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Lobbyists Keep Casino Gambling Bill Breathing

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 09:00 CST

By Tom Searls, The Charleston Gazette, W.Va.

Feb. 14--The casino gambling issue lives on.

There had been speculation the Democratic leadership of the House of Delegates would declare casino gambling legislation dead for this session. Instead, after meeting with gambling lobbyists on Monday, the leaders decided to prolong the debate.

"We decided to wait," House Majority Leader Rick Staton, D-Wyoming, said following the Monday evening meeting between the Democratic leaders and gambling lobbyists.

"[Lobbyists] want some time to talk about making changes," he said.

House leaders have not unleashed the bill (HB4314) in the Judiciary Committee, where it is considered a tight pass. House Speaker Bob Kiss, D-Raleigh, has said he does not want to waste time with the proposal if it does not have the votes to pass.

Staton said if the Democrats go for the bill, they want to use revenue for long-term payoffs of state debt. Some of the gambling lobbyists have proposed adding sweeteners to the bill, such as tying it to the elimination of the state's 5 percent food tax.

"Some people want to tie it to the food tax, but the state has to look at what revenue they're going to get for it," Staton said.

Staton said it would be unwise to ignore the state's unfunded liabilities, such as underfunded pension plans.

Republicans have pushed hard to remove the food tax and a majority of them oppose the expansion of gambling to casino-style at the state's four racetracks. House Minority Leader Charles Trump, R-Morgan, said he does not believe tying the legislation to eliminating the food tax will change the position of many, if any, of his 32 delegates.

Staton said the Democratic leadership decided to allow gambling lobbyists to continue to attempt changes that would attract more votes.

The bill would allow residents of the four counties which have racetracks -- Kanawha, Ohio, Hancock and Jefferson -- to vote on whether to allow table games at the tracks.

Staton said there was also some comparison to the outcome of the "Greenbrier bill" that passed several years ago and allowed county residents to allow table games in large hotels that are on the National Register of Historic Places. Voters in Greenbrier and Cabell counties rejected gambling in votes under that law, though Lewis County residents approved it. Lewis County, however, has no such hotel.

"Everybody uses the Greenbrier bill because it passed," Staton said.

To contact staff writer Tom Searls, use e-mail or call 348-5192.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Charleston Gazette, W.Va.

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Source: The Charleston Gazette

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