According to an AP story yesterday (reported in this ILB entry):
The Indiana Gaming Commission has agreed not to award a final contract allowing Donald Trump's casino company to operate a casino in Orange County until the deal is reviewed by Gov.-elect Mitch Daniels, the Daniels team said yesterday.However, today's papers contain say that is wrong. Lesley Stedman Weidenbener has a report in the Louisville Courier Journal, headlined "Casino deal won't be delayed: Regulators reject Daniels' request." Some quotes:
INDIANAPOLIS — Saying they are a commission independent of politics, state gambling regulators declared yesterday they will work to complete plans for a French Lick casino despite Gov.-elect Mitch Daniels' request that they hold off until he takes office.Also check this story by Indianapolis Star reporter Michele McNeil :The Indiana Gaming Commission's executive director, Glenn Lawrence, said he plans to sign a contract with Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts if final agreements are reached among the state, the company, local officials and two historic hotels that will be adjacent to the casino.
However, the contract might not be ready to sign before Daniels' inauguration on Jan. 10, regulators acknowledged during a public meeting yesterday in Rising Sun.
At the meeting, Lawrence denied that he ever agreed to hold off signing the contract until the Daniels administration has a chance to review it.
If all the parties "reach agreement, then my commission has directed me to execute the contract and I think if it's in the best interest of the state of Indiana, that's what I'll do," Lawrence said after the meeting. * * *
Indiana Gaming Commission Chairman Donald Vowels said, however, that Daniels may get his wish for a delayed contract simply because several details necessary to complete an agreement remain unresolved. Still, he said Lawrence has the authority to sign a contract if an agreement is completed. "We have to stay the course," Vowels said. "It may be quite realistic that nothing will occur before Jan. 10 anyway."
Lawrence plans to resign, effective Jan. 9.
Speaking yesterday in Indianapolis, Daniels said that he believes his administration should get to review the contract, especially given Trump's current financial woes. The company is awash in debt and has filed a reorganization plan in bankruptcy court.
Gaming commission officials maintain that the bankruptcy should not derail the project and Lawrence said yesterday that Trump has obtained almost all the permits necessary for construction.
Still, Daniels said that "one unelected bureaucrat" shouldn't be making the final call on a contract this large with so many financial questions. * * *
State Rep. Jerry Denbo, a French Lick Democrat who pushed the project through the General Assembly, said yesterday he has no problem with the Daniels administration's request to postpone a contract decision until after he takes office. He said he welcomes Daniels' review of Trump's financial situation to ensure that the deal can be completed.
But state Sen. Johnny Nugent, R-Lawrenceburg, said the commission should be allowed to continue its work unabated. "The Indiana Gaming Commission is an independent body that operates in a bipartisan atmosphere," he said. "I would think we would want them to continue on with their business."
The gaming commission's executive director is appointed by the governor but is responsible to the commission members. Pointing to the commissioners, Lawrence said yesterday, "These are my bosses."
Commission members are appointed by the governor and serve four-year terms. Under state law, the governor can't remove a member from office unless he finds the member has neglected his duties or has committed a crime or fraud.
That makes the gaming commission different than some other state boards, whose members serve at the will of the governor.
"It has always been my belief, my understanding, that the commission is an independent commission," Lawrence said.
Jon Laramore, chief counsel to outgoing Gov. Joe Kernan, yesterday reiterated that independence. Under state law, "it is the gaming commission that has the duty to select an operating agent for the riverboat in Orange County," Laramore's letter said. "Neither Gov. Kernan nor anyone in the governor's office participated in the process of selecting or negotiating with Trump."
Lawrence, who has been negotiating with Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts, is expected to step down before Daniels takes office. After Jan. 10, [the Indiana Gaming Commission's executive director, Glenn Lawrence] said, the new administration "can do as they please."What does the law say? The Indiana Gaming Commission is a state agency created by IC 4-33-3. It consists of seven members appointed by the governor. No more than 4 of the members may be of the same political party. The terms of these part-time commissioners are 3 years, and their terms are staggered. The members receive per diem and travel for their service. Sec. 11 provides:But Daniels, who expressed concern about the company's financial situation, said such a significant decision shouldn't be made by "one unelected bureaucrat," referring to Lawrence.
