CA Gaming Agreements on Hold

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s gaming compacts with four tribes have been put on hold. Four of the state’s richest tribes were seeking to expand the number of slot machines, as well as other things, and had finally reached an agreement with the governor, only to have them held up in the Senate. Legislative leaders announced that they would not be bringing them up for vote until next year, with Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) heading the way.

The unions had a strong hand in helping that out, as they thought the agreements were unfair to the workers, and that there were no provisions for collective bargaining. The Aqua Caliente compact was one of the leading issues, as they have been accused of harassing and threatening employees who are looking to unionize.

The agreements would have brought in more than 19,000 new slot machines into the state – which would have brought in quite a bit of income and revenue to the state. Overall, the compacts would have ended up bringing in several billion dollars into the state over the life of the compact. Nunez said Democratic lawmakers were also "pretty irritated that all these compacts came to us at such a late time in the session."

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