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Legislative Updates Fall/Winter 2004 - FLORIDA - KANSAS - MASSACHUSETTS - WISCONSIN FLORIDA: Voters statewide Nov. 2 narrowly approved a constitutional amendment authorizing Broward and Miami-Dade counties to hold local referenda on whether to legalize slot machines at seven existing racetracks and frontons. The final outcome hung in the balance for several days, with opponents of the measure holding a slight lead until Thursday, Nov. 4, when Broward County election officials discovered a software glitch that left 78,000 absentee ballots uncounted. Opponents of the measure, who questioned what they called the "statistical anomaly" of the late-counted Broward County votes, demanded a recount, but state and local officials rejected the demand. Of the 78,000 late-counted ballots, 74,000 favored the initiative. The final count showed the amendment passing with 3,609,754 votes, or 50.7 percent, compared with 3,516,415, or 49.3 percent, opposing the measure. Two of the five members of Floridians for a Level Playing Field who funded Amendment 4 are Hollywood Greyhound Park [Broward] and Flagler Greyhound Park [Miami-Dade]. Several anti-gambling and animal protection groups have filed lawsuits seeking a recount in Broward County and challenging the validity of signatures on the petitions that placed Amendment 4 on the ballot. The Miami Herald reported Dec.
15 that pro-gambling lobbyists are trying to persuade Broward and Miami-Dade
commissioners to hold local referendums as soon as March 2005. KANSAS: After months of negotiations, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius announced Oct. 15 that an agreement had been reached with two tribes on a gaming compact that will allow the Kickapoo and Sac and Fox to operate a $210 million casino and resort complex in Wyandotte County. The compact also allows the operation of not more than 500 slot machines or video lottery terminals at each of the state's three greyhound tracks in Kansas City, Wichita and the closed Camptown track in Frontenac. Compromise language inserted into the tribal compact Nov. 9 raised the number of gaming machines each track could operate to 600. "We'll have to be satisfied with that," said Larry Seckington, an executive with Kansas Racing, which owns and operates The Woodlands in Kansas City. "It does restrict competition and gives us 600 slots. It looks like the best shot we have," he said. The proposed tribal casino complex would be built on 40 acres of an 80-acre site owned by the two tribes. Both tribes currently operate separate casinos in Brown County, north of Topeka, but the state receives no revenue from those casinos under compacts negotiated in the 1990s. The proposed casino site is near the Kansas Speedway, which is less than five miles from The Woodlands. The Kansas Legislature must approve the compact. However, under state law, the Legislative Coordinating Council (LCC), consisting of seven House and Senate leaders of both parties, has authority to act for the state when the Legislature is not in session. The LCC was scheduled to begin debate on the tribal compact Nov. 17, but council chairman Doug Mays, R-Topeka, tabled the measure. Mays said, "My main concern is with the procedure and the appearance of circumventing the legislative process" that he said would "likely undermine the public trust." The Legislature will consider the compact during the 2005 session, which begins Jan. 10. If approved by the state, the compact would then require the approval of the U.S. Department of the Interior. In other Kansas news,
a new law went into effect Jan. 1,2005 that requires tracks to keep injury
and disposition records for greyhounds retired from racing. The law covers
euthanasia, transfers to other states, adoptions and sales for medical
research. A first offense is a violation; a subsequent offense is a misdemeanor
punishable by a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. MASSACHUSETTS: In late November, Rep. David L. Flynn, D-Bridgewater, refiled his slot machine bill for the 2005 session, saying licensing slots at the state's racing venues "might be a good bet this year." The bill would authorize 1,500 slot machines each at Raynham-Taunton and Wonderland Greyhound Parks and the Plainridge and Suffolk Downs horse tracks. The bill was co-filed by Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, who wants the state to also consider allowing two destination-style casinos, one in the west and one in the southeast. "In terms of full competitiveness, it's not that much more of a stretch to look at full gaming as we have in neighboring states," Pacheco said. Raynham-Taunton dog track owner George Carney said, "We've got a better than 50 percent chance of getting the machines through, because the Commonwealth is still very short on their revenues." The state is facing a $1 billion budget shortfall. Another factor favorable to the passage of expanded gambling bills in the 2005 session is the departure of former House Speaker Thomas Finneran, a longtime gambling foe. Finneran, a member of the House of Representatives since 1978 and Speaker of the House since 1996, resigned Sept. 28. Finneran's leadership helped to defeat numerous attempts in recent years to allow racetracks to operate slot machines. New House Speaker Salvatore
F. DiMasi and Senate President Robert E. Travaglini, both of whom support
casino style gaming, have tracks in their home districts. The Legislature
convenes in January.d WISCONSIN: A majority of Kenosha County voters Nov. 2 approved a non-binding advisory referendum to allow construction of the proposed Menominee $808 million casino at Dairyland Greyhound Park. The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority of Connecticut is serving as a lender to the casino project and has a seven-year contract with the Menominee to operate the casino. Greyhound racing would continue to operate alongside the casino. Earlier this year the Menominee
submitted an application to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to hold
the 223-acre Dairyland property in tribal trust. After review, a process
that can take months or years, the BIA will make a recommenda-tion to
Gov. Jim Doyle, who will make the final decision.
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