LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

FLORIDA
Tallahassee: Gov. Jeb Bush vetoed Senate Bill 160, a proposal that would have required greyhound adoption booths at the state's 16 dog tracks. The bill was introduced early in the session but was later amended to extend the hours of card room operations and lift the $10 betting limit to $200. "It's long been the position of my administration that the expansion of gambling is bad public policy," Bush wrote in his May 29 veto message.

Animal activists hailed the veto as a victory. The Humane Society of the United States, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and GREY2K USA, among others, bought a full-page ad in the Tallahassee Democrat urging Bush to veto the bill.

The Palm Beach Post, Sun Sentinel, and The St. Petersburg Times opposed the bill. In a May 24 editorial, the Times wrote, ". . . in a way that's sadly typical of the Florida Legislature, what began as a good bill was subverted" on the way to the governor's desk. Bush should "make clear that he expects a clean greyhound adoption bill next year. The news from Alabama should make even the most jaded Florida legislator receptive to the merits."
Sources: The Miami Herald: Erika Bolstad
St. Petersburg Times

KANSAS
Topeka: As reported in the last issue of GNN, a measure to legalize slot machines at the state's dog tracks and one "at-large" site was defeated on the House floor April 3. The measure was resurrected as HB 2183. It was endorsed by the House Tourism Committee April 10 and placed on the House calendar.

After several hours of contentious debate, the House approved the measure 63-60 on Saturday, May 4, the session's 94th day. The measure was sent to the Senate and assigned to the Federal and State Affairs Committee. HB 2163 was never scheduled for a hearing and died in committee when legislators adjourned the longest session in Kansas history in the early morning hours of May 17.

Glenn Thompson, executive director of Stand Up for Kansas, an anti-gambling group based in Wichita, has spearheaded the defeat of all slot machine proposals for the Kansas dog tracks for a decade. Thompson told The Wichita Eagle that he has cancelled his retirement plans. "The threat from the racetracks is still there," he said.
Sources: Wichita Eagle: Steve Painter
The Kansas City Star: John L. Petterson,

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston: The House overwhelmingly rejected three proposals that would have put 1,500 slot machines at each of the state's four racetracks. A fourth "study" proposal passed on a 101-51 vote. Backers of the study said it would give lawmakers more time to focus on the issue.

Gambling supporters shouted objections to the pleas for "more time," arguing that committees have studied gaming for more than five years. "More time?" yelled Rep. James H. Fagan, D-Taunton. "The pyramids were built in less time!"
Source: Boston Herald: Elisabeth J. Beardsley