Casino shift weighs on Northwest Indiana mass transit bill

By Patrick Guinane, Times of Northwest Indiana
patrick.guinane@nwi.com

INDIANAPOLIS | Region legislators attracted another high-profile naysayer Monday as they resumed late-breaking talks to replace one of Gary's two lakefront riverboats with a land-based casino near Interstate 80/94.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said he agrees with Democratic House Speaker Pat Bauer, who on Friday said bringing up the casino shift with less than a week left in the legislative session was like lobbing a "bomb."

Now key leaders from both parties are doubting the measure has time to meet approval before the scheduled Wednesday adjournment of the legislative session.

"I think the speaker is right. I think the overall impact on the gambling industry is so large that it's just extremely unlikely this could be accomplished in a few days," Kenley said Monday. "Part of it is the impact on the rest of the (Indiana gaming) marketplace and the loss of state dollars that's created by this particular proposal."

Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, said the casino reshuffling must be addressed.

"We cannot afford to wait another year," Brown said. "There's got to be some ray of hope for Gary, Indiana."

Meanwhile, Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, proposed myriad changes Monday to the regional transit legislation that has become intertwined with the 11th-hour casino push.

The amendment Soliday offered, which was not yet adopted, would allow any two municipalities in Porter County to pass resolutions forcing Porter County to continue paying $3.5 million in annual dues to the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority.

Soliday said he believes current law prevents a member from leaving the RDA, as the Porter County Council recently voted to do. He said his proposal is meant to complement another portion of House Bill 1607, which would set a procedure through which RDA members could exit the organization every 10 years beginning in 2015.

The legislation calls for the creation of a local income tax-backed regional transit authority to oversee South Shore commuter rail improvements in Lake, Porter, LaPorte and St. Joseph counties and create a regional bus system for Lake and Porter counties.

Soliday suggested creating a bus service board staffed by the mayors of every Lake and Porter County community with a population of more than 25,000 and one county councilman from each county. The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District board would oversee rail endeavors.

Soliday also proposed an overarching transit authority board that would be composed of three bus board members, four NICTD board members and a nonvoting chairman appointed by the governor.