Sacramento - The Assembly cleared the way Thursday for the Tule River Indian Tribe and Porterville to become business partners.

Lawmakers authorized the tribe and city to create a joint powers authority that can issue bonds and promote development on 1,200 acres near the city's airport.

"This is to develop some area around the airport ... for the development of commercial properties and businesses creating jobs," Assemblyman Bill Maze, R-Visalia, told the floor in a brief statement.

No one spoke against the bill.

Assembly Bill 1884 is ready to go to the governor, but it will be held in the Legislature because the governor has said that he won't sign any bills until a budget is enacted.

The tribe now runs an aircraft-maintenance business at the airport and wants to develop a casino and hotel on the 74 acres it owns in the 1,200 acres that are earmarked for recreational and commercial development in the joint-venture area.

Tule River now operates a casino on its reservation east of Porterville.

Before it can open a casino near the airport, the tribe must first get its property there placed in federal trust status.

The casino is not part of AB 1884.

The joint power authority would be run by a five-member board made up of two city officials, two tribal representatives and a fifth member chosen by the other four.

It's not clear what the governor, who rarely takes positions on bills until they reach his desk, will do when he receives the bill. He has vetoed similar bills, but Maze said he has tried to address the governor's objections to previous bills.