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KY Bill Stalls in Committee

February 24, 2008

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear called on Democratic leaders in the state's house of representatives to reach agreement quickly on issues that scuttled a bill on Tuesday morning that would have asked voters to legalize casinos in the state.

Beshear, a Democrat who was elected last year on a platform that included a push for casinos, said that his party's leaders needed "to get their act together quickly" in order to forge agreement on a bill. Beshear issued the statement after the Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee failed to pass a bill on Tuesday that would have authorized language for a ballot measure this year.

"House leadership should remember that more than 80 percent of Kentucky voters want the right to express themselves on this amendment," Beshear said. The failure by the committee to approve the language was seen as a significant blow to the constitutional amendment, which was given long odds to pass in the state's Republican-controlled senate anyway. The committee is controlled by Democrats, but two competing groups in the committee offered amendments on Tuesday morning with different language. Neither passed.

One of the versions would have asked voters to approve "no more than nine casinos ... of which no more than five may be established by horse racing tracks." The other amendment would have asked voters to approve "up to five casinos by horse racing associations ... and up to four other casinos." The horse racing industry in the state supports the latter version because of its stronger protections for casinos at tracks.

Beshear had earlier pledged his support for an amendment that would have given casino licenses to all eight of Kentucky's racetracks and another four standalone sites. But even Democrats criticized the amendment for allowing too many casinos.

Some form of bill authorizing an amendment on the November ballot was expected to pass the house, which is controlled by Democrats, but even Democratic leaders said that the bill is likely dead in the water. The state's senate is controlled by Republicans, by a margin of 22-14, and any bill authorizing a constitutional amendment needs a 60 percent margin to pass.