By ROGER MOON,
Times-Mail
roger@tmnews.com
A revised version of a bill calling for slot machines at horse tracks passed the Senate Tax Committee Tuesday with a provision related to the French Lick casino.
The version that was approved calls for tracks at Anderson and Shelbyville to pay an additional 1 percent tax to help subsidize the new Orange County casino.
Elected leaders in Orange County have spoken out in opposition to the slot machine legislation, saying it will have a detrimental effect on the French Lick casino, particularly during its infancy. State Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, met with the Orange County Council earlier this month. He told the council at the time he believes casino advocates are accurate in their estimates of how much the slot machines will hurt the French Lick casino. He said at the time, "I'm going to probably have to vote against slots at the tracks."
The bill could change as it moves through the legislative process. It next moves to the full Senate for consideration. If it passes the Senate in its current form, it would have to go back to the House for consideration. The House could either approve the Senate version and send it to the governor to sign or it could end up in a joint House-Senate conference committee, where a compromise would be sought.
The measure, as House Bill 1835, advanced to the Senate after winning approval in the House. State Rep. Jerry Denbo, D-French Lick, voted for the bill, saying he had an obligation to the bill's legislative advocates who had supported the 2003 legislation authorizing a casino in Orange County.
The Orange County Council, on March 15, drafted a letter to Denbo outlining reasons its members are opposed to slot machines at the tracks.
The letter reads in part, "While hesitant to appear as 'we've got ours and you can't have any,' we nevertheless are fearful of the effect for the first three to five years on the French Lick casino and resort, as the project is just getting under way and they have not completed the entire development. The total cost could reach $450,000,000.
"According to casino figures, 25 percent of the patrons at French Lick are from the Indianapolis area. It is only 30-40 miles to the tracks from Indianapolis and 108 down here, so it stands to reason it will have a detrimental effect."
The Senate Tax Committee made significant changes to the legislation before endorsing the bill on a 9-3 vote. The Senate version would allow each race track to pay a $400 million fee for a license to install up to 1,500 slots machines, while a version that already passed the House would have required a $100 million fee for up to 2,500 machines.
The Senate version would impose a graduated slot machine tax - 25 percent on the first $100 million of adjusted slot machine receipts each year, 30 percent on the second $100 million and a 35 percent tax on revenues exceeding that amount.
Some opponents to the measure said the state should not bail out horse tracks while ignoring other struggling industries. Riverboat representatives said competition from slot machines at race tracks would hurt their business. And other opponents said they were against more gambling in the state.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.