Idaho Supreme Court weighs veto of instant racing bill

BOISE – Idaho Supreme Court justices appeared unconvinced Tuesday by arguments that they should stay out of a dispute over a botched veto of a gambling bill. At issue is Gov. Butch Otter’s attempt to veto legislation that had overwhelmingly passed the Idaho House and Senate, aimed at repealing the Legislature’s 2013 authorization for slot machine-like “instant racing” machines. Otter delivered the vetoed bill back to the Senate in April two days after the five-day deadline set by the Idaho Constitution. The Senate officially acknowledged the veto was too late, but then conducted an unsuccessful vote to override the veto.

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Case questions Otter’s veto on instant racing bill

BOISE – Which matters more: what the state constitution says or what the Idaho Senate does? That’s the big question in legal arguments submitted to the Idaho Supreme Court in advance of an Aug. 11 hearing in the “instant racing” case, with implications for gambling in Idaho as well as the balance of power among the state’s executive, legislative and judicial branches.