Legal and Regulatory Analysis
The Rose Institute completes detailed analyses of complex legal questions among state, local, and tribal
governments, private businesses and public utilities. Rose Institute staff and students have worked
on projects that have addressed tribal sovereignty, the history and politics of the passage of the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act, solid waste disposal, transportation, housing, the Endangered Species Act, and
water quality and availability. Studies typically incorporate the economic performance of each industry
as well as the regulatory environment in which each functions. The Rose Institute has also conducted extensive
research on constitutional issues, including the impact of a full-time legislature, redistricting and the
history of initiatives in California. Legal and regulatory projects often culminate in conferences designed
to further education on the topic.
Analysis of California v Cabazon Band of Mission Indians
Ralph A. Rossum, Ph.D., a leading constitutional law scholar and director of the Rose Institute, is currently completing a groundbreaking book on California v Cabazon Band of Mission Indians (1987), the Supreme Court case that enabled extensive Indian gaming. In Cabazon, the Supreme Court held that states are barred from interfering with tribal gaming – i.e., tribally sponsored, high stakes commercial gaming businesses operating in Indian country with a primarily non-Indian clientele. It held that states have no authority to enforce their gambling laws
on the reservations of federally-recognized tribes. While the Court had previously ruled that state laws
may be enforced on Indian reservations if Congress has expressly consented, it found in this case that
Congress had not consented to an assertion of state power either through Public Law 280 (1953), a federal
statute that delegated criminal/prohibitory but not civil/regulatory jurisdiction over Indian tribes in
California and five other states. In this forthcoming book, Dr. Rossum examines competing jurisprudential
approaches to tribal sovereignty, the relationship of tribes to the federal government and the states,
federal pre-emption analysis, and the proper approach to interpreting federal Indian law.
Tribal Gaming in California
This report examined the full impact of tribal gaming in California. Under
the terms of existing tribal compacts, California tribal governments typically pay as much to the states as
major public utilities pay to local governments. The study concluded that if California tribal governments
were treated as California corporations, then they would likely pay less than what they were paying at the
time.
The survey contains a vast amount of data about fees, taxes, costs, and incentives that affect business in more than 400 communities nationwide. Updated annually, it is a valuable resource for cities, businesses, and developers.