PECHANGA INDIAN RESERVATION -- Legislation in the state Senate would allow a dramatic expansion of the Pechanga tribe's gambling business, tribal leaders said Monday evening.

A bill by Alex Padilla, D-Van Nuys, would ratify an agreement that the tribe and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Aug. 28, allowing the tribe to build a second casino on its 5,500 acres just south of Temecula. The tribe would be able to nearly quadruple the number of slot machines it operates to 7,500 from the 2,000 now at the casino.

Padilla is one of several Democratic sponsors whom tribes have enlisted in their efforts to finalize a series of agreements that the Republican governor signed in the closing days of the 2005-06 legislative session. The Legislature's session ended Aug. 31 without a vote on a bill that would have ratified compacts with Pechanga and several other tribes.

Democratic leaders in the Assembly and Senate complained that Schwarzenegger had left them insufficient time to study the bills, while Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro and some Republican legislators accused Democrats of caving to pressure from a hotel workers' union.

Labor union leaders had wanted provisions in the pacts making it easier for workers to vote on union representation. As in most other casinos run by Southern California tribes, Pechanga employees do not belong to a labor union.

Aides to local Republican legislators say the Pechanga tribe took its time in seeking out a strategic Democratic sponsor whose backing could blunt the influence of labor unions, a key Democratic constituency. The Republicans have publicly backed Pechanga and aides to two of them said their legislators would have readily introduced such bills if asked.

An aide to Jim Battin, R-Palm Desert, said that the Yurok tribe has enlisted a local state senator and Assembly member, both Democrats, to back their bid for a casino near Klamath, on the coast just south of Oregon. A bill by an Assembly Democrat who represents East Los Angeles and Whittier would allow the Morongo Band of Mission Indians to expand its casino near Banning, in Battin's district, said Mark Reeder, Battin's legislative director.

Bill Mabie, who is Padilla's chief deputy and who was involved most directly with the Pechanga bill, couldn't be reached for comment Monday evening.

Pechanga representatives have declined to provide details of their timetable for expanding the casino or building the new one.

Conceptual plans for Pechanga lands have included a physically expanded casino, three new hotel towers, an arena, a commercial district and a new network of local roads, according to a report developed by a consultant for the tribe early last year. Pechanga representatives have said there are no imminent plans to follow through with the concepts described in that report.

The new agreement between Schwarzenegger and the Pechanga calls for the tribe to contribute $42.5 million to the state each year, up from $29 million under the current arrangement. The tribe is obligated to pay an additional 15 percent of its net winnings on the first 3,000 machines it adds and 25 percent of the net winnings on the next 2,500 machines. The tribe has said the state could reap as much as $3 billion in additional revenue by 2030, when the compact expires.

Padilla's bill still faces multiple votes in both the Senate and the Assembly.

Kevin Jeffries, R-Murrieta, whose Assembly district includes the Pechanga reservation, said he believes the bill's chances are good. Opposition from Unite-HERE, which represents casino, hotel and restaurant workers, seems unlikely to gain traction, he said.

"This is sort of an all-or-nothing thing for the tribes," Jeffries said. "And this is just one skirmish for labor. There's not a lot of legislators who are supportive of organized labor who want to die on the sword for this one."

Representatives of the union's western-region office in San Francisco didn't return a call seeking comment.

A month has passed since the Legislature's deadline for introducing new bills, but its rules allow loosely related bills to be dramatically rewritten until late in the session. Padilla initially introduced Senate Bill 903 to make an inconsequential change in a law on the state's Indian Gaming Special Distribution Fund, which provides money to the cities and counties whose roads carry increased casino traffic and to counseling programs for gambling addicts.

A revised version of the bill wasn't available for review Monday evening. Midsession changes to such placeholder bills are common. Legislators introduce such spot bills early in the session in anticipation of later changes. A single bill sponsored by George Plescia, R-La Jolla, was amended in late August with the intent of ratifying Schwarzenegger's pacts with Pechanga and several other tribes.

Contact staff writer Chris Bagley at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2615, or cbagley@californian.com. Comment at www.californian.com.