On this week's Capital Notes Podcast, a look at the big week in Indian gaming agreements, a special election to Congress, and some early budget friction between Republicans and Governor Schwarzenegger.

Our fellow podcaster Kate Folmar is on assignment covering the fire near Lake Tahoe this week... so pitch hitting with myself and Anthony York of Capitol Weekly is Shane Goldmacher of the Sacramento Bee and the Bee's online political site, Capitol Alert.

Related information:

Gaming Compacts Approved, The California Report [listen here]

"Richardson's victory setback to tribes, boost for labor," by Anthony York.

"Senate Republicans kill foster care bill," by Judy Lin of the Sacramento Bee.

Class is in session.

Remember this rule: the one who seals a controversial political deal, and then gets it...

* Quickly into print as a bill...

* Approved by a hurriedly convened committee...

* Moved from the floor of one chamber to the next...

* And all done fast enough to keep interest groups from taking whacks at the deal...

Wins.

Got it? Good. With that in mind, consider today's action in the long-running saga over revised casino compacts between the state and five powerful Indian tribes in southern California.

The headline is simple: after almost a year of limbo, four of the five compacts were ratified today by the Assembly. That means that short of federal objections, as many as 17,000 more slot machines will be in operation in California, and the tribes will be able to run their casinos through the year 2030. The revised compacts, by the way, could also bring in several million dollars a year to help balance the state budget.

But there's much more below the surface, hence the rule stated above.

As you may know, it was only yesterday that Governor Schwarzenegger and the four tribes announced that they had formally signed side deals to the compacts-- side deals that grew out of private negotiations with Assembly Democrats, who had balked at ratifying the compacts for months.

But what's most notable about the side deals is what they don't include... provisions that labor unions desperately wanted for an easier method than currently exists in organizing workers at these casinos.

And as everyone knows, labor is a big player in Democratic politics. In fact, the top labor leader in the nation-- John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO-- personally made phone calls in recent weeks to Democrats, asking them to reject the casino compacts unless the new worker organization rules were included.

But back to our lesson in Politics 101, where all of the ingredients appeared to be in place for swift passage... until a series of long closed-door deliberations among Democrats.

Those discussions did not, in the end, give labor leaders what they wanted... namely, a rejection of the compacts. But they did probably prompt Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez to make what seemed like an unusual statement on the Assembly floor before the vote. Each tribe, he said, had promised not to thwart casino workers from organizing.

Did that mean there was a new agreement in writing? No, just a promise... apparently extracted after what appeared to be individual one-on-one meetings between Nunez and tribal chairmen.

This is how Nunez explained it to reporters afterwards:

"If the unions want to come on to the tribal properties and organize," he said, "each one of the tribal chairs has committed to me that they would not interfere with that process of workers organizing themselves to form a union."

Is that good enough? We'll see. Nonetheless, it helped Nunez execute everything he needed under the Politics 101 game plan. And in the end, the compacts were ratified.

There are numerous political side issues to consider in the wake of this action: what does it mean about the relationship between organized labor and Democrats once the 2008 election season rolls around? Is there any fallout for Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, who cut his political teeth working for the L.A. County Federation of Labor? Do these politically savvy tribes return the favor when Democrats search for money to help finance an initiative campaign next February to modify the state's term limits law?

And then the policy questions: are these side deals enforceable? Senate President Don Perata went so far this morning as to refer to them as "non-binding." And if a tribe chooses to ignore either the provisions of its 'memorandum of agreement' (MOA) or a decision reached through binding arbitration, what power does the state have?

And what about the one big gaming tribe that opted not to sign the MOA: the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. What will happen to their revised casino compact?

No easy answers on any of these questions for now. Only an interesting day in how policy can be quickly enacted here at the Capitol, especially when that policy's fate is dependent on swift political action.

After weeks of private meetings and negotiations, Governor Schwarzenegger has signed agreements with four politically powerful Indian gaming tribes that are effectively side deals to the formal casino compacts negotiated last year.

The agreements, technically known as 'memoranda of understanding,' (MOA) are between the state and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, and the Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Indians.

