Bill legalizing gaming fails

Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2000 | 11:39 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HONOLULU -- A state House proposal to legalize shipboard gambling in Hawaii sank quietly Monday without a floor vote or debate.

House Tourism Committee Chairman Jerry Chang, D-South Hilo, requested that the measure be recommitted to the committee that approved it last week.

"There's not enough votes to pass," Chang said following a closed Democratic caucus on the measure.

If it had passed on the second of three required readings, the bill would have gone to the Judiciary and Finance committees, where both chairmen said they opposed it.

Chang attempted to make the measure more salable last week by earmarking most of the state's revenues from shipboard gambling to education programs, but it still didn't win the votes he needed.

"I just wanted the operators and the people in the industry to come forward so we could ask them the hard questions and get some information to make an education decision on it," Chang said.

Gov. Ben Cayetano reiterated earlier Monday that he likely would veto any casino-style gambling bill that reached his desk.

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