessary license for the provision of Class III gambling options, which include slot machines and table games.
The venue is almost completed and is scheduled to open doors in December. The tribe said that it would launch its gambling hall with Class II bingo machines. Under federal laws, Arizona does not have the authority to prevent the tribal casino from featuring such machines. However, if HR 308 gets the necessary approval, the Tohono O’odham Nation would not be allowed to offer that type of gaming, too.
