As the Indiana General Assembly wrapped up its 2015 session Wednesday, it took two parting shots at the Pokagon Band's plans to build a casino in South Bend.
Tacked on to a gambling bill that would allow riverboat casinos to be land-based, and let an Anderson horse track add casino gambling, was a last-minute amendment requiring any gaming compact the governor reaches with an Indian tribe also to require approval by the Legislature.
The House and Senate also passed a joint resolution, on voice vote, asking Congress to change federal law to prohibit Indian tribes from opening casinos in the state. South Bend's delegation opposed the language.
"It's federal law that the governor can negotiate it," said state Rep. B. Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend. "To have the General Assembly hold hearings on it is just delaying the process. Obviously there are gaming interests that don't want the competition."
It was unclear whether Pence will sign the bill. His office did not return a message seeking comment Thursday.
The congressional action sought by the resolution would be unprecedented, said Steve Light, co-director of the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming Law and Policy at the University of North Dakota. Congress has passed laws recognizing a tribe's federal status, specifying that land can be held in trust for those tribes and prohibiting gaming on those lands.
Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., has pushed for legislation that would curtail new Indian casinos in her state, and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has pushed to stop their growth in the Phoenix area.