Slots pass KY House; Williams making Senate vote dubious
 

Slots bill passes Ky. House, but Senate may kill it
By Matt Hegarty

The Kentucky House of Representatives on Friday narrowly approved a bill that would legalize slot machines at the state's racetracks, but the leader of the Senate has said that he will not allow the legislation to get a hearing or vote on the Senate floor.

The House voted 52 to 45 to approve the bill, which needed 51 votes to pass. Supporters of the bill have spent the past several days lobbying undecided representatives, and the sponsor of the bill, House speaker Greg Stumbo, a Democrat, attached earmarks that would dedicate a portion of the state's proceeds from slot machines to the construction of schools in order to induce support.

The House vote, though, may be largely symbolic, because Sen. David Williams, the president of the Senate, said on Thursday that the Senate will not take up the legislation because it lacks the votes to pass. On Friday, Williams introduced a separate measure to the Senate's budget committee that would tax lottery ticket sales and direct the revenues to subsidies for purses at Kentucky tracks.

The Kentucky legislature is currently in a special session called by Gov. Steve Beshear to address an estimated $1 billion shortfall in the budget for the fiscal year starting July 1. Though Democrats have said that the special session may stretch into next week, Williams said on Thursday that he wanted the Senate to adjourn at the close of business Friday.

this Williams dude needs to be put down...

Now is the time when Williams' bluff is called.

Kentucky residents can call their state senator IMMEDIATELY and let their office know that you want HOUSE BILL 2 sent forward to the Senate for a vote...

Sen. Charlie Borders (R): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 676
Sen. Bob Leeper (I): (vice chair)(502) 564-8100 Ext. 712
Sen. David E. Boswell (D): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 662
Sen. Tom Buford (R): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 610
Sen. Denise Harper Angel (D): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 633
Sen. Ernie Harris (R): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 605
Sen. Dan Kelly (R): (502) 564-2450
Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr (R): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 625
Sen. Vernie McGaha (R): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 656
Sen. R.J. Palmer (D): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 714
Sen. Joey Pendleton (D): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 622
Sen. Tim Shaughnessy (D): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 621
Sen. Brandon Smith (R): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 661
Sen. Robert Stivers (R): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 623
Sen. Gary Tapp (R): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 648
Sen. Elizabeth Tori (R): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 645
Sen. Jack Westwood (R): (502) 564-8100 Ext. 615

http://www.courier-journal.com/artic...NTPAGECAROUSEL

This is good news. It's almost becoming predictable.

http://www.courier-journal.com/artic...pecial+session

:rolleyes:

The Senate subcommittee will hear the bill tomorrow.

Anybody hear anything from the A & R Committee yet? Are they hearing testimony right now? (I couldn't get to Frankfort today)

Out of all the State Senators I e-mailed, the only response I got was from Denise Harper Angel (D), who wrote:

"I will vote in favor of HB 2 in the Appropriations & Revenue Committee meeting and I hope that I have the opportunity to vote on this important legislation on the Senate Floor. Thank you for contacting me. Denise Senator Harper Angel"

Edit: Paulick live-blogging it here: http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/li...slots-hearing/

David Edmunds from the Family Foundation is running his co.cksucker as we speak. He has a personal relationship with Jesus.

From their cultish website...

A religious nutter vs. People who work for a living. The industry is f.ucked.

From Paulick Report:

Yes, let's totally kill purses here by increasing takeout on those out-of-staters that bet on KY tracks.


What a great guy this Edmunds is. Insults Nicholson (always best to start with a personal attack). Disputes what the Attorney General said regarding Constitutionality (just ignore the real facts if you don't like what they say, and make something up out of thin air). Compare the subject under discussion to something that has no similarity whatsoever, but sounds really scary.

And this is the side that will be listened to. Holy crap.

This is hilarious. If they don't allow this bill on the Senate floor it will be a travesty...and they probably won't.

We need to declare war on southern and eastern Kentucky. We need more guns and ammo though.

No prob, the south side is loaded with them up here. Will bring down next week :)

Have guns and ammo. The east will be tough, they have the hills to retreat into. And all the coal money wants to come down to the plateau anyway.

We can take southern Kentucky :tro: - isn't that where Williams is from?

Williams is from Metcalfe County...Southern Kentucky.

Now a guy speaking on the behalf of "charitable gaming" is sharing his thoughts.

