Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has put his opposition in writing to a November ballot measure that would end Indian casino tribes' state monopoly on slot machines.
In ballot arguments filed Wednesday, Schwarzenegger also repeated his opposition to another measure that would allow tribes virtually unlimited gambling operations for the next century.

The governor also signed arguments for Proposition 69, which calls for all those arrested for a felony to give DNA samples by 2009. And he signed an argument against Proposition 66, which would require that a conviction be a violent felony for it to count as a "third strike" and trigger an automatic prison term of 25 years to life.
Both of those ballot arguments were also signed by Attorney General Bill Lockyer, a potential 2006 Democratic gubernatorial challenger to Schwarzenegger.

The governor's opposition to the ballot arguments against the gambling-related Propositions 68 and 70, was no surprise. But given his current popularity with voters, political analysts say his comments in the voters pamphlet could hold sway over voters who are undecided -- or just plain confused -- by the gambling measures.

Proposition 68, backed by a coalition of card rooms and horse racing interests, would require all California tribes with casinos to agree to new compacts that would force them to fork over 25 percent of their net revenues to the state. The new compacts would also require them to abide by other stringent regulations.

If any one of the tribes refused, or if the deals were blocked by legislators, the courts, the U.S. Dept. of Interior or Congress, eleven card rooms and five race tracks would be allowed to operate a total of up to 30,000 slot machines. About a third of the net revenues would go to local police, fire-fighting and education programs.

Proposition 70, sponsored by the Palm Springs-based Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, would recodify the tribes' exclusive right to operate slot machines in the state, remove current limits on the number of casinos (two) and slot machines (2,000) each tribe can have, extend the life of the compacts from 20 years to 99 years and end current bans on such games as craps and roulette.

In return, the tribes would contribute revenues equal to the prevailing corporate income tax rate, which currently is about 9 percent.

Sacramento Bee
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