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After a myriad of amendments and several hours of debate, the Kansas Senate passed over a bill intended to revive state racetracks and a destination casino in southeast Kansas.
Senators debated for five hours, offered up numerous amendments, but ultimately moved on to debate a transportation bill.
Debate was not concluded prior to press time.
One measure the Senate did approve early on was the implementation of a smoking ban on casino floors. That measure would override the original statewide smoking ban passed earlier in the session that excluded casino floors from banning smoking.
There were efforts to extend the ban to be implemented in 2015, but that measure failed. A late amendment proposed to push that ban to 2014 passed by a vote of 20-19.
An amendment to allow for a revote to allow for slot machines at the Wichita Greyhound Park ultimately failed after State Sen. Les Donovan, R-Wichita accused Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, with “meddling” in the affairs of Sedgwick County.
“The people spoke and the people voted,” Donovan said. “I really take great exception to someone from Shawnee County telling the people of Sedgwick County how to run their business.”
Under the initial proposed bill, the investment for a destination casino in southeast Kansas (Crawford and Cherokee counties) would be lowered from $250 million to $100 million and the fee required by potential casino managers to apply would also be lowered from $25 million to $11 million.
“This would promote a lower threshold to allow that to become a possibility,” said State Sen. Pete Brungardt, chairman of the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee, the committee that passed the measure out to the Senate floor prior to the spring break.
The bill also would establish the Agricultural Opportunity Act, putting money back to areas where race horses and dogs are bred and removes the bidding requirement on placing electronic gaming machines are horse and dog racetracks. It allots 2,800 total machines with a maximum of 1,200 at one track.
More importantly, the augmentation also changes the distribution percentage of slot revenue. The new bill would allow for tracks to keep up to 58 percent with expenses included and the state could collect a minimum of 22 percent, plus 3 percent to local government and 2 percent to gambling treatment programs.
Track owners have said that the current provision of Senate Bill 66 does not make opening their tracks profitable with slot machines.
Another amendment that passed was making any privilege fee nonrefundable.
After a myriad of amendments and several hours of debate, the Kansas Senate passed over a bill intended to revive state racetracks and a destination casino in southeast Kansas.
Senators debated for five hours, offered up numerous amendments, but ultimately moved on to debate a transportation bill.
Debate was not concluded prior to press time.
One measure the Senate did approve early on was the implementation of a smoking ban on casino floors. That measure would override the original statewide smoking ban passed earlier in the session that excluded casino floors from banning smoking.
There were efforts to extend the ban to be implemented in 2015, but that measure failed. A late amendment proposed to push that ban to 2014 passed by a vote of 20-19.
An amendment to allow for a revote to allow for slot machines at the Wichita Greyhound Park ultimately failed after State Sen. Les Donovan, R-Wichita accused Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, with “meddling” in the affairs of Sedgwick County.
“The people spoke and the people voted,” Donovan said. “I really take great exception to someone from Shawnee County telling the people of Sedgwick County how to run their business.”
Under the initial proposed bill, the investment for a destination casino in southeast Kansas (Crawford and Cherokee counties) would be lowered from $250 million to $100 million and the fee required by potential casino managers to apply would also be lowered from $25 million to $11 million.
“This would promote a lower threshold to allow that to become a possibility,” said State Sen. Pete Brungardt, chairman of the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee, the committee that passed the measure out to the Senate floor prior to the spring break.
The bill also would establish the Agricultural Opportunity Act, putting money back to areas where race horses and dogs are bred and removes the bidding requirement on placing electronic gaming machines are horse and dog racetracks. It allots 2,800 total machines with a maximum of 1,200 at one track.
More importantly, the augmentation also changes the distribution percentage of slot revenue. The new bill would allow for tracks to keep up to 58 percent with expenses included and the state could collect a minimum of 22 percent, plus 3 percent to local government and 2 percent to gambling treatment programs.
Track owners have said that the current provision of Senate Bill 66 does not make opening their tracks profitable with slot machines.
Another amendment that passed was making any privilege fee nonrefundable.
Senators also approved a measure to push back the date in which The Woodlands racetrack could take advantage of the new slot revenue percentages.
State Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, proposed allowing The Woodlands to move forward with installing slot machines, but keeping the original percentage of revenue paid to the state until Jan. 1, 2013. It means that The Woodlands, if moved forward, would have to pay 40 percent of revenues from slot machines to the state until 2013.
The purpose for the amendment was meant to quell criticism from developers of a destination casino at the Kansas Speedway who argued that changing the percentages in favor of the racetracks was “unfair” and changed the rules in the middle of the game.
The bill is supported by both Eureka Downs and Anthony Downs, both horse tracks that have stated they will not open until the augmentation is passed.
Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140
