SACRAMENTO – California's powerful Indian gambling tribes will be required to follow the state's strict political disclosure rules in the wake of a pending settlement of a long legal fight over the question.

Attorneys for the state and a Central Valley tribe have agreed to resolve the last of two lawsuits alleging tribal violations of California's campaign finance and lobbying disclosure rules.

The Santa Rosa Tachi Yokut band of Lemoore agreed to pay $25,000 and to comply fully with the state's Political Reform Act, which requires timely disclosure of campaign contributions and lobbying activity.

“We are upholding the fundamental right of Californians to know who is spending money on elections and politicians in the state,” said Roman Porter, a spokesman for the state's Fair Political Practices Commission.

Santa Rosa and the Agua Caliente tribe of Palm Springs challenged the state's authority to impose its political rules on Indian tribes, which are independent sovereign nations. Most California tribes had already complied with the reporting requirements.

Prodded by Common Cause, the commission filed separate lawsuits accusing Agua Caliente and Santa Rosa of failing to disclose more than $8 million and $525,000, respectively, in campaign contributions. Much of that money was reported, but well after the elections involved.

In a 4-3 decision, the California Supreme Court rejected Agua Caliente's arguments on Dec. 21, 2006. Pressured by tribes nationally not to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, where a ruling would have national implications, Agua Caliente settled in July.

Santa Rosa, whose chairman and attorneys declined to return telephone calls yesterday, agreed to similar terms. The settlement still must be approved by a judge.

“I think this basically ends the litigation and ends the dispute and everybody will be complying,” said Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies and a co-author of the Political Reform Act.

The litigation represented a big gamble for the commission when it filed the first lawsuit against Agua Caliente in September 2002. Then-Attorney General Bill Lockyer declined to take on the case, forcing the commission to hire a private attorney.

A defeat would have left a gaping loophole in the state law. But the commission argued that it had little choice, with wealthy gaming tribes rapidly becoming a formidable political force in the state.

California tribes operate nearly 60 casinos that grossed nearly $8 billion last year. In the past few months alone, four tribes – including Agua Caliente – have poured more than $55.5 million into a campaign to win voter approval on Feb. 5 of lucrative new gambling agreements.

In its split decision, the state Supreme Court ruled that the state's need to protect the integrity of its elections and political process trumped the tribes' sovereign immunity from such a lawsuit.

“It certainly was not a frivolous claim by the Indian tribes in terms of the law, but it really went against state policy,” Stern said. “Had they won, people would have been really upset with the tribes.

“In a sense, this helps the tribes, I think. It puts them on a level playing field with everybody else.”

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20080109-9999-1n9tribes.html