Gambling amendment in trouble

By RONNIE ELLIS

FRANKFORT — A constitutional amendment to allow casino gambling in Kentucky suffered a serious blow – perhaps a fatal one – when a House committee could not muster enough votes to pass either of two competing versions.

The vote also displayed the deep divide among House Democratic leadership as Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark, D-Louisville, and Democratic Whip Rob Wilkey, D-Scottsville, supported one version while Rep. Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, and allies of Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, voted for the other.

And before the day was out, the House Committee on Committees removed one of the votes for the Clark-Wilkey proposal and replaced it with two Democrats loyal to Richards.

Meanwhile, Gov. Steve Beshear’s political capital may have taken another blow if his signature issue – and his preferred cure for the state’s financial ills – isn’t somehow resurrected.

Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper of the Kentucky Council of Churches said the committee’s inability to pass out an amendment probably kills it for this session. Wilkey said it’s not dead.

“It’s never over up here until we adjourn sine die,” said Wilkey afterward, referring to the final adjournment of each General Assembly session. But Stumbo said the amendment is “probably dead,” faulting the horse racing industry for seeking too much protection or favor.

That was the crux of the disagreement.

After Beshear proposed allowing up to 12 casinos, with seven set aside for racetracks, an expanded gambling committee of the House proposed reducing the number to nine, and permitting up to five at tracks – but guaranteeing none. Last week, Clark and Wilkey introduced amendments which would have guaranteed up to five for the tracks and those competing versions formed the battle Tuesday.

Clark said if no protection is provided for the tracks, better-heeled casino interests will buy up the licenses and siphon off revenue which is now going to the tracks and one reason for the legislation in the first place is to protect Kentucky’s horse industry – a $4 billion dollar industry. And he doesn’t think any amendment can pass without the support of the horse industry.

When committee chairman Darryl Owens, D-Louisville, called for a motion on the subcommittee proposal, which would not guarantee casinos at tracks, it failed 6-5 with Kevin Bratcher, R-Louisville, Joe Fischer, R-Ft. Thomas, Mike Harmon, R-Junction City, Wilkey, Clark, and Dottie Sims, D-Horse Cave voting against. Melvin Henley, D-Murray, Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville, Kathy Stein, D-Lexington, Stumbo and Owens voted for that version.

Then on Wilkey’s proposal, Fischer and Henley passed while Marzian, Sims, Stein, Stumbo and Owens voted no. That left the proposal short of passage, but then Fischer changed his vote to yes and so did Sims, giving it the necessary votes. Then a vote was taken on the amended bill – favored by Wilkey and Clark which would have guaranteed some licenses to race tracks. But it received only three votes: Wilkey, Clark and Sims.

So no bill was approved.

Late in the afternoon, the House Committee on Committees removed Sims from the committee and replaced her with two Democrats loyal to Richards - John Will Stacy, D-West Liberty, and Tim Firkins, D-Louisville. Both are members of the expanded gambling subcommittee, which proposed the amendment without guarantees for the tracks and both voted for that proposal.