Saying it was more important to get the issue before Kentuckians than wait for every detail to be worked out, a House committee approved a bill last week that would put the future of casinos in Kentucky on the November ballot.
But the bill probably won’t see the light of day this session. After the committee approved the bill, House Majority Leader Jodie Richards sent it to the constitutional amendment committee on Thursday where it will probably stay until the end of the session.
The bill was one of four considered this session, two in the House and two in the Senate that would have put the question of casino gambling at race tracks on the ballot. It was the only one that made it out of committee.
Denver Butler, D-Louisville, chairman of the House Licensing and Occupations Committee, offered an amendment to House Bill 600 March 15 that would allow for casino gaming at nine sites across state.
Whether or not off-track betting facilities would be included as possible locations and how the state should spend any new revenue had become a sticking point on the legislation.
With all the publicity the issue is generating, Butler said the issue of locations should be postponed until the voters have spoken.
Under the committee substitute approved by the committee, casinos could be established in nine locations across the state.
By eliminating the site question, Butler said the fundamental issue of allowing expanded gaming could be answered by the voters if the measure is approved by the House and Senate.
“If it’s immoral, they can vote against it,” Butler said,
Committee member state Rep. Stan Lee, R-Lexington, said the committee’s amendment fails to protect the horse industry and could only delay answering the site question.
“It’s kinda like the dog that catches the car,” Lee said.
State Rep. Paul Marcotte, R-Union, opposed the amendment and called the move “poor public policy” to leave such a vital question unanswered.
Reginald Meeks, D-Louisville, vice chairman of the committee, favored the amendment and said getting the issue moving was a sign of progress.
“(The question of casino gaming) needs to be resolved,” Meeks said. “The people deserve an opportunity to voice their opinion.”
The issue was supported by the Kentucky Equine Education project, which has used radio and television advertising to support the idea that the issue should come before the voters. The KEEP Web site states that bill “would greatly benefit the horse industry and provide much-needed revenue for our state.”
“KEEP’s position was that the people should vote on any change in the gambling laws and that the number of gambling sites should not be expanded and should be limited to the tracks where it already exists,” Ed Ashcraft, Owen County KEEP team leader, said in an e-mail. “If the people eventually are allowed to vote on the issue and approve casino gambling at the tracks, all counties will receive additional revenue.”
Rep. Royce Adams said he thought the bill was finished for this session.
“It would be a miraculous revival if it came back out of committee,” Adams, who represents Owen County, said. “Even if it did, it’s not something I could vote for.”
Adams said he’d heard from more consituents this session than when a similar bill was filed four year ago, but the consensus is still against the measure.
“And a lot of representatives don’t want to vote unless they know the Senate will pass it,” he said. “David Williams, (Senate President, R-Burkesville) has said the Senate will not pass the measure. It’s still pretty controversial and the House members are reluctant to put their name on the line if the bill isn’t going to get approved by the Senate.”
Sen. Damon Thayer said he’s heard from many constituents who don’t want the bill to make it out of the session.
“There seems to be a lot of opposition to casino gambling in my district,” Thayer, who represents Owen County in the Senate, said. “It seems to be good news to the people in the rural areas of my district that it’s not going to come up for a vote.”
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The House has approved a bill that would legally protect a woman’s right to breast feed in public.
The Senate has already approved the measure.
The bill would prevent local governments from establishing laws against public breast-feeding.
A proposed floor amendment that would relieve nursing mothers from jury duty was not heard because Speaker of the House Jody Richards ruled the issue not germane to the original intent of the bill.
SB 106 was approved on a vote of 89-1 and now moves on to Gov. Ernie Fletcher for consideration.
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Doggie bags for bottles of wine may become a common sight at upscale restaurants in Kentucky with the passage of a bill Thursday.
SB 56 would allow the “recorking” of unfinished bottles of wine purchased at restaurants to be transported in a vehicle as long as the container was inaccessible to the driver.
One of the bill’s sponsors, Butler, said the bill could cut down on drunken driving because restaurant patrons wouldn’t feel pressured to empty an expensive bottle of wine.
The bill, which was approved by the Senate on a 31-2 vote, now moves on to Gov. Ernie Fletcher for consideration. The bill passed the House on a 60-36 vote.
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Rural electric cooperatives could expand operations under a bill passed Thursday by the House.
One of the bill’s sponsors, Rob Wilkey, D-Simpson, said the cooperatives are “uniquely positioned” to provide high-speed Internet service to rural areas of Kentucky.
Wilkey said the bill provides several firewalls to separate the main goal of the cooperatives from any other business they may wish to enter.
Because of its status as a nonprofit entity, cooperatives would have to separate their other businesses from their electrical operations under the bill. The new ventures would not enjoy tax-exempt status.
Under HB 568, any other business interest could not make up more than 15 percent of the cooperative’s overall revenue.
The measure now moves on to the Senate for consideration.
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A controversial bill that would restrict public access to lawmakers’ e-mail and phone records will not move forward this session,
Rep. Rob Wilkey, D-Scottsville, sponsored the measure but has said he wouldn’t pursue the issue.
The proposal had drawn criticism from media across the state and was opposed by the Kentucky Press Association.
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The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a bill amendment that would give law enforcement, and perhaps the public, greater access to juvenile crime records.
The bill, which has already been approved by the House, is designed to help track sex offenders.
The measure would require county court clerks to create a record of juveniles charged in violent crime or a crime involving a weapon that could be open to law enforcement.
The new record would include the charges and any court proceedings and would be open to the public.
The details of the charges would only be open to law enforcement officers.
The main body of HB 3 would require that sex offenders register with the state and have a new photograph taken every two years. The measure would also prohibit convicted sex offenders from living near schools or child-care centers.

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