"A deal that big, that uninspected, should not be hastily rushed through at the 11th hour," Daniels warned Friday.
Last month, Trump's casino company filed for bankruptcy protection to get out from under $1.8 billion in debt. Four months earlier, the Gaming Commission had voted 4-2 to award the debt-ridden company the lucrative 11th casino license. The General Assembly granted French Lick the final riverboat license in 2003 after a 10-year legislative effort by local residents.
Lawrence said he, his staff and the commission have spent the past year and a half on this deal, exhaustively reviewing every detail to make sure Trump's finances could support the project. Even with the bankruptcy filing, the project is on track, Lawrence said.
Trump's Indiana counsel, Greg Hahn, said that as soon as he learned of Daniels' concerns, he offered to sit down with the new administration and explain the details.
"We don't think there are any issues at all," he said. "But we have reached out to them."
Hahn said the casino project is on schedule, with groundbreaking planned for the first quarter of the year. In the meantime, a contract could be signed by Jan. 10, Hahn said.
"We've invested thousands of dollars every day in reliance upon getting all these contracts done," Hahn said.
Local residents don't want bickering between administrations to jeopardize the project.
Rep. Jerry Denbo, D-French Lick, said that if Daniels wants the commission to wait, members should consider it.
"This is such a high-profile project, I can see why he would be concerned," said Denbo, who fought for years in the legislature to win a casino for his economically depressed hometown. "I'd rather be cautious and he be satisfied than worry about things later."
A member of the commission may be removed by the governor for any of the following reasons:Thus, the commissioners serve for fixed terms and may be removed by the governor for cause. On the other hand, Sec. 18 provides that:
(1) Neglect of duty.
(2) Misfeasance.
(3) Malfeasance.
(4) Nonfeasance.
(a) The governor shall appoint the executive director of the commission to serve at the pleasure of the governor. The executive director's compensation shall be approved annually by the governor under IC 4-12-2.Executive Director Lawrence, who the stories say plans to resign Jan. 9, 2005, is on the list of 150 people who received a letter from Gov. Kernan asking that they submit their resignations (see this ILB entry from Nov. 20th). The 5 gaming commissioners are not on that list.
(b) The executive director shall perform the duties assigned to the executive director by the commission.
(c) In addition to any salary paid under this section, the executive director is entitled to reimbursement for traveling expenses and other expenses actually incurred in connection with the executive director's duties, as provided in the state travel policies and procedures established by the department of administration and approved by the budget agency.
Looking at another "commission" for contrast with the gaming commission, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (URC) (IC 8-1-1) has 5 full-time commissioners, no more than three of whom may be of the same party. The members of "shall be appointed by the governor from among persons nominated by the nominating committee in accordance with the provisions of IC 8-1-1.5." The members are appointed by the governor for four-year staggered terms, and "members may be removed at any time by the governor for cause." Interestingly (or perhaps inexplicably), all 5 members of the URC were on the list of 150 who received letters from Governor Kernan requesting their resignations.
Overview. The recent efficiency commission reports point out that there is little in the way of consistency in the way state agencies are formed. I have talked about executive branch organization in detail in the past, and trace the history and rationale of state agency formation since the 1933 Executive Reorganization in my paper, "Maintaining the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches of Indiana state government post-1941." (Check here for further information.) I strongly recommend the paper to you; every major political change in state administrations has raised similar issues.
Essential, in my opinion, to any effictive reorganziation of state government is assuring that the constitutional responsibilities of the governor: (1) in administering the executive branch of state government and (2) in taking care that the laws are faithfully executed, are adequately reflected in the statutory framework.
Posted by Marcia Oddi at December 4, 2004 08:34 AM