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House Leadership Disappointed by Gambling Decision
For Immediate Release:
February 1, 2008
For more information:Sherriene Jones-Sontag, 785/296-2302
Wade Hapgood, 785/296-7662
Jenna Keelsing, 785/291-3500
House Leadership Disappointed by Gambling Decision
Topeka – Shawnee County District Judge Charles Andrews, Jr. announced his ruling allowing expanded gaming in Kansas.
“I am, of course, disappointed in the ruling. When Kansans voted for the lottery some 20 years ago, they were not voting for slot machines and Black Jack. It is clear these are two separate issues,” Speaker of the House Melvin Neufeld said. “However, I appreciate the Court made a ruling in a timely fashion before we got too far into our budget process. With this in mind, I hope the remainder of the proceedings are expedited in the same timely fashion.”
With the decision likely to be appealed, the Legislature is hopeful that a final decision will come soon.
“I don’t believe the ruling is appropriate,” said Majority Leader Ray Merrick. “With that said, I hope it will continue to move through the judicial system in a timely fashion in order to help us legislate responsibly by clarifying the available revenue streams.”
“Today’s decision will most likely be appealed to the Kansas Supreme Court and who knows how long the process will take for that court to reach a decision,” said Speaker Pro-Tem Don Dahl. “This draws attention to the fallacy of the Governor using non-existent monies from non-existent casinos to pay for mandatory expenditures in her budget.”
The 2007 Legislature passed the bill by a slim margin after exhaustive debate. Senate Bill 66 enacted the Kansas Expanded Lottery Act and authorized operation of certain state-owned gaming facilities, electronic gaming machines and other lottery games at certain locations.
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