By John Byrne, Post-Tribune staff writer
INDIANAPOLIS -- Don Barden's wish to move one of his two casino boats from Buffington Harbor in Gary would be scuttled under proposed legislation headed for the state Senate.
An amendment passed Tuesday by the Senate's Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee prohibits a riverboat gaming license from being moved from its location as of Jan. 1.
State Sen. James Meeks, R-LaGrange, authored the amendment to a bill allowing slot machines at the state's horse racing tracks. He confirmed it would freeze Barden's Majestic Star I and II casinos in their Gary locations, as it would all other casino boats in the state in their locations.
But after speaking with Meeks, Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, said she was confident the bill would be amended yet again to allow Barden to move a boat to a new location, at least within Gary.
"It was not (Meeks') intent to impact the situation within Gary at all," Rogers said. "He wanted to make sure a boat didn't move into Clark County along the Ohio River, now that voters there have approved a gaming referendum."
Since state law stipulates two casino licenses in Gary, no new legislation is required to prevent Barden from moving one license to Clark County, Rogers said.
"We would have to explicitly amend the law to give (Barden) the authority to move one outside Gary," Rogers said.
Barden has discussed moving one casino from Buffington Harbor since he purchased his second Gary license from Donald Trump in 2005. Attempts to reach Barden on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
Meeks' language was part of an amendment that also removes one of the last vestiges of "boat" from "casino boat."
The amendment stipulates a riverboat "is not required to be self-propelled or otherwise have a functioning motor," a move that would likely shift responsibility for inspections from the U.S. Coast Guard to the state Gaming Commission.