Representatives wrangle over landmark bill to legalize slots

The state would be the 18th to legalize slots.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- The state House of Representatives was poised Saturday night to approve the legalization of slot machines in Pennsylvania and a plan to funnel $1 billion a year of the new gambling tax revenue to homeowners across the state in the form of lower property taxes.
The House debate on slots, which started around 5 p.m., was still going strong at 9 p.m. after the defeat of a series of amendments and parliamentary maneuvers by Republican conservatives opposed to the plan. Twenty-five House members were still waiting to speak on the bill, officials said.
Opponents complained that the bill was crafted in secret by a small group of party leaders and lacks adequate safeguards against corruption and conflicts of interest in the state panel that would oversee the 14 slots parlors that the bill would allow.
"This really scares me, and it ought to scare you," said Rep. Kerry A. Benninghoff, R-Centre.
House Minority Leader H. William DeWeese accused the bill's critics of "demagoguing" in an attempt to kill the measure.
"We are at the threshold of a historic moment," said DeWeese, D-Greene.
Steve Miskin, a spokesman for the House Republican majority, predicted a vigorous debate but acknowledged that proponents "more than likely" would have enough votes for passage.
The Senate approved the slots bill Friday and the tax bill Saturday. Together, the measures would authorize as many as 61,000 slot machines -- more than any other state except Nevada -- and most of the resulting tax revenue would be used to reduce local property taxes by an average 20 percent.
A proposed gambling commission would issue slots licenses to racetracks, resorts and other sites for fees ranging up to $50 million apiece.
The bill would make Pennsylvania the 18th state to legalize slot-machine gambling, not counting casinos run by Indian tribes, according to the American Gaming Association.
Use of revenues
Rendell re-energized two decades of efforts to expand gambling in the state when he proposed during his 2002 election campaign to legalize slots to help raise money for property-tax relief.
Of the roughly $3 billion a year slots are expected to generate, the licensees would keep 48 percent, the state would get 34 percent and the rest would be divided among the equine industry, public construction projects, and counties and municipalities in which slots parlors are located.
Proponents said the bill would enable the state to recapture much of the money Pennsylvanians currently pour into slot machines in neighboring states and help revive the state's horse racing industry. Critics predict that it will spawn addiction, crime and other problems.
The property-tax reduction would not be immediate. Officials say the initial relief would be deferred until at least 2006 to allow time for the slots parlors to obtain licenses and gear up.
Ultimately, the legislation is expected to generate $1 billion a year for reducing property taxes in all but one of the state's 501 school districts. In Philadelphia, there would be reductions in the city's wage tax.
Districts will be awarded a share of the money based on a formula that looks at its wealth, student enrollment and other factors. Each district's share will be evenly divided among homeowners who apply for "homestead exclusions" that would be used to reduce their tax bills.
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