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MORE GOOD NEWS!!!
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Bill to muzzle agencies on tribal issues shelved
Cites Monday's Supreme Court ruling
Sacramento - State Sen. Joel Anderson on Monday shelved legislation that aimed to silence state agencies from speaking out against applications by Indian tribes to annex land for certain purposes.
He said his hand was forced earlier in the day by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a case out of Michigan involving a tribal annexation.
The La Mesa Republican cited the ruling in a letter sent late Monday asking the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee to remove his bill from consideration.
However, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors today still plans to craft a policy of opposing any future legislation that would prohibit either local, state or federal officials from commenting on tribal applications.
"It's broader than the Anderson bill in case something like this comes up again in the future," said Supervisor Dianne Jacob.
Anderson's measure involves tribal government requests for federal permission to add land to their reservations for "the purpose of housing, environmental protection or cultural preservation." The tribes apply for these "fee to trust" annexations with the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Anderson said state agencies too frequently put "sticks in the spokes" of the application for no reason.
Anderson said the legislation would still permit officials to stand up against applications to annex land if the tribes plan to build a casino on the property.
Critics say tribes could use a "bait and switch approach" by securing the land first and then switching to a casino development.
That's part of what was in play in Monday's 8-1 Supreme Court ruling. The court cleared the way for a Michigan man to pursue a federal lawsuit against a casino near Grand Rapids. David Patchak contends, among a number of claims, that the tribe obtained permission to annex land under one pretense and then built a casino shortly thereafter. He said the Bureau of Indian Affairs refused to give him a hearing when he wanted to protest the original application. The court did not comment on the merits of his claim, but did allow him to move ahead with litigation.
Read more here: www.jacjamul.com
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US Supreme Court
High court won't stop Gun Lake lawsuit
Casino foe David Patchak to sue to close casino
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court won't stop a lawsuit seeking to shut down a Native American casino in Michigan.
The high court on Monday upheld a lower court decision that would allow casino foe David Patchak to sue to shut the casino down. The Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, also known as the Gun Lake Tribe, opened a casino in Wayland Township, 20 miles south of Grand Rapids. Patchak challenged how the government placed the land in trust for the tribe, saying that the move was illegal because the tribe had not been recognized by the government in 1934 when the Indian Reorganization Act was passed. A federal judge dismissed his lawsuit but the high court in an 8-1 ruling decided it could move forward. Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the only dissent.
Following the ruling, representatives for each side issued statements.
"The Supreme Court clearly stated that this decision was not based on the merits. This is simply a procedural decision that has no impact on operations at Gun Lake Casino. The Casino will continue to operate, employee over 800 area residents, and provide millions of dollars to state and local governments," said Tribal Chairman D.K. Sprague.
"We are pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed that Mr. Patchak is entitled to his day in court," said Matthew T. Nelson, a partner and chair of the Appellate Law Group at Warner Norcross who argued the case before the U.S. Supreme Court. "We believe that once Mr. Patchak has his day in court, he will be vindicated. The government violated federal law by taking land into trust so the Gun Lake Band could operate a casino in Wayland."
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Caltrans Response to JIV Environmental Evaluation available on the www.jacjamul.com website.
JAC still needs your help to continue to keep the pressure on Caltrans.
Find emails addresses and postal addresses at www.jacjamul.com/governmentofficials for Caltrans San Diego, Caltrans Sacramento, SANDAG, and the Federal Highway Adminstration.
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