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| SPONSOR: | Davis | DATE TYPED: | 3/10/99 | HB | |||
| SHORT TITLE: | Delinquent Revenue-Sharing Obligations | SB | 549 | ||||
| ANALYST: | Hadwiger | ||||||
| Recurring
or Non-Rec |
Fund
Affected | ||||
| FY99 | FY2000 | FY99 | FY2000 | ||
| Significant | Recurring | GF | |||
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
| Subsequent
Years Impact |
Recurring
or Non-Rec |
Fund
Affected | ||
| FY99 | FY2000 | |||
| Indeterminate | Recurring | GF | ||
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Revenue Decreases)
Duplicates/Conflicts with/Companion to/Relates to
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Gaming Control Board (GCB)
No comments were received from the Office of the Attorney General
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
The bill prohibits all persons from purchasing or selling goods or services from/to an Indian tribe, pueblo or nation that has signed a gaming compact and failed to make payments required in that contract, regardless whether they are involved in a disagreement about the validity of the compacts. A person who violates the prohibition would be guilty of a misdemeanor. Also, all business licenses, corporate certifications to do business in the state and other state-granted business privileges of the violator would be suspended for 30 days upon conviction of a violation of the bill. The bill contains an emergency clause.
Significant Issues
According to the GCB, the bill raises several constitutional issues. The bill may violate Article II, Section 18 of the New Mexico Constitution which prohibits deprivation of property without due process of law. The bill may deprive a tribe of its right to contract or to continue to operate under an existing contract without due process of law, because the prohibition applies even if the amounts owed are in dispute. The bill also does not provide a mechanism for giving notice to businesses of the tribes that are delinquent in their payments.
GCB also indicates that the bill could raise a constitutional challenge under Article II, Section 19 of the New Mexico constitution which bans ex post facto laws impairing the obligations of contracts.
GCB also indicated there is a possible violation of the interstate commerce clause of the United States Constitution regarding whether a state government can restrict the commerce of the tribes.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
GCB indicated that the costs to implement this law would be significant to enforce strict compliance.
Additional costs would be incurred to defend the constitutionality of this act.
DH/gm