( October 18, 2023, 11:04 AM EDT) -- SEATTLE — An arbitration panel fundamentally misunderstood tribal sovereignty when it found that tribal excise taxes on tobacco sales on reservations in Washington were authorized by the state through compact agreements it entered into with several tribes after the state had reached a settlement with tobacco companies over cigarette sales, a Washington appellate panel held in affirming a trial court’s interpretation of the terms of the legislation that was enacted in accordance with the settlement....