Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs: Gaming on Trust Lands Acquired After October 17, 1988
Highlights
GAO reviewed the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) new rule on gaming on trust lands acquired after October 17, 1988. GAO found that (1) the final rule implements section 2719 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, articulates standards that the BIA will follow in interpreting the various exceptions to the gaming prohibitions contained in section 2719, and establishes a process for submitting and considering applications from Indian tribes; and (2) assuming BIA extends the effective date to comply with the 60-day delay, BIA complied with the applicable requirements in promulgating the rule.
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs: Gaming on Trust Lands Acquired After October 17, 1988, GAO-08-873R, June 3, 2008
The Honorable Byron L. Dorgan
Chairman
The Honorable Lisa Murkowski
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Indian Affairs
The Honorable Nick J. Rahall II
Chairman
The Honorable Don Young
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Natural Resources
House of Representatives
Subject: Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs: Gaming on Trust Lands Acquired After
Pursuant to section 801(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code, this is our report on a major rule promulgated by the Department of the Interior (Department), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), entitled Gaming on Trust Lands Acquired After
The final rule implements section 2719 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act that allows Indian tribes to conduct class II and class III gaming activities on land acquired after
The final rule currently has an effective date of
Enclosed is our assessment of the BIA's compliance with the procedural steps required by section 801(a)(1)(B)(i) through (iv) of title 5 with respect to the rule. Our review indicates that, assuming BIA extends the effective date to comply with the 60-day delay, BIA complied with the applicable requirements.
If you have any questions about this report or wish to contact GAO officials responsible for the evaluation work relating to the subject matter of the rule, please contact Michael R. Volpe, Assistant General Counsel, at (202) 512-8236.
signed
Robert J. Cramer
Associate General Counsel
Enclosure
cc: Darren Pete
Director, Office of Congressional
and Legislative Affairs—Indian Affairs
Department of the Interior
ENCLOSURE
REPORT UNDER 5 U.S.C. sect. 801(a)(2)(A) ON A MAJOR RULE
ISSUED BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
ENTITLED
"GAMING ON TRUST LANDS ACQUIRED AFTER OCTOBER 17, 1988"
(RIN: 1076-AE81)
(i) Cost-benefit analysis
BIA states that the final rule establishes requirements for the submission, review, and approval of a gaming application in a timely manner. The anticipated expenses or costs to the public or the tribes who submit applications will be substantial. However, the benefits of gaming on newly acquired land will be for the tribe, employees, state and local governments, nearby businesses, and local economic conditions. For example, jobs created by a gaming establishment generally vary from 500 to 5,000. The net gaming revenue that is available to the tribe will vary depending on the location and size of the new gaming facility and is expected to be from $5,000,000 to $200,000,000.
(ii) Agency actions relevant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. sections 603-605, 607, and 609
The Department certifies that the final rule will not have a significant economic effect on a substantial number of small entities and, therefore, did not prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis.
(iii) Agency actions relevant to sections 202-205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. sections 1532-1535
BIA concluded that the final rule does not impose an unfunded mandate on state, local, or tribal governments or the private sector of more than $100 million per year. (This amount has been adjusted for inflation to $127 million.)
(iv) Other relevant information or requirements under acts and executive orders
Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. sections 551 et seq.
BIA promulgated the final rule using the notice and comment procedures found in the Administrative Procedure Act. 5 U.S.C. sect. 553. On
Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. sections 3501-3520
The final rule contains information collection requirements that have been reviewed and cleared by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as required by the Act. The collection has been assigned the tracking number of OMB Control Number 1076-0158.
Statutory authorization for the rule
The final rule is promulgated under the authority in 5 U.S.C. sect. 310 and 25 U.S.C. sections 2, 9, and 2719.
Executive Order No. 12,866
The final rule was reviewed by OMB and found to be a significant regulatory action under the order.
Executive Order No. 13,132 (Federalism)
The Department determined that the final rule does not have significant federalism implications because it does not substantially and directly affect the relationship between the federal and state governments and does not impose costs on states or localities.