the sole or supporting basis for any form of adverse action against the tribal government. In our opinion, setting up a safe space for tribal governments tracks with an administrative approach of advancing compliance, not merely punishing shortcomings. We further encourage the Department to take additional steps towards agency economy by using these letters to preempt future potential adverse action by also pointing out and explaining anything in a submission that constitutes a compact or amendment that may lead to its disapproval. Second, we recommend taking steps to ensure that the greatest number of tribal governments can take advantage of this opportunity by allowing such governments to submit their agreements for consideration via myriad means including e-mail, an online portal, postal mail, and hand-delivery to national and regional offices. Finally, for purposes of the utmost clarity, we recommend that the Department include within the regulation mechanisms on which tribal governments can confidently rely, including 1) a firm deadline by which the Department must address a submiss and 2) the requirement that the Department state in the introduction to its letter that either, “Yes. This agreement constitutes a [compact/amendment] requiring secretarial approval” or “No. This agreement does not constitute a [compact/amendment]….”
5. § 293.15 – “Is the Secretary required to disapprove a compact or amendment that violates IGRA?”
[Tribe/Nation] supports the inclusion of a provision such as the one proposed in § 293.15; however, we believe that the answer to the title question, “is the Secretary required to disapprove a compact or amendment that violates IGRA” should be “yes.” Where the Secretary has knowledge that a compact violates IGRA, our position is that the Secretary must disapprove a compact.
6. § 293.23 - “What factors will be used to determine whether provisions in a compact or amendment are directly related to the operation of gaming activities?”
We also support the addition of this section, which clarifies the scope of activities directly related to gaming for the purposes of compacting. Overall, we believe that these provisions will prove to be a useful resource for tribal governments as they negotiate compacts related to gaming; however, we offer the following suggestions, which will believe would aid of compliance.
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