The side deals have been a hot topic of discussion for some time, and have been seen as the key to getting the renegotiated casino compacts through the Legislature. Those compacts have been stalled in the Assembly on issues that have-- at one time or another-- ranged from organized labor criticisms to the auditing powers of casino profits.

In recent days, the buzz has been that the deals were about to be struck, with much of the heavy lifting done by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. But that buzz has always focused on the MOAs and how they would need to be approved by both chambers of the Legislature.

This afternoon's announcement makes it clear that these are "government to government" agreements between Schwarzenegger and the tribes. So... do they need to be ratified by the Legislature?

The governor's staff admits that while technically they don't need a legislative blessing, the governor is seeking to have them approved in the Assembly and Senate. And advisers say legislative approval will make the legality of the MOAs that much more certain.

This is no small issue. In fact, it would seem quite possible that legislators... who have, at times, strongly disagreed with the content of any tribal side deals... could just take a pass on the MOAs and let them take effect without any formal votes. That would certainly sidestep, among many issues, the thorny problem of labor union opposition to both the MOAs and the revised compacts.

The side deals' most important provisions pertain to the auditing of slot machines and other Vegas-style casino games... a process that was thrown ito question by a federal court ruling that seems to have taken auditing power away from the National Indian Gaming Commission. The MOAs say that the tribes will continue to maintain standards that are no less strict than those the NIGC has been imposing.

It should be noted that the other big gaming tribe with a pending compact in the Legislature, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, did not agree to sign the new MOA.

The new side deals are expected to be up for discussion tomorrow morning in a legislative hearing.

Full details on the MOAs are here.

The long-running debate over plans for side-by-side Indian casinos in Barstow gets a new dose of PR later today at the state Capitol.

Last month, we reported on the status of the tribal casinos proposed by San Diego's Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians and Humboldt's Big Lagoon Rancheria. The two tribes signed gaming agreements with Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005, but those agreements have sat in limbo in the Legislature ever since. Some say it's because the agreements, which would allow each tribe to open its own casino in Barstow, sets a bad precedent for off reservation tribal gaming. Others claim that powerful gaming tribes have had a hand in blocking the efforts of what could be two new competitors.

In a story that aired on The California Report in May, we introduced you to Francine Kupsch, a Los Coyotes tribe member whose meager life inside a tiny camping trailer was portrayed in one of the original political ads in support of 1998's Proposition 5 tribal gaming initiative.

This morning, Kupsch and her dilapidated old trailer are scheduled to pull up to the grounds of the state Capitol.

Kupsch no longer lives in the trailer; it's been sitting next door to her current home for a few years. But as we found when visiting Los Coyotes' rural San Diego County reservation, her current home is badly in need of repair. And the tribe hopes to make a simple point with today's event: there's still a lot of economic hardship on many California reservations.

This is actually Los Coyotes' second round of PR campaigns on the grounds of the statehouse; last year, several tribe members staged a short hunger strike in hopes of getting the casino compact ratified.

You might also remember that Los Coytoes' partner tribe, Big Lagoon, agreed last month to allow the negotiations to keep going in Sacramento-- rather than return to court in their quest for a tribal casino.

Secretary of State Debra Bowen's new round of testing for voting machines in California has moved into one of the more controversial phases-- a "red team"of would-be hackers trying to break into the systems and change the outcome of the tallied votes.

The 'top-to-bottom' review of all voting systems certified for use has been a bit of a complicated process to follow. Bowen released an initial set of standards for the tests in March, but in early May made major revisions to the testing plan.

The chief elections officer has left many of the details of the tests-- on eveything from examining computer source code to assessing accessibility for the disabled-- up to the researchers, many from the University of California system.

In the "red team" attack, a group of testers tries a number of different ways to hack into the voting system and rig the votes tallied. The guidelines established by the researchers indicate that the attack scenario is pretty open to whatever the teams of testers come up with, though the documents admit that researchers are focused on the threats posed by 'insiders'-- in other words, people with some kind of specific knowledge about the machines and how they work.

This week, the public can view the process via a video feed in a conference room at the Secretary of State's offices here in downtown Sacramento.

Of course, you'd have to know about the testing to attend... and until now, it's not been publicized. A recorded message on a phone number listed on this website document is the only way to know that machines from vendors like Diebold Elections Systems and Hart Intercivic are some of the first to be tested.

