by Kelley Shannon
The Associated Press
Two American Indian tribes asked Texas lawmakers Monday to let them reopen casinos they say helped them pay for education, health care and other essential services.
Leaders of the Tigua tribe of El Paso and the Alabama-Coushatta of Livingston testified before a House subcommittee on the first casino gambling bill to get a public hearing this session.
"The Tiguas used their profits wisely," said Democratic Rep. Norma Chavez of El Paso, saying the tribe’s casino revenues of $50 million to $60 million per year paid for college scholarships, health care, a library and a recreation center. Unemployment dropped dramatically in that period, she said.
The Speaking Rock Casino employed 800 people while it was open for nine years beginning in 1993 and was an economic boost to the El Paso area, Chavez said. She said El Paso-area residents continue to gamble but do it in nearby New Mexico.
Her legislation would provide a defense to prosecution for Texas tribal casinos run by the Tigas and the Alabama-Coushatta. That same proposal barely failed in the House in 2007 on a rare tie vote. The state shut down the tribes’ casinos in 2002.
Only the Kickapoo tribe of Eagle Pass, governed by a different federal law, runs a casino in Texas.
Alabama-Coushatta tribal council chairman Carlos Bullock testified his tribe’s East Texas casino was open only nine months, but the tribe saw benefits right away and had hoped to provide the services the Tiguas were able to supply.
"These are two tribes that have had long histories with the state of Texas. We want to continue to be good neighbors," Bullock told the House Criminal Jurisprudence subcommittee.
The tribes say they should be allowed to offer gambling because Texas voters approved a state lottery in 1991.
The Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission testified against Chavez’s proposal, saying casino gambling is a predatory business that relies on addiction for profit. The commission suggested passage of the measure could lead to costly litigation for the state because it probably would face a legal challenge.
"It attempts to do something that is unconstitutional," said Stephen Reeves, public policy legislative counsel for the Christian Life Commission.
The group contends the bill is written so broadly any tribe with historic ties to the state, not just the Tigua and Alabama-Coushatta, could establish casinos in Texas.
While the commission doesn’t deny casinos helped tribes economically, Reeves said it doesn’t want to see gambling expand in the state.
Chavez responded her bill would apply only to the Tigua and Alabama-Coushatta tribes and would give them parity with the Kickapoo. She called it "a gambling limitation bill."
The proposal does not address state taxation or revenue-sharing for the casinos. A measure by Chavez before a different committee would let Texas voters decide on a proposed constitutional amendment to allow the Tiguas to conduct casino gambling.
One Tigua tribal member addressed the concern raised by a lawmaker that the Tiguas do not allow women to vote in tribal elections.
Patricia Riggs, director of economic development for the tribe, said she’s educated, holds an important role in tribal administration and doesn’t feel disenfranchised by not voting.
"We anticipate that change will take place when the time is right and women will vote," she said. "The tribe is fully aware it operates within a modern society."