HARRISBUFG Senate likely to debate plan on racetrack slot machines

Lawmaker support for the slots issue appears tenuous.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- The Pennsylvania Senate is expected to open debate this week on a plan to legalize slot machines at the state's racetracks.
Supporters plan to leapfrog a potentially hostile committee vote by putting the legislation on the floor as an amendment to another bill.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Robert Tomlinson, has undergone the scrutiny of three hearings before the Senate Finance Committee, but the panel's chairwoman, Sen. Jane Earll, said it was unlikely the bill would get the votes to pass the 11-member panel.
With only seven weeks left in the fiscal year, some legislators are anxious to take test votes on Gov. Ed Rendell's $3 billion plan to cut local property taxes, increase state funding for education and spur economic development.
Purpose of funds
The slots proposal, along with a proposed 34 percent increase in the state income tax, would provide the bulk of the revenue to finance the Democrat's initiatives
"We're running out of time," Sen. John Wozniak, a Cambria County Democrat, said. "We have a deficit to deal with, we have a budget to pass..."
By reconstituting Tomlinson's bill as an amendment -- aides say to expect it Tuesday -- senators say they can skip a bureaucratic process that could take days, if not weeks, longer to get a separate bill to the floor.
This way, they find out sooner whether they'll have the revenue to rely on before the next fiscal year begins July 1.
Rendell, who has yet to publicly endorse Tomlinson's bill, but has said he will support one of several pending slots bills, said he is optimistic about the proposal's prospects, citing independent polls that show a majority of Pennsylvania support the idea.
"I think the votes are there in the Senate as a whole," he said. "It's not going to be easy ... this is a case where the Senate is, in my judgment, hesitant because of a vociferous minority."
Lawmaker support for the slots issue appears tenuous.
Tomlinson -- a Bucks County Republican whose district includes the Philadelphia Park race track in Bensalem -- is trying to tweak his proposal to win support from some senators who remain on the fence.
Counting the votes
Though Tomlinson's legislation right now is a work in progress, his original bill would authorize up to 3,000 slot machines at each racetrack. He is also rewriting the plan to align with Rendell's wish that 35 percent of the takeout go to the state.
Tomlinson needs at least 26 votes, a simple majority, to approve the legislation as an amendment to another crimes-code bill in the Senate. He would need the same number of votes to pass the bill to the House for consideration.
Though both the Senate Republican leader, David "Chip" Brightbill, and its president pro tempore, Robert C. Jubelirer, oppose slot machines, a few Republicans appear to be joining many Democrats in support of Tomlinson's bill.
Republicans hold the edge over the Democrats in the Senate by a 29-21 margin.
Some senators are expected to offer their own amendments Tuesday.
For instance, Sen. Vincent Fumo, a Philadelphia Democrat, plans an amendment to cap campaign contributions from track owners and employees, his spokesman, Gary Tuma, said.
Theoretically, such a condition would prevent the few track owners from wielding great political power with their newfound riches, Tuma said.
The state has two harness tracks -- The Meadows in Washington County and Pocono Downs in northeastern Pennsylvania -- and a newly authorized facility in Chester.
There are two thoroughbred tracks -- Philadelphia Park in Bensalem and Penn National Race Course in Grantville, near Harrisburg. A license has been issued to build a third track near Erie.
There are two track licenses -- one harness-racing license and one thoroughbred-racing license -- yet to be issued by state commissions.