Reading Room Document

Proposed Legislation to Establish the National Indian Gaming Commission

A bill that proposes to create an "independent commission" within the Department of the Interior to regulate gambling on Indian reservations and that would give the commission the power, inter alia, to impose civil fines, gives rise to several constitutional issues. The extent to which Congress may restrict the removal of subordinate executive officers such as the members of the Indian Gaming Commission is unclear, but such restrictions should be avoided. Furthermore, consistent with the Appointments Clause, the authority to waive a federal statute should be subject to the approval of a principal officer, such as the Secretary of the Interior. Under the Due Process Clause, civil penalties imposed by members of the Indian Gaming Commission should be imposed by an unbiased administrative judge rather than an interested official. Under the Fourth Amendment, the Indian Gaming Commission may conduct warrantless searches of gambling establishments, which are part of a closely regulated industry, only if: (1) there is a substantial government interest; (2) the searches are necessary to further the regulatory scheme; and (3) the statute provides a constitutionally adequate substitute for a warrant. The first and second requirements are met in this case. The third requirement may be met by providing notice in the statute that inspections will be made on a regular basis and will have a particular scope. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/23961/download.

July 24, 1987