Interior Issues New "Section 20" Regulations: Big News, Big Implications

In section 2719 (or, as it's often called, "Section 20," in reference to the numbering of the statutory sections in bill form), the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) sets forth a general prohibition against tribal gaming on trust lands acquired after IGRA's date of enactment:

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, gaming regulated by this chapter shall not be conducted on lands acquired by the Secretary in trust for the benefit of an Indian tribe after October 17, 1988 . . . .

Such lands are commonly referred to as "newly acquired" or "after acquired" lands. There are, however, a number of general and state- and tribe-specific exceptions.

These exceptions, though relatively rarely applied, are political lightning rods, giving rise to charges of "reservation shopping." For more than eight years, the Interior Department has been working on regulations interpreting section 2719. (Since 1994, the BIA's application of the section 2719 exceptions has been guided by a "Checklist for Gaming Acquisitions and Two-Part Determinations Under Section 20 of IGRA" issued by the BIA's Office of Indian Gaming Management. A checklist, of course, doesn’t carry the force of law or even of formal policy.)

In late May, Interior published its new "Section 20" regulations in the Federal Register. This is big news for a whole bunch of tribes. In the next few posts, we'll walk you through the new regulations (25 C.F.R pt. 292), so stay tuned.