Friday, April 16, 2004 | 9:05 a.m.
DES MOINES, Iowa -- The House agreed Thursday to allow the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to expand casino gambling in the state, setting no limits on the number of licenses that could be approved.
The House voted 56-41 to approve the language added by the Senate. The bill now returns to the Senate for consideration of other minor changes.
The initial version of the bill approved earlier by the House had retained a 1998 moratorium on new casinos.
Rep. Danny Carroll, R-Grinnell, led the effort to impose a permanent moratorium, calling the vote a defining moment for the state.
"Let's draw the line now. Let's say no that's not the Iowa that we envision," Carroll said. "Let's maintain that image of who we are, the heartland, small towns, good schools, hardworking disciplined people with respect for this generation and the one coming."
Gambling opponents said gambling hurts families and businesses and takes money from only the most vulnerable.
Rep. Betty DeBoef, R-What Cheer, talked of the evils of gambling and predicted increased divorces, bankruptcy, child abuse and suicide in counties that build casinos.
"Gambling preys on the desperation of the poor," she said.
Rep. Delores Mertz, D-Ottosen, responded that gambling is not evil.
"If gambling is a sin, I'm going to go straight down under," she said.
Lawmakers representing the six counties that have approved gambling referendums said their constituents have spoken and those communities should be allowed to pursue casinos.
"If they are willing to make that investment, how dare we say in this chamber that they shall not have the opportunity to make that investment," said Rep. Marcella Frevert, D-Emmetsburg, who represents Palo Alto County, one of the counties that have approved a referendum.
Rep. Deborah Berry, D-Waterloo, said those philosophically opposed to gaming should put aside their personal beliefs.
"Think about what the people want and what is best for those particular counties that played by the rules, followed the rules, did the right thing and passed referendums to have gambling," she said.
The bill, which passed 39-8 in the Senate, establishes a new tax structure for casinos and implements new fees.
It requires the state's riverboats and Dubuque Greyhound Park and Casino to pay a tax rate of 22 percent. Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Altoona and Bluffs Run Casino in Council Bluffs would pay 24 percent unless they choose not to add table games.
The bill is the result of 14 weeks of wrangling over gambling.
Lawmakers were forced to take up the issue after the Iowa Supreme Court struck down the state's two-tiered tax on casinos as unconstitutional.
The state was left owing about $128 million in overpaid taxes and faced losing another $40 million in expected revenue over the next couple of years. The state is appealing the ruling.
Under the bill, the racetracks will continue to hold about $11 million of the back taxes in escrow, allowing the state to continue its appeal based on that amount.
To make up for some of the lost revenue next year, the racetracks would pay a total of $22.6 million toward the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund. The riverboats would pay a total of $30 million over two years, which would eventually be refunded through tax credits.
Millions more would be handed over to the state in fees charged to racetracks that implement table games such as poker and roulette.
The Senate must consider two amendments added in the House. One prohibits a riverboat casino from being built on the riverfront in downtown Des Moines. The other requires horses purses to be considered together and equally by the commission.
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