For Immediate Release
Legislature Unanimously Approves Wilton Rancheria
State Tribal Gaming Compact
ELK GROVE, CA—AUG. 31—The California State Assembly on Thursday voted unanimously to pass Assembly Bill 1606, which ratifies Wilton Rancheria’s tribal gaming compact with the State of California. The Assembly action, together with the unanimous vote last week by the State Senate to pass the legislation, represents a key milestone in the Tribe’s path to self-sufficiency and its plans to build a resort and casino in Elk Grove.
AB 1606 now goes to Gov. Brown for his signature. On July 19 Gov. Brown signed the tribal-state gaming compact between the State of California and Wilton Rancheria. The agreement provides for strong regulatory oversight, labor, licensing, public health and safety, environmental protection, and community investment provisions found within other recent compacts.
“We are extremely pleased and humbled by the strong support the Tribe has received from the community, the Legislature and the Governor,” said Wilton Rancheria Chairman Raymond C. Hitchcock. “It’s a very good day for the 750 members of Wilton Rancheria, the community of Elk Grove and the greater Sacramento region. Now it’s time to get on with building this project, which will create thousands of jobs and invest of hundreds of millions of dollars to improve city
and country services.”
Hitchcock added: “The vote represents a huge step forward in our long journey to have land, a home and a place where we can pursue our economic development goals.”
“This is an important milestone for Wilton Rancheria, the people of Elk Grove and the Sacramento Region,” said Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove), who authored AB 1606. “I was proud to author this legislation and I am proud of my colleagues in the Legislature for giving it their overwhelming support.”
Wilton Rancheria’s tribal status was terminated in 1958, and the Tribe was finally restored, without land, in 2009, after a long-fought campaign by tribal elders. On Feb.10, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Interior placed 35.92 acres of land in Elk Grove into federal trust as restored land for the Tribe.
Wilton Rancheria has agreed to invest $186 million in the first 20 years of the project with the City of Elk Grove and Sacramento County to support police, schools, roads and other services. In addition to a long-term investment in the community, the project will enable to Tribe to invest in medical care, housing and educational opportunities for its members.
About Wilton Rancheria
Wilton Rancheria is the only federally recognized tribe in Sacramento County. In November 2011, the Tribe adopted its modern Constitution, and since that time, tribal leadership has worked to improve the lives of its members and positively serve the community from its offices in Elk Grove.