House Slams Door On Gaming Bills

Proposed laws that threatened to crimp Indian gaming were declared dead on arrival in the House on Thursday.

House State Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Crane said he plans to schedule a hearing Monday, calling for a study of gambling issues. But two proposed laws passed by the Senate this week won’t get hearings.

House Speaker Mike Simpson said those two measures - vehemently opposed by Idaho tribes - wouldn’t really do anything, anyway.

“I’m one of those guys that has the silly notion that when we’re going to pass something, it should be for a purpose,” Simpson said. “These just didn’t cut it.”

In addition to Simpson’s concerns, Crane said his committee doesn’t have enough time to hold hearings on the controversial bills.

Bill Roden, lobbyist for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, said, “We’re pleased.”

“We think that they’re sincerely looking at the issue, and we’re really pleased with that.”

The two failed measures were:

SJM101, a non-binding memorial stating that tribes’ gambling machines “appear” to be illegal and calling on federal authorities to crack down.

SB1276, a bill listing the games the Idaho Lottery may offer.

“We don’t think they’re necessary, in all honesty,” Simpson said. “We don’t think they do anything to strengthen the state’s position.”

Simpson said the House reached that decision after discussions between the governor’s office, Crane, R-Caldwell, and legislative leaders.

“The governor asked a good question in his State of the State address: Where are we going with this thing?” Simpson said.

Roden applauded the Senate’s decision Wednesday to reject a proposed “statement of legislative intent” that arrived with the bill. The statement went far beyond the language in one bill, declaring video gambling machines to be illegal.

Idaho tribes, including the Coeur d’Alenes, operate those machines in reservation casinos. Federal law allows them to operate any type of gambling that’s legal elsewhere in the state. Idaho’s lottery law has been cited by tribes as one of their arguments that their machines are legal.

“The Senate saw through a sort of thinly disguised attempt to make something illegal which we believe to be legal,” Roden said.

The resolution calling for a study - SCR120 - is not without controversy.

“There’s language in the concurrent resolution that we don’t like,” Roden said. “All of a sudden it starts referring to machines … We would prefer to see that altered.”

But as long as it’s understood that the resolution really means to encourage a study, and not to prejudge that study’s results, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe may be able to go along with it, Roden said.

The resolution encourages Gov. Phil Batt to appoint a committee to study gambling issues. Batt has already said he plans to appoint such a committee, with representatives from both the tribes and the state.

Batt wasn’t ready to comment on the new developments Thursday afternoon. They come after extensive legislative hearings, during which tribes said their gambling operations are lifting their members out of poverty.

Batt’s spokesman, Frank Lockwood, said, “The governor wants to see all Idahoans prosper and reach their full potential. He’d prefer to see the tribes find a different route to prosperity than gambling, but he is concerned about their economic well-being.”

, DataTimes