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Legislative Updates Summer 2001 ALABAMA Montgomery: On May 21, the final day of the legislative session, the House rejected a bill that would have shut down gambling machines in adult arcades and instead allow the dog tracks to operate the machines with unlimited cash prizes. The Senate had narrowly approved the measure May 3. Source: The Tuscaloosa News: Phillip Rawls FLORIDA Tallahassee: The 2001 legislative session ended Friday May 4. Several bills affecting racing greyhounds and the state’s racing industry were introduced, but none were passed. Senate Bill 1044, the Racing Greyhound Protection Act, died in the Committee on Regulated Industries. The bill would have established basic standards of care for racing dogs and required the tracks to have a qualified veterinarian onsite at all race performances to treat injuries. SB 1044 also would have required the tracks to install air-conditioning in all track kennels with a backup alarm system in case of a power failure. Senate Bill 0104, which would have extended the time period that card rooms at pari-mutuel facilities may operate and decreased the amount of tax payable to the state from 10 percent to 2 percent, died in the Committee on Regulated Industries. Senate Bill 1692, the Greyhound Adoption Bill, which would have required all Florida dog tracks to provide a greyhound adoption booth at their facilities, also died. Source: Florida Legislature Online IOWA Des Moines: On April 27 the House Ways and Means Committee voted 19-4 in favor of a bill that would lower the state tax limit on slot machine revenue paid by the state’s three racetrack-casinos in coming years. Bluffs Run and Dubuque Greyhound Parks and the Prairie Meadows horse track currently are taxed at 30 percent. The tax rate is scheduled to grow to 36 percent by 2004. But under the bill approved by the committee, it would be capped at 32 percent. House Study Bill 232 moved to the full House for debate, where numerous amendments are expected. Source: The Des Moines Register: Lynn Okamoto KANSAS Topeka: The House voted 73-49 April 27 against a proposal that would have permitted slot machines at the state’s three dog tracks. Rep. Ted Powers, R-Mulvane, sang, “Good-bye slots,” when the tally appeared on the electronic vote board. The Senate had defeated the slots proposal earlier in the session, which ended May 8. Source: The Associated Press: Katrina Hull MASSACHUSETTS Boston: On June 25, after a full afternoon of often heated debate, the House voted 101-38 in favor of H 4261, a controversial omnibus racing bill. The bill extends simulcasting rights to the state’s two dog tracks and two horse tracks in perpetuity, and gives the struggling tracks more than $5 million in subsidies. Key lawmakers in the Joint Committee on Government Relations crafted the comprehensive bill, which also addresses animal welfare concerns. Days before the bill was reported out of committee, all subsidies were stripped from the bill. Numerous floor amendments reinstated the original subsidies and added more, despite protest. Gambling and greyhound racing opponents argued that the state should not be using scarce tax dollars to prop up a private industry in steep decline. “Is there a compelling public interest . . . to subsidize an industry that is based on two things, gambling and exploiting animals?” asked State Rep. Reed Hillman, R-Sturbridge. “That money ought to be available for our schools and our hospitals.” One of the most controversial amendments adopted by the House benefits only one track. Wonderland Greyhound Park would be allowed to divert $3 million it now pays in taxes to its capital improvement fund. The House also adopted two of three amendments proposed by GREY2K USA, including the creation of a retired greyhound care and adoption trust fund. The second proposal requires the state racing commission to keep greyhound injury and disposition records and to make those records public. A proposal to place temperature-related restrictions on dog racing failed. Lawmakers also approved an amendment re-allocating $2 million in state taxes paid to the state. The money will be used to boost purses, which track owners contend is needed to attract top racing talent to bolster flagging attendance. The bill now moves to the Senate, where more changes are expected. Sources: Statehouse News Service:
Elizabeth J. Beardsley NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: The Legislature passed a measure on June 26 calling for an increase in business taxes to cover a $100 million shortfall in education funding. According to The Boston Globe, this means the New Hampshire dog and horse tracks will not get slot machines this year. Source: The Boston Globe: Ron Indrisano OREGON Salem: House Bill 3928, a measure to end greyhound racing in the state, was referred to the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee on March 21. Committee Chairman Rep. Jeff Kropf, R-Halsey, has so far refused to hold a hearing on the bill. Art McFadden, owner of Multnomah Greyhound Park, the state’s only operating dog track, confirmed that he is in negotiation with Magna Corporation about the sale of the property but nothing has been finalized. Magna owns and operates horse racetracks throughout the country, including Santa Anita, Golden Gate, and Bay Meadows in California. Kropf said any talk of legislation could affect the sale of the track. “The purpose of buying the track is for development reasons,” Kropf said. “The ultimate goal of that purchase is to develop that land and do away with dog racing. If we muck around the purchase, then racing is probably here to stay.” Magna has made no public statements about its plans for the track if the sale goes through. On April 24 Rep. Deborah Kafoury, D-Portland, delivered a letter signed by a dozen lawmakers urging Kropf to reconsider. Kropf said selling the track for eventual development is the best way to end dog racing. Connie Theil, director of Oregon Defenders of Greyhounds, disagreed with Kropf. “We hear that story year after year,” she said. “Meanwhile, dogs are dying.” Theil said that if lawmakers kill HB 3928, as expected, her group plans to take the issue to voters Source: The Orgonian
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