Legislative Updates Summer 2003

ARKANSAS
Little Rock: A revised proposal to allow wagering on video poker and other electronic games at Southland Greyhound Park was approved by the House Rules Committee on May 6, the first day of a special legislative session convened to raise $100 million in new taxes. House Bill 1033, an updated version of an earlier bill that failed during the regular session, which ended April 16, included a provision to increase the payout to the state from $18 million per year to $26 million.

Outcome: HB 1033 died on the House calendar at final adjournment May 12.

Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

COLORADO
Denver: House Bill 1123, a measure introduced in January and amended several times since, passed both houses of the Legislature and was signed into law on June 3. This complex bill authorizes the Colorado Racing Commission "to establish and adjust annual fees for the race meet license and all other licenses issued by the division" to an amount equal to the $2.3 million needed to regulate the greyhound racing industry.

Racetrack licensees [track owners] may increase their take-out no higher than 30 percent to offset the higher fees. [The take-out is the percentage of the wagering handle withheld by the racetrack to pay purses, taxes, and expenses. Take-outs vary by state, averaging 18 to 20 percent on simple wagers, higher on complex wagers such as trifectas, quinellas, etc.]

Source: Colorado Legislature Bill Summary

FLORIDA
Tallahassee: Less than a month after state lawmakers failed to approve legislation allowing the operation of slot machines at the state's pari-mutuel facilities, Floridians for a Level Playing Field (FLPF) announced plans to have the issue decided by voters in a statewide referendum on Nov. 4, 2004.

The secretary of state's office verified that the coalition had collected more than one-tenth of the 488,722 voter signatures it will need to collect in order to qualify for the ballot. The Florida Supreme Court is expected to rule whether the proposed ballot initiative qualifies for the 2004 ballot.

The latest ballot proposal by FLPF, a coalition of three South Florida dog and harness tracks, is the group's second attempt in two years to seek voter approval for slot machines. "Never give up," said Daniel Adkins, coalition chairman and vice president of Hollywood Greyhound Track. "We learned a lot from the first go-round." The Florida Supreme Court struck down the ballot proposal scheduled for the November 2002 ballot because it failed to meet the single-subject requirement.

Source: The Miami Herald: Joni James

KANSAS
Topeka: The Legislature reconvened April 30 for a five-day wrap-up session. As expected, several bills to expand gambling, including Senate Bill 226 which was left in limbo when the regular legislative session ended April 4, came up for debate in the special session.

After nearly three hours of debate May 5, senators voted first on SB 226, a measure that would have allowed an unlimited number of casinos in any county in Kansas where local and county voters approved. The bill was narrowly defeated by a vote of 21-18. A second proposal, House Bill 2053, which would have allowed slot machines at racetracks, was overwhelming-ly defeated 34-4. Three days earlier HB 2053 narrowly passed the House before it was sent to the Senate.

Phil Ruffin, owner of Wichita Greyhound Park and casinos in Las Vegas and the Bahamas, has pushed for years to allow slots at the dog and horse tracks. Ruffin, his family, and his company donated tens of thousands of dollars to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who supports expanded gambling as one solution to the state's budget woes.

[Glenn O. Thompson, Executive Director of Stand up for Kansas, has led the fight against expanded gambling in Kansas for the last decade. GNN's Kansas readers who would like to help defeat next year's gambling proposals may write to Thompson at P.O. Box 780177, Wichita, KS 67278. Ed.]

Sources: The Kansas City Star: John L. Petterson, Jim Sullinger
The Wichita Eagle: Steve Painter

MASSACHUSETTS
Boston: Three amendments to the state budget that would have had a serious impact on the state's racing industry were defeated on April 30.

The amendments, filed by state Rep. Reed Hillman (R-Sturbridge) and five other lawmakers, would have repealed two greyhound racing trust funds that allow the dog tracks to be reimbursed for interior design consultants and expensive amenities, such as $40,000 ceiling tiles. The third amendment would have repealed the $4.5 million tax cut for the racing industry, which passed in November 2001.

"It is time for these ill-conceived subsidies to be repealed," said GREY2K USA President Carey Theil, who drafted the amendments. The day before the full House voted down the amendments, Hillman said, "Rather than use this money to improve the private property of wealthy racetrack owners, we should put it into local aid."

Several House bills that would have licensed thousands of slot machines at Wonderland and Raynham/Taunton Greyhound Parks and the state's two horse tracks were also defeated.

Sources: U.S. Newswire; Gambling Magazine

RHODE ISLAND
Providence: The General Assembly reached agreement on a new state budget June 19 but failed to eliminate the subsidies paid to kennel owners at Lincoln Park. Republican Gov. Don Carcieri had made the elimination of the subsidies one of his 2002 gubernatorial campaign themes.

Those subsidies totaled $13.5 million last year and are expected to reach $15 million in 2003. Lawmakers did, however, cut the kennel owners share of the VLT (video lottery terminals) revenue from 5 percent to 3.4 percent, giving them a projected $10 million in 2004.

Carcieri called the purse subsidies "total nonsense" and "out of all proportion," and said the owners of Lincoln Park should take a hard look at greyhounds. "This is an industry that's dead, dead, dead," he said. If the owners of Lincoln Park feel as though they add value and are bringing gamblers to the VLTs, then they can decide to support them."

Carcieri said, "This is an issue I'll be coming back to for further cuts next year."

Sources: Providence Journal: Liz Anderson, Katherine Gregg, Scott Mayerowitz
Providence NBC-TV affiliate