House Majority Caucus Chairman John Vander Woude, R-Nampa, said, “We’ve heard we need to save the horse racing industry. My question to all of you ladies and gentlemen here, is how many other industries do we want to help survive by allowing them to go into the gaming industry?” He noted that he used to run a 300-cow dairy. “You can’t run a dairy any more with 300 cows,” he said, and quipped about how the state could help out small dairies with a milking-related gaming setup. “This is gaming, this is gambling, and we made a mistake by allowing it to expand in Idaho,” Vander Woude said, “and I think it’s time we repeal it.”

Rep. Christy Perry, R-Nampa, responding to a question from another lawmaker, said there could be administrative solutions to limit or regulate the machines. “They’ve invested millions. People’s jobs are on the line,” she said. She called the repeal bill “a nuclear option.”

Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, said, “The fact of the matter is this is a legislative program that we put into place and we can repeal. … If we have a nuclear option, it’s because the bomb was planted in the original hearing through the misrepresentation of what these terminals were all about.”

Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d’Alene, said he spoke with a “heavy heart.” He said, “I want to protect the horse racing industry. I don’t want to harm the horse racing industry. … However what we have wrought is not horse racing.”  He said, “We do have to take responsibility. A mistake was made, and we need to fix it.”