Petro rejects 3 ballot proposals

The three groups can rework the proposals.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The attorney general told three groups pursuing the legalization of slot machines at racetracks Wednesday that their proposals can't go on the ballot because the language they contain doesn't meet state requirements.
Summaries of the proposals don't mention that the slot parlors could stay open 24 hours a day, or the lack of local government control over their operation, Attorney General Jim Petro wrote in letters to each of the groups.
The groups can rework their summaries and submit them to Petro. The deadline for collecting the 322,899 valid signatures of registered voters to qualify for the Nov. 7 ballot is Aug. 9.
Petro must approve ballot language as "fair and truthful" before a group can collect the signatures needed for a measure to qualify for the ballot. None of the issue summaries submitted by the gambling proponents would inform petition signers that local governments where the tracks are located would have no control over their hours of operation.
What's in proposals
"This provision overrides the home rule and other regulatory authority of local officials to control the operations of businesses located within their jurisdictions," Petro wrote.
Two of the proposals also would permit slots at two free-standing parlors in Cleveland and at one in Cincinnati. The third proposal would allow slots only at Ohio's seven tracks. Some of the money wagered would go toward college scholarships.
Two of the three groups said they would submit new proposals.
"I think it can be addressed in a timely fashion," said David Hopcraft, spokesman for Learn and Earn, which wants slots at tracks and at parlors in Cleveland and Cincinnati.
Learn and Earn's proposal, like one submitted by the Greater Cleveland Partnership, also would allow voters where slots would be permitted to approve other casino games after four years.
The proposal from Wyomissing, Pa.-based Penn National Gaming Inc. would limit slots to tracks and has no provision for an expansion of gambling. Penn National owns Raceway Park in Toledo and the Argosy casino in Lawrenceburg, Ind., a 30-minute drive from Cincinnati.
"We certainly plan to refile and will move very swiftly," Penn National spokesman Eric Schippers said.
A message seeking comment was left with Greater Cleveland Partnership spokeswoman Amanda Marko.
Votes twice in the 1990s soundly rejected proposals that would have allowed casinos to open at various locations. Gov. Bob Taft, U.S. Sens. Mike DeWine and George Voinovich and the three major candidates for governor this year, including Petro, oppose any expansion of gambling in Ohio.
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