AG: Governor's recent Tribal compacts are invalid due to authorizing gaming prohibited by law

Attorney General Hunter Responds to Lawmakers' Opinion Request: Governor Cannot enter into Compacts with Tribes that Authorize Gaming Activity Prohibited by State Law

Letter to Secretary of the Interior requests agreements be disapproved

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 5th) – Attorney General Mike Hunter today issued an official opinion sought by Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat and House Speaker Charles McCall that says the governor lacks authority to enter into and bind the state to compacts with Indian tribes that authorize gaming activity prohibited by state law.

The opinion was requested by the House and Senate leadership following the governor’s compact agreements with the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and the Comanche Nation late last month.

In addition to the opinion, a letter was sent to Secretary of the Interior David Berhardt, where Attorney General Hunter respectfully requests the secretary to reject the agreements because they are not authorized by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and out of deference to determinations of state law made by the legal officials of the state.
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from MuskogeePolitico.com