As for what happens next... the researchers are expected to report their findings to Secretary Bowen over the next few weeks, and she intends to make decisions in early August about which voting systems can-- or can't-- be used for the February 5, 2008 presidential primary.

Just a note to let you know that the Capital Notes Podcast is now fully up and running for those who want to subscribe.

The podcasts are available every Friday midday on this site. But you can also subscribe to the podcast, for easy download to iPods and other portable mp3 players.

Click here for the subscription home page, courtesy of National Public Radio. And click here for the podcast's home on iTunes.

Some good news tonight for backers of a proposed ballot initiative to modify the existing term limits law for members of the Legislature.

A new poll from the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University finds 56% of voters who were queried say they support the proposal that would reduce overall time served for future legislators from a combined 14 years in the Assembly and Senate to 12 years in one single chamber.

Of course, it all depends on interpretation; opponents of the measure argue its language is really a Trojan horse for current legislative leaders-- most notably Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senate President pro Tem Don Perata-- to extend their own time in office rather than being termed out next year.

The pollsters read the initiative's official title and summary to respondents, which highlights the reduction in total time served. As such, they found a whopping 64% of Republicans favor the initiative, with only 50% support among Democrats.

Clearly, this measure will live or die depending on which of its impacts are most memorable in the minds of voters-- less time in office for some current, and all future, legislators? Or, more time in office for many incumbent legislators?

The poll also has findings regarding opinions on immigration, and Governor Schwarzenegger's job approval ratings. You can find the full survey here.

California's quirky constitutional ban on gubernatorial travel played out again this morning... with the first significant natural disaster that has landed on John Garamendi's plate since his election last November to the state's #2 job.

Garamendi's title of "lieutenant governor" has been replaced for the last day or so with the title "acting governor," while Arnold Schwarzenegger is visiting France, Austria, and England. In fact, you'll notice I'm not even calling him "Governor Schwarzenegger," in deference to the California constitution.

It's right there in Article V, Section 10: "The Lieutenant Governor shall act as Governor during the impeachment, absence from the State, or other temporary disability of the Governor..."

And so Acting Governor Garamendi was called... to act... this morning in response to the still growing blaze that now threatens South Lake Tahoe. The fire, which has charred about 2,000 acrces so far, is only a few miles from the city limits. At a news conference at the state Capitol, Garamendi signed a state of emergency order for El Dorado County.

Garamendi and emergency officials briefed citizen Schwarzenegger on the fire this morning by phone. And a spokesman said the non-acting-former-actor-governor is being kept up to date on an hourly basis as he meets with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and others across the pond.

Given that Schwarzenegger is in such close contact with his staffers, one might ask: why can't he just be governor regardless of where he is?

Several legislative attempts at removing the "absence from the state" clause of that constitutional sentence have fizzled in recent years, for a myriad of reasons. The last such attempt was pushed by Sen. Dave Cox (R-Fair Oaks); and in an ironic twist, Cox was a speaker at this morning's event with the acting governor-- because it's his senatorial district that includes South Lake Tahoe.

I even heard the good senator address Garamendi as "governor."

The latest poll shows California voters largely remain behind the same candidates in the race for the White House.

The Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University has put out a new poll that continues to show strong support for Sen. Hillary Clinton among Democrats and former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani among Republicans.

The poll shows Clinton with 37% support in California, followed by both Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards tied at 15%.

On the GOP side, Giuliani's lead is smaller... with 25% support, followed by undeclared candidate former Sen. Fred Thompson at 16%, Sen. John McCain at 14%, and former Gov. Mitt Romney at 5%.

As for the current White House resident, the poll shows President Bush at a 25% job approval overall... and only 19% approving of how he's handling the war in Iraq.

More on the survey here.

For those surfing by this weekend... a link to a story of mine that aired Friday morning on The California Report.

The story takes a look at the recent history of budget "gimmicks"-- those proposals buried inside recent state budgets that never come to fruition. In fact, some say that governors and legislators know they won't come to fruition.

Click here for the story. Oh, and the new fiscal year for the state begins one week from today.