Legislative Updates Spring 2002

ARIZONA
Phoenix: Gov. Jane Hull was forced to call a special session of the Legislature after Sen. President Randall Gnant pulled a slew of gaming bills from the legislative calendar March 18, including a legislative referendum bill he had introduced Feb. 4 to legalize video slots for the tracks. In late January, Gnant met with 16 dog and horse track lobbyists who formed the Arizona Racetrack Alliance on Feb. 2. A week later Gnant announced his candidacy for governor in the upcoming November election.

The special session, which began Monday, April 1, will determine the future of Indian gaming in the state and whether dog and horse tracks will be allowed to operate video slots.

On the day the session started, the racetrack alliance launched a campaign to kill Hull's gaming accord with 17 tribes. In a half-page ad in The Arizona Republic, the alliance argued the deal is bad for the state and referred to Hull's negotiation with the tribes as a "secret deal." The alliance set up a new web site with automatic email links to every state legislator and urged the public to "help protect Arizona from another bad deal" by calling their legislators.

The governor returned fire the following day with a four-page letter hand-delivered to lawmakers. Hull wrote, in part, "I hope you will see through the horse and dog tracks' desperate attempt to undermine the negotiated gaming agreement. The tracks are now running attack ads that distort the truth. It is time to cut through the rhetoric and look at the facts."

On Tuesday, April 2, Gnant introduced SCR 1001, which, if passed, will allow the tracks to operate video slots. Sen. Herb Guenther, D-Tacna, introduced Hull's Indian gaming accord, SB 1001. Hull needs legislative approval to meet the terms of a federal judge who last July found the original gaming compacts illegal because the Legislature had not authorized then-governor Fife Symington to negotiate the deal. A two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate must approve SB 1001 to keep it from being referred to the ballot.

"We have one shot at this," Guenther said. "And it's now. The window, I sense, is six weeks. If not, it's going to the ballot."

Source: The Arizona Republic: Mary Jo Pitzl, Richard Ruelas

COLORADO
Denver: House Bill 1354, which would have dramatically increased purses for greyhound breeders using revenues generated by horse racing simulcasts at dog tracks, was killed March 20. The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Stephanie Takis, D-Aurora, killed her own bill after she was overwhelmed by pressure from members of the Colorado Horse Racing Association.

Shannon Rushton, a member of the association, said horse people from the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes were opposed to the bill. "If they know the money goes to greyhound purses, they simply will refuse to send the signal to Colorado," she said.

Dog racing supporters, who said the money was needed to fight off bankruptcy, were reportedly devastated.

Source: The Denver Post: Julia C. Martinez

CONNECTICUT
Hartford: The House Public Safety Committee on a 16-6 vote March 7 approved a $1.2 million tax break for the state's two dog tracks, the Shoreline Star in Bridgeport and Plainfield Greyhound Park. Sen. Alvin Penn, D-Bridgeport, and Rep. Michael Caron, R-Plainfield, whose districts include the dog tracks, sponsored the tax break measure.

The bill was forwarded to the House Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee, where it failed on a 22-21 vote March 26. Caron said he plans to introduce other legislation in this session to help the struggling tracks survive. "I'm not going to give up. It's only March," Caron said.

Source: The Day: Susan Haigh

KANSAS
Topeka: The House Tourism Committee voted 9-8 March 29 to approve House Bill 2890, a measure that would allow slot machines at the state's racetracks and at one at-large site. Gov. Bill Graves and the director of the Kansas Lottery Commission would select the at-large site from applications submitted by communities. Voters in that site's home county would have to approve the machines by a two-thirds majority.

In his State of the State address Jan. 14, Graves reversed his earlier position on the expansion of gambling and said, "I am willing to consider adding slot machines at the pari-mutuel tracks, but the more you expand the number of facilities and gaming locations, the less supportive I will become."

Before the bill left the committee, the distribution of the net revenue from the machines was changed to increase the track owners' share from 63.5 percent to 67 percent, while the state's share decreased from 27 percent to 25 percent. Four percent of the remainder would be disbursed to local governments, charities, and programs for addicted gamblers. The remaining four percent would be used to increase purses to horse and dog owners.

Although supporters defend the allocation, they expected to see a push to change it in the state's favor. "That may be a problem for the bill," said former House Speaker Robin Jennison, now a lobbyist for Ruffin Co., which owns Wichita Greyhound Park and the closed Camptown dog track.

Outcome: The bill was defeated 64-58 on the House floor April 3. The measure was ressurrected as HB 2183 on April 10, passed the tourism committee, and was scheduled for the House calendar.

Sources: The Kansas City Star: John L. Petterson; The Topeka Capital-Journal: John Hanna, The Associated Press

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Concord: Gambling proponents' efforts to legalize video slot machines at the state's dog and horse tracks were dealt a potentially fatal blow Feb. 20. The Senate rejected a proposal sponsored by Sen. Ted Gatsas, R-Manchester, which would have authorized the licensing of eight state-run sites, each operating 300 to 800 video lottery terminals. The maximum number of machines would have been limited to 3,500 in the first year and increased to 5,500 the second year.

The bill also would have created a state electronic gaming authority to decide who would receive the five-year licenses. Towns would have been required to approve playing host to a facility. The tracks would have been eligible to apply for a license, but were not guaranteed to receive one.

The House also killed five bills that would have expanded gambling in the state. HB 1404 would have established a resort and casino at Jericho Lake Park in the economically depressed town of Berlin. "The band on our Titanic is playing. We're nose down in the water and moving the deck chairs around isn't going to help," said Rep. John Gallus, R-Berlin, the bill's sponsor.

But Rep. Christopher Reid, R-Dover, said a casino would not save Berlin. "We shouldn't be throwing an anchor to a town that's treading water," he said. The House rejected HB 1404 on a 234-102 vote.

Representatives also killed a bill to al-low VLTs at the state's dog and horse tracks by a 217-130 vote. Three other bills - which called for the state to set up state-owned casinos, allow off-track betting, and create electronic gambling districts to include racetracks, bingo halls and grand hotels - were killed without debate.

Members of the Granite State Coalition Against Expanded Gambling lobbied successfully against all the gaming bills. New Hampshire Attorney General Philip McLaughlin also took a strong anti-gambling position in a letter written to Senate President Arthur Klemm and released to the media Jan. 24. McLaughlin wrote, "Large cash flows, which may seem attractive as a new source of revenue, are equally tantalizing to swindlers, thieves and organized crime syndicates."

Sources: Foster's Democrat: Norma Love, Associated Press