Proposed Gambling Expansion is a Travesty
By Rep. Garth Everett (R-Lycoming)
The General Assembly, and in particular, the House of Representatives, spent the last few weeks dealing with the issue of what has been termed “table games.” For those of you who have not been closely following this issue, “table games” is the addition of games like poker, blackjack, roulette and other forms of gambling to Pennsylvania’s existing and future slot machine parlors. I voted against the particular bill that would authorize “table games” in Pennsylvania and will briefly explain why.
First, I have a fundamental problem with state governments using gambling as a method to raise revenue to support state spending. Aside from the basic moral problems with gambling, there is indisputable proof that it harms individuals and families, especially those who can least afford it. While gambling addiction impacts all income levels and societal groups, those who “over gamble” tend to come from lower income levels. The societal costs of dealing with the resulting broken families are an issue that is quickly swept under the carpet by the big corporate gaming interests. In short, government should not be encouraging yet another activity which is documented to cause damage to a significant segment of society.
The next problem with the “table games” bill is that it will provide no reduction in property taxes for Pennsylvania homeowners. Back in 2004 when Pennsylvanians were “sold” the idea of gambling in the form of slot machines, we were told that the proceeds from gaming would be used to reduce property taxes. I think the evidence is clear that this has not turned out to be true – we have seen no meaningful reduction in property taxes.
This time around, the proponents of “table games” make no illusions about property tax reduction - the vast majority of the proceeds from “table games” are going directly into the General Fund with the remainder of the state’s “take” going into “special appropriations” for areas of the state that have casinos and legislators who support gaming. Please understand this - no matter how you hear this “spun” - the revenues from “table games” will be used for the General Fund, not for property tax relief.
To make matters worse, not only will none of the revenues from “table games” be used to reduce property taxes, the implementation of “table games” will reduce the number of people who gamble on slot machines and further reduce the revenue from slots available to be applied to property tax reduction. In short, the implementation of “table games” takes us further away from, rather than closer to, reducing property taxes on the working families of Pennsylvania.
My final concerns are how this bill and its House passage came about. After weeks of delaying debate on this issue, the prime sponsor of the House “table games” bill filed a 133- page amendment to Senate Bill (SB 711), a bill which dealt with reforming and cleaning up how gambling is conducted in Pennsylvania - an issue that needs to be addressed. This 133-page amendment was developed behind closed doors by representatives of the gambling industry and state legislators who have casinos in their districts. Without going into excruciating detail on the rules of parliamentary procedure in the House, I will simply say this amendment was filed at the last minute one day, and then pushed through the House in two days in a manner that is very different from the way legislation is intended to proceed. I will stop short of calling it illegal, but will say that it was clearly done in a manner to limit debate, eliminate many good amendments offered by members from both sides of the aisle, and jam a bad bill through the Legislature right before heading home for a recess - does that sound familiar?
This has all of the hallmarks of becoming yet another travesty for the citizens of Pennsylvania. We already have a gambling industry being investigated by a statewide grand jury and the potential of a court challenge on both the manner in which this current legislation was enacted and its appropriation of funds to specific projects (read that as WAMs). In short, this is bad legislation that is being foisted off on the taxpayers of Pennsylvania as property tax reduction when in fact it is just a new revenue source for the Governor’s General Fund and a great deal for the casino owners and the legislators who support them.
Rep. Garth D. Everett
84th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
(570) 546-2084
(717) 787-5270
Contact: Raymond Smith
rsmith@pahousegop.com
(717) 7051834