By RONNIE ELLIS
FRANKFORT — A constitutional amendment which would require voter approval for any expanded gambling passed favorably out of a Senate committee Wednesday and will likely come to a vote on the Senate floor Thursday.
Senate Bill 2 is sponsored by Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, the legislature’s leading opponent of expanded gambling. Before any type of expanded gambling could be authorized it would have to pass muster with voters first, if Williams’ measure were to pass – a perhaps unlikely prospect because it’s opposed by Democratic House leaders, Gov. Steve Beshear and the horse industry.
Williams said his amendment will allow “no expansion of gambling without the General Assembly first enacting a constitutional amendment which is subsequently ratified by the people of Kentucky.” The purpose, he told the Senate State and Local Government Committee, is “to let the people determine this and end the argument about what sorts of gambling are allowed” under Kentucky’s constitution.
Beshear and House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, have pushed bills which would authorize video lottery terminals at existing horse tracks, contending a constitutional amendment isn’t required. There are at least four conflicting advisory opinions by attorneys general on the question – including one by Stumbo when he was AG. Williams and the Republican Senate have been the stumbling block to passage of those bills.
Williams’ amendment is one of two. Sen. Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown, has filed an amendment which would allow VLTs in counties where tracks exist but would require a statewide referendum followed by a local vote to approve them. And they wouldn’t be restricted to the tracks but would be awarded through competitive bids. Williams told the committee Thursday his amendment would not preclude passage and approval of Thayer’s.
“I don’t think the two amendments are contradictory,” Williams said, adding they could both be passed by voters this fall if they make it to the ballot.
Williams said his amendment will not restrict the Lottery Corporation or affect the types of games it already offers. Nor will it impinge on legally licensed charitable gambling operations, Williams said. He said in other states where expanded gambling has been approved, supporters tend to come back for additional expansion of games, and his amendment would prevent that without approval of the voters.
“We believe the people should decide,” Williams said. “This will clarify the issue.”
The measure passed favorably out of Thayer’s committee on party lines, seven Republicans voting in favor and five Democrats against. A constitutional amendment requires 23 votes to pass the Senate. Republicans hold a 20-17-1 majority, with the chamber’s lone independent Bob Leeper of Paducah typically voting with Republicans.
RONNIE ELLIS writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort.
