Legislative leaders in both parties say the issue of expanded gambling is dead for the 2010 session of the Kentucky General Assembly, but it need not be. Approval of Senate Bill 87, sponsored by Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, would let Kentucky voters decide whether to allow video slot machines at race tracks in the state.
While voter approval of such an amendment in November will do nothing to help legislators balance the first year of the two-year budget the Kentucky Constitution says they must approve this session, it could provide millions of new dollars in new revenue that would allow the 2011 General Assembly to amend the second year of the budget.
All that is necessary is for members of both parties to quit power politics and allow the people to decide whether to expand gambling at race tracks. Unfortunately, to date they have shown no inclination to do so.
Governor Steve Beshear’s proposal to balance the two-year budget with revenue from slot machines at tracks certainly is dead for this session of the General Assembly, as well it should be. The governor remains convinced that video slots can be placed at tracks without voter approval of a constitutional amendment. We disagree and will continue to oppose any attempt to bring casino-style gambling to Kentucky without a statewide referendum.
The House of Representatives approved a bill that would have allowed slots at tracks without a vote of the people during a special session last fall, but it died in the Senate without a vote. Speaker of the House Greg Stumbo, the bill’s chief sponsor, has said he will not push for House approval of a similar bill during this session because it has no chance of being approved in the Senate. Nevertheless, even after Stumbo declared the bill dead, Governor Beshear included the revenue it would produce in his proposed budget.
Also dead for this session is a bill sponsored by Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, that would have placed the issue of expanded gambling on the November ballot. Williams’ bill died earlier in the session with every Senate Democrat voting against it. While a majority of the Senate supported Williams’ bill, it failed to get enough votes to place it on the ballot.
Based upon that one vote, are we to assume that every Democrat in the Senate — including Robin Webb of the 18th District and Walter “Doc” Blevins of the 27th District — opposes giving people the right to make the final decision on expanded gambling? One would hope not. Democratic senators could erase their anti-democratic stance on expanded gambling by agreeing to place Thayer’s bill on the November ballot. While Thayer’s proposal is similar to Williams’ defeated bill, it is different enough to merit a vote by the full Senate. But to date it has yet to make it out of committee and to the Senate floor.
If Thayer’s bill does make it out of the Senate, the House should also agree to place the constitutional amendment on the ballot. Even those who think a constitutional amendment is not needed should recognize by now that no expanded gambling proposal is going to be approved without a vote of the people.
Some leaders in Kentucky’s horse racing industry insist that the state’s tracks are in such dire straits that they cannot wait until voter approval of a constitutional amendment to get revenue from slot machines. But if the alternative is no slot machines, even the horse industry surely would prefer a vote by the people.
The issue of expanded gambling has been repeatedly brought up at every recent session of the General Assembly, and it is not going away until Kentucky voters are given the right to vote on it.
The 2010 General Assembly should place the issue on the November ballot. If voters approve it, the 2011 General Assembly can pass a bill to implement the amendment and it could amend the second year of the budget to include revenue from slot machines. If, on the other hand, voters reject the amendment, the issue of expanded gambling will have been settled and legislators can look at other ways to generate new revenue.