Charitable gaming is a politically correct term for CHURCH BINGO.

Separation of church and state. Please. FFS. Get those f.ucktards out of there.

Paulick liveblog:

;)

Voting now, here it comes ...

This is making me crave a cig and I haven't smoked in 8 years.

I am moving into Kerr's district just to make sure this moron - from LEXINGTON - doesn't ever get re-elected.

What a bunch of pansies.

If all the democrats vote yes then they need 1 more republican...

Edit: Two more republican votes needed if the Independent and all dems vote yes.

A&R Committee - According to Paulick, the final vote count:

Charlie Borders - R, Chairman - NO
Robert (Bob) Leeper - I, Vice Chairman - NO
David Boswell - D - YES
Tom Buford - R - YES
Denise Harper Angel - D - YES (Churchill District, father retired trainer)
Ernie Harris - R - NO
Dan Kelly - R - NO
Alice Forgy Kerr - R - NO (Lexington)
Vernie McGaha - R - NO
RJ Palmer - D - Abstain
Joey Pendleton - D - YES
Tim Shaughnessy - D - YES
Brandon Smith - R - NO
Robert Stivers - R - NO
Gary Tapp - R - NO
Elizabeth Tori - R - NO
Jack Westwood - R (Westwood is traveling out of the country and will not be present to vote) - Absent

Can't take it anymore
 

I have been biting my tongue on this one.
Republicans and religious right, lots of luck.
Makes me glad to be a Democrat....
I will take the nuts from the far left any day over the religious right.

Sorry to offend but this is typical religious right ****

So they need 9 votes? S.hit.

It's done.

Unbelievable :mad:

:mad: :mad:

It's going to get real ugly now.

Too bad...I guess that will effectively end TP and Ellis in the near future.

sickening but no shocker... I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad that the pandering politicians in this state can make life decisions for me. What a joke.

Here's the P.O.S. that killed Kentucky racing.

Caligula? ;)

Thnx for the play by play Coach and others...sickening

I think this is more typical of self serving politicians who care nothing of what is best for their state. New York, Kentucky they are everywhere

Yeah, I think he's a giver.

On the comments section of the Paulick blog, John G. Sikura has an interesting paragraph post-vote.

http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/li...slots-hearing/

Yep, I agree with him, if these states don't want to listen, close the place down.

Mr. D did that very thing, I forgot why he did it, but racing is more alive then ever around here now....

Can anyone explain to me why Thayer didn't get to vote? I met him and have talked with him on a couple occasions about some other stuff, and he is about as pro horse racing person as I have ever met

Because he wasn't on the Senate Appropriations Committee that was voting to send the bill to the full senate.

He's a fraud. A lackey that thinks he's the annointed successor in the KY G.O.P. Accurately described to me earlier today as a 'pissant' by a leading political figure in Kentucky.

He may not think so or realize it, but his political future in KY, as well as his racing-related public relations business, are through as of tonight.

Hopefully one fine day when the religious zealots in this state get everything their way it will eventually backfire because their sheeple won't have the means to tithe.

F.uck religion.

This vote really pisses me off, and I'm neither a Democrat nor a resident of Kentucky. It's just so damned petty and stupid that the representatives of a state would hurt it's premier industry.

We all love the horses and the people who make them run. What sort of people, especially if self-proclaimed religious, would want to hurt them?

But, anything to prevent others from having the choice to gamble or not, right? :confused:

Typical politicos, unable to see the six inches in front of their face, judgment clouded by their own ambitions and agenda, and in no way representing the folks who put them in office.

This whole situation in Kentucky parallels closely to someone in Massachusetts, former Speaker of the House, Sal DiMasi. For years, the state senate has passed various versions of slot legislation to add slots at Suffolk Downs, Plainville Racecourse and the two dog tracks. Consistently, for years, Mr. DiMasi refused to hold committee hearings on the legislation, never mind send it to the floor for a vote. At the beginning of the year, DiMasi resigned, and he's now under federal indictment on various counts (unrelated to racing or slots). Hopefully the karma train finds Mr. Williams one of these days as well.

These people unfortunately, make decisions like this every single day. It's not exclusive to republicans or democrats. Laws are passed in the interests of the special interests, those with money and influence. Or they are passed to sensationalize, that appease a small vocal crowd, but are later seen to be unnecessary or restrictive. This is in no way how it's supposed to be.