ALBANY – The clock is ticking for New York and the Seneca Nation to strike an agreement allowing casino gaming to continue at three Seneca-owned facilities in Western New York.
Top Hochul officials did not deny that a Rochester casino was part of a deal with the Seneca Nation, and on Saturday, the Assembly refused to pass the bill authorizing Hochul to enter a new compact.
The original Seneca Nation Compact, reached in 2002, expires Dec. 9, or in about five weeks.
In recent months, negotiations over a new compact have stalled. In some respects, time has already run out.
Even if Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Seneca Nation struck a new deal imminently, several time-consuming steps would have to play out for the agreement to be finalized.
Hochul would have to call the State Legislature to a special session in Albany to pass legislation authorizing a new agreement; the Seneca Nation would need to hold a referendum for its members to approve the deal; and the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs would have to review the deal, a process that can take up to 45 days.
One possibility is that New York State and the Seneca Nation will mutually agree to an extension of the current compact’s terms. Under federal regulations, a time extension is allowed – to give the…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply