Casino gambling debate heating up in Rhode Island

Sunday, March 19, 2000 | 10:17 a.m.

The House Finance Committee will also hear a third casino bill Thursday, adding a referendum question on the ballot asking voters statewide and in West Warwick to weigh in on the project.

One bill before the committee would ban gambling within a mile of a school. The Narragansett Indians want to build a $250 million casino within 500 feet of the Greenbush Elementary School.

A second measure supported by casino opponents requires investors with more than a 5 percent interest in a casino to file extensive financial documents with state officials. A similar bill, sponsored by Sen. J. Clement Cicilline, D-Newport, was approved by a Senate committee last week.

"This bill does make it more difficult ... to come in and be a fly-by-night operation. We're trying to make sure that people who come into Rhode Island to do business have backgrounds that are above reproach," Cicilline said.

Cicilline sponsored a similar measure last year that passed the Senate but died in the House.

He told The Newport Daily News that he hoped the bill might at least "neutralize" proposed legislation to put a casino referendum on the ballot this year.

His bill would require the attorney general to conduct a background investigation of prospective casino owners.

Unlike other federally recognized tribes, the Narragansetts have an agreement with Rhode Island that subjects them to a state gambling law, which requires voter approval before any casino can be built.

In 1994, voters rejected proposed casinos in five different communities. Last summer, West Warwick voters approved the casino in a nonbinding referendum. Gov. Lincoln Almond opposes the project.

The tribe in January announced it will buy out its contract with Capital Gaming Development Inc. of Phoenix and replace them with Boyd Gaming Corp. of Las Vegas.

The tribe did not immediately return calls seeking comment Friday.