The legislative efforts to expand gambling are now coming from some Republicans. Phone calls are the best tool to stop them.
HB 175 is posted for passage in the Kentucky House.
Stan Cave, attorney for The Family Foundation, who testified against HB175 (as filed) before the House Licensing and Occupations Committee on Feb. 13, outlined some of the key problems with the bill. He testified that, because of limited time, he was unable to address all the problems with the bill, but listed several issues that were sobering to the committee.
Among them were:
1) HB175 is not constitutional. The Kentucky Constitution does not allow the kind of gambling described in HB175 – only pari-mutuel betting on horse races, a state lottery, and charitable gaming – so a Constitutional Amendment would be needed, not just this simple statute;
2) It includes far more than the “Sports Wagering” as the bill was stated to authorize. Literally in the bill, it authorizes betting on the “Emmys” and “Oscars.”
3) The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which is given significant oversight of this new expansion of gambling, does not have to follow the Executive Branch Ethics Law. That fact has caused all kinds of problems in the eight and a half year court case that The Family Foundation has been in regarding the proliferation of slot-like, “historical racing” machines into six casinos across the state.
According to Cave, “They’re trying to slip daylight past the rooster.”
Call weekly to stop the expansion. Calls need to keep coming!
Call the toll-free Legislative Message Line at 1-800-372-7181 and leave this message for “all the legislators from my county” (State Senators and Representatives) and “copy this message to Speaker Osborne and Senate President Stivers.” “Please vote against any gambling bill!” And, “Hold a hearing on the new ‘Historic Racing’ casinos.”
