A San Diego County Indian tribe is putting off paying cash-starved California $30 million in gambling profits.
Voters in February allowed four tribes to expand casino operations in exchange for a bigger slice of the revenue for the state. Three of the tribes must make payments by the end of July, but the Schwarzenegger administration is allowing the Sycuan band of the Kumeyaay Nation to wait until next year.
That will cost the state $30 million.
The decision came four days after the tribe gave $45,000 to the campaign for a November redistricting initiative promoted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sycuan spokesman Adam Day called the timing of the donation a coincidence.
The Sycuan tribal council was supposed to approve the gambling accord by December 2006, but never did. The governor declined to scrap the deal, agreeing instead to the delay.
The tribe now has until January to ratify the compact. Once the pact takes effect, the tribe must make payments quarterly.
