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NH House Wants Gov’s Gaming Commission To Draw Up More Stringent Rules For Gambling

Posted on May 28th, 2010

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New Hampshire budget negotiators in the House informed the Senate Wednesday there are not enough votes in the House to pass a Senate proposal to legalize slot machines to help balance the budget that has a $295 million deficit. House Finance Committee Chairwoman Marjorie Smith, D-Durham said the House has, on several occasions, rejected the idea to expand gambling and there is no more chance for it now to be included in the budget bill.

The House decision has messed things up in the Legislature as both chambers struggle to reach settlement of a dispute over the plan to solve, at least to some extent, the budget problem before the June 3 deadline.

Senate President Sylvia Larsen told the House that lawmakers have reached a situation where a compromise is necessary. Larsen said the Senate is not willing to abandon its proposal to expand gambling to bring in needed revenue to New Hampshire. Smith said the House would not change its attitude, either.

It appears the Senate video slots measure has no hope of making it this year, because even if it gained support in the House, Gov. John Lynch has said he would veto it. In an attempt to persuade the Senate to give in and as a conciliatory gesture, the House suggested to give the governor’s specially chosen Gaming Commission six months to set up an enhanced regulatory framework for existing gambling and expanded gambling should it be legalized in the future.

Smith pointed out that the Gaming Commission, after studying relevant facts, had recommended that the Legislature should revise the state’s gambling rules no matter what the fate of gambling expansion might be in the state. “It is a third way,” Smith said. “It is an attempt to try to get to yes or an attempt to try to get to place the building blocks if, in its wisdom, the next Legislature is ready to say yes.” The Senate gambling bill, sponsored by Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, D-Manchester, would allow up to 10,000 slot machines to be allocated to four unspecified sites whose licenses would be awarded through a competitive bidding process.

Gov. Lynch has been outspoken about his objections to expand gambling in New Hampshire saying that his main concern is about how effective the enforcement of regulation would be in successfully controlling the proliferation of gambling in the state. Se. Kathleen Sgambati, D-Tilton, said the legalization of slots would bring in $80 million from license fees this year and annual revenues of up to $120 million for the state.

The Senator, a retired deputy commission of the Department of Health and Human Services, said the revenues would prevent the spending cuts on services for the state’s needy residents from being carried out.

D’Allesandro, who was very annoyed at the House’s ploy which he said was pointless, said the state should not be spending again for another study. He said there is already a proposal that the House can vote up or down or bring before the voters. He challenged House leaders to present the issue of expanded gambling on a statewide primary ballot in September.

After letting off steam, D’Allesandro said he was through discussing the budget, and enjoined his colleagues to call a recess so they can all go home and sleep. A gambling proponent, Sen. John Gallus, R-Berlin, said his first gambling measure for a casino in Berlin eleven years ago got a similar treatment from gambling opponents in the House.

Outside the gambling issue, the two chambers have agreed on other matters, although some are still open to consideration. They agreed to abolish the extension of a tax on investment interest and dividends, to raise taxes on some tobacco products, and to abort a proposal to allow towns and cities to impose a local tax on hotel rooms and meals above the state’s 9 percent rate.