Coachella Valley and other Riverside County communities are back in business with tribal funds to help offset increased traffic and other impacts of casinos thanks to a bill that the governor signed into law.

Assembly Bill 158 by Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Newark, could provide about $13 million for the county, part of a total of $30 million statewide from some gambling tribes.

‘‘It has a significant impact obviously on the city budget and our ability to provide additional gaming mitigation services,'' said Palm Springs City Manager David Ready.

The city traditionally has used its funds, ranging from $800,000 to a little more than $1 million annually, for three police officers and two firefighters in the downtown area plus an occasional new piece of equipment, Ready said.

He anticipates getting a similar amount this year but is several steps away from knowing just what the payout will be.

The state first must determine exactly how much of the $30 million each county will receive based on gambling figures statewide. In the past, Riverside County ended up with about 42.5 percent of the $30 million, said Jennifer Sargent, a county analyst who works on the issue.

Then the county calculates the maximum amount of its share that each jurisdiction may receive.

To get the funds, eligible cities and county agencies follow a two-step process that first takes them to their nearby tribe, which then passes on its recommendations to the county's Indian Gaming Local Community Benefits Committee, where the final decisions are made.

‘‘Tribal sponsorship is required for applications to be considered by the local benefits committee,'' said Sargent, who works with the committee.

Valley cities that received funding in the last round included Cathedral City, Coachella, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage.

Sargent said she's trying to set up a meeting of the panel to get the process rolling that probably will continue into next year to make the allocations that must be completed by June 30.

‘‘It's a lengthy process,'' she said.

The $30 million will come out of the Special Distribution Fund, which was created in the original 1999 tribal gambling agreements to collect payments from gambling tribes to help cover various costs, including the impact of casinos on nearby communities.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger blocked transfer of these funds in the 2007-08 budget until rules were instituted to ensure that the money goes only to offset the gambling halls' impacts.

The governor was responding to a state audit that found funds in some counties other than Riverside were spent for purposes with questionable casino connections, such as a device to analyze chemicals at fire or crime scenes and an ambulance boat on Lake Havasu.

The auditors' recommendations included in AB 158 would specifically require that the tribal funds only be spent to offset casino impacts, that the money be deposited in interest-bearing accounts with the proceeds only used for mitigation and that recipient counties make annual reports to the state.

Failure to comply with these mandates could lead to loss of funds.

‘‘I think Riverside County should be able to meet all the conditions that the governor has set out,'' said Sargent.

AB 158 also extends the life of the program for a year to Jan. 1, 2010.

The bill takes effect immediately.