The leader of the Indiana Senate says he’s taking gambling issues off the table during the upcoming special session so that lawmakers can focus on putting together a new state budget.
Senate President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said Thursday the Senate will consider only one bill — the budget. Gambling issues would be a distraction in the special legislative session, he said, and should be sent instead to a study commission for review later. Long said he would relegate any gaming bills proposed in the June special session to a committee where they would die without getting a hearing.
“We should not hold the budget hostage over gambling,” Long said.
Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels agreed.
“When a special session starts it needs to be about the central question of a budget that preserves essential services and protects Hoosier taxpayers against tax increases,” Daniels said in a statement Thursday. “Gambling entities and other special interests will have to wait.”
But the budget may not be the only issue lawmakers consider in a session expected in mid-June. Daniels and many legislators have said they hope to find a solution for Indianapolis’ cash-strapped Capital Improvement Board, which runs the city’s professional stadiums and convention center.
Long said the Senate could consider a CIB fix if it’s included in the budget bill and does not rely on gambling. Daniels is expected to address the issue when he outlines his budget proposal Tuesday.
But House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said allowing the CIB to slip into the budget could open the door to other economic development efforts. And that could mean gambling.
Lawmakers representing gambling areas and lobbyists often frame the issue as key to the local economy.
“We have so many different gaming issues that are considered critical by so many different areas of the state that if you handle a Marion County issue, which is critical, I think they’d want to have others at least addressed,” Bauer said.
Gambling issues include:
_ Whether one of Gary’s two casino riverboats should be moved elsewhere in Lake County, or whether a Gary casino should be moved to Fort Wayne or elsewhere. Fort Wayne’s mayor has suggested a citywide referendum to gauge the interest in a possible casino.
_ Whether the state should give financial perks to Indiana’s two pari-mutuel horse racing tracks that have slot machines or allow them to have table games. The tracks say they are struggling because they borrowed too much money to pay $250 million in state licensing fees that allowed them to get the slots in the first place.
_ Whether the state should help the French Lick casino, which officials say has felt the pinch of competition since the horse tracks got slot machines.
_ Whether the state should help the Blue Chip casino in Michigan City, which saw a drop in business after the 2007 opening of a Michigan casino nearby.
“There’s no question all these entities have problems,” Bauer said. “It’s just when do you do it, and how do you do it?”
Long said a commission made of Republican and Democratic fiscal leaders from the House and Senate could examine the issues this summer and fall and come up with possible solutions that could be debated during next year’s regular legislative session.
“We can determine what problems are real, which are not and discuss what the policy of the state ought to be in each individual situation,” Long said. “It would be open, it would be transparent and it would be not part of this special session.”
Mike Smith, executive director of the Casino Association of Indiana, said the commission could lead to helpful legislation down the road.
“In the grand scope of things, I think that’s a very positive thing,” he said. “We want to make sure our industry has the tools it needs to remain competitive.”
House Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said a study commission is the best way to address gambling.
“Emergency measures adopted in the dark of night can no longer be allowed,” he said.
Long said he was hopeful that if legislators keep their focus on the budget, they could reach common ground before the current budget expires June 30. But lawmakers have their work cut out for them. New revenue figures released this week show the state will take in $1.1 billion less through June 2011 than previously expected.
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