CdA Tribe sues state to enforce ‘instant racing’ repeal bill

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe is asking the Idaho Supreme Court to declare Gov. Butch Otter’s attempted veto of the instant racing repeal bill invalid, and enforce the law banning the slot machine-like devices on its effective date of July 1. The lawsuit, filed directly with the Idaho Supreme Court, asks the justices to order Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney to certify SB 1011 into law, saying that’s what the Idaho Constitution requires.

“The powers defined by the Constitution are an essential part of the checks and balances of our democracy,” Deborah Ferguson, attorney for the tribe, wrote in legal arguments filed with the court. “The governor cannot enlarge his veto power under the Constitution. … The Constitution was not created for the benefit of the governor or the Legislature. Instead, it was created by our founders to protect the citizens of Idaho and their right to have duly enacted laws enforced. This basic right goes to the heart of our democracy.”

Ferguson is the same attorney who successfully represented four lesbian couples whose lawsuit overturned Idaho’s ban on same-sex marriage last year.

The instant racing repeal bill passed both houses by more than two-thirds margins, to repeal a law the Legislature had passed two years earlier to allow wagering on “historical” horse races, or replays of randomly selected past races. Lawmakers said they were duped, however, when the machines were installed at three Idaho locations – including 35 at the Greyhound Park Event Center in Post Falls, hundreds at Les Boise Park near Boise and dozens at an off-track betting bar in Idaho Falls – and they looked, sounded and acted like slot machines.

Backers of the move said the so-called “instant racing” machines, which show a few seconds of the end of a horse race on a tiny screen while reels spin, lights flash and the player either wins or loses, would save Idaho’s financially troubled horse racing industry by raising money for race purses. You can read my full story here at spokesman.com.