U.S. Department of the Interior
Office of the Secretary

Stephanie Hanna (202) 208-3171


For Release: April 18, 1996

Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt announced today that the Department will soon issue an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR). It will seek public comment on its authority to authorize Class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act(IGRA) in cases when States raise an 11th Amendment defense to the judicial enforcement and mediation process with Indian Tribes provided for in the Act.

The ANPR is being prepared in response to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida. The decision raises questions concerning the process that a Tribe can now follow when attempts to secure State cooperation in the compacting process have failed.

At the present time, 146 compacts for Class III gaming in more than 20 States have been successfully negotiated between Tribes and States, and signed by the Secretary of the Interior. Prior to 1988 enactment of IGRA, States were generally precluded from any regulation of gaming on Indian Tribal lands.

"Despite the fact that the majority of compacts have been negotiated in the spirit of cooperation envisioned by the Act, we must proceed to develop some consistent process in the aftermath of this Supreme Court decision," Babbitt said.

"Indian Tribes and States are asking where we go from here, and, frankly, I am interested in the views of all interested parties on how I should exercise my authority when the negotiation process between Tribes and States has broken down.

The ANPR is likely to request formal comment on two principal areas:

o Whether and under what circumstances the Secretary of the Interior should prescribe procedures for the conduct of Class III gaming if a State allegedly refuses to bargain concerning the terms of the compact and asserts its 11th Amendment immunity from suit.

o The appropriate process for the development of such procedures.

"Clearly these are complex issues and we will benefit greatly from constructive discussion and comments from all parties concerned," Babbitt said. "We need to promptly commence a process to resolve the uncertainty left by the Supreme Court's decision. These situations where Tribes and States are at loggerheads are a small minority, but, unless a way is found to move forward, they threaten to cloud the benefits realized by both Tribes and States since 1988 when the Act was passed."

-DOI-