Cole: Gaming dispute could end up in court
MOORE—The conflict between Gov. Kevin Stitt and Indian tribes over gaming compacts could wind up at a federal agency and then a federal court, U.S. Rep. Tom Cole said Friday.
“I suspect this ends up in court at some point if the parties can' t agree ,” Cole, R-Moore, said at a Friday town hall meeting. “Hopefully, they sit down and find common ground.”
Stitt wants to renegotiate gaming compacts that have terms ending on Dec. 31. The compacts govern the types of games that can be offered by the tribes and specify the state's cut of the revenue. St itt claims the state should get a bigger share from some casinos.
Tribal leaders, including those of the Five Civilized Tribes—the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creek sand Seminoles— con tend the compacts automatically renew on Jan. 1 and don't have to be renegotiated. Some tribal leaders have said they shouldn't be punished for the state's fiscal mismanagement by paying more in fees.
Cole, a member of the Chickasaw Nation and an expert on tribal issues, said Friday, “It's perfectly appropriate for the governor to say, ' I want to renegotiate.' The term's up. That's clear. But if they can't come to an agreement, does it automatically renew for 15 years? I'm not a lawyer. I don't know that. And that's the real sticking point right now.”
Cole said the fees Oklahoma receives now are not out of line or“artificial ly low” as the governor and others have said.
“There's over 300 gaming tribes in America,” Cole said. “Over 100 of them don't pay anything to a state at all.”
He said, “The discussion is perfectly appropriate, and we'll just see where they end up.
“But at the end of the day, if they can' t come to an agreement, it will go first to the Department of Interior that'll look at the thing and offer a decision. And then either party could take that on into federal court if they disagree with the decision that's rendered.
“Hopefully, they sit down and work out something that works for them all. Most of our tribes here — in fact every tribe here — does not agree with the governor.”
Cole was also asked about the Cherokee Nation's recent appointment of a delegate to Congress. The tribe last month, asserting a right it claims stems from 19 th century treaties, appointed Kim Teehee as a delegate to Congress.
Cole praised Teehee, who has worked on Capitol Hill and in the White House, but said numerous questions must be answered before she could be seated in the U.S. House of Representatives. Cole said he has a meeting scheduled later this month with Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr.
“Congress itself is the final arbiter of who sit sin Congress,” Cole said. “You'd have to pass a piece of legislation for this to happen.
“I don't know where this is going to go, but it's certainly going to get consideration.”