And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 16:54:04 -0500
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Florida Sues U.S. Over High-Stakes Indian Casinos
Florida Sues U.S. Over High-Stakes Indian Casinos
5.22 p.m. ET (2123 GMT) April 12, 1999
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. � Florida sued the federal government and U.S. Interior
Secretary Bruce Babbitt Monday, hours after Babbitt approved rules that
could bring Las Vegas-style casino gambling to Indian reservations in the
state.
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said the state was seeking an injunction to block the
rule changes approved by Babbitt, the top U.S. Indian affairs administrator.
Earlier Monday, Babbitt released federal rules that would strike
restrictions on gambling on Indian lands. The rule change, published in the
Federal Register, would allow the Seminole and Miccousukee tribes to open
high-stakes casinos on their reservation in Florida, although casino
gambling is outlawed in the rest of the state.
Florida voters have rejected casino gambling in three separate referendums
in the past 21 years, most recently in 1994.
"Federal government's position that it should have a greater role than
Florida in overseeing Indian tribes is deeply troubling because the people
of Florida have spoken clearly and repeatedly at the ballot box,'' Bush
said. "They don't want casino gambling.''
The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee. Alabama
joined as a plaintiff.
"Today, the federal government is attempting to do by fiat what casino
proponents could not do with multimillion-dollar referendums,'' Florida
Attorney General Bob Butterworth said.
The lawsuit contends Babbitt overstepped his authority under the 1988
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a federal law that requires tribes to seek
agreements from states before starting casino-type games such as blackjack
and roulette.
Florida also contends that Babbitt, who under the rule is an arbitrator in
disputes between tribes and the state, has a conflict of interest because
his duties as interior secretary include being an advocate for Indians.
In Osceola County, near Orlando, the Seminole Tribe of Florida is seeking
to buy 3,000 acres of land to build a theme park. Tribal leaders have said
they would consider a casino at the site.
The tribe has offered Florida 45 percent of casino revenues, an offer the
state refused.
Attorneys representing the Seminole tribe counter that federal court
decisions require states to negotiate in good faith.
The Seminole Tribe offers bingo, low-stakes poker and slot machines at
tribally owned casinos in Hollywood, Tampa and Brighton, Florida. The
2,700-member tribe estimates that gambling provides it with revenue of
nearly $100 million a year.
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