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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Debate: ‘Why aren’t we holding the Racing Commission accountable?’

In continuing debate in the Senate on SB 1011, the bill to repeal 'instant racing' in Idaho:

Sen. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, questioned Senate President Pro-Tem Brent Hill about the fiscal note on SB 1011, the instant racing bill, asking if he was comfortable that it was accurate. Hill responded, “This bill has no direct impact on state revenues, because instant racing, contrary to what was said before, does not pay any taxes directly in to the general fund of the state. … There is a little bit that goes to schools, not through the general fund of the state. There’s half a percent that goes into the Idaho State Racing Commission, which is used to increase purses on races.” Money also goes to the breeders association, and other things associated with the horse industry. Hill said fiscal notes don’t reflect overall benefits and costs to different sectors in the economy. “That’s not the way we do fiscal notes,” he said.

Sen. Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian, said, “This has been tough for me … for a number of reasons.” He said two years ago, “I recall the pictures that I saw of video screens that looked like pictures of a horse race. I remember asking, ‘Why would people want to bet on an old race?’ That made no sense to me. But I was convinced that people wanted to bet on old races." He said, "We created legislation and required the Racing Commission to promulgate rules that kept this pari-mutuel betting within the confines of our Idaho Constitution. ... Why aren't we holding the Racing Commission accountable?" He said, "We have individuals in this state that have invested good money, based on having full faith and confidence in what we did two years ago. ... I stand here today still trying to figure out what way I'm going to go."



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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