Slots Bill Introduced, Slots Amendment Clears Senate Committee

From Kentucky Public Radio's Tony McVeighKentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo has again filed his bill allowing video slots at horse tracks in Kentucky.  The measure won House approval last summer, but died in Senate committee.  Stumbo says the bill still includes bonded school construction projects."It’s a great jobs bill," he says. "It’s a stimulus package for Kentucky. It’s over a billion dollars worth of construction that would occur all over the state, provide money for our school systems and we think help restart the economy here.”In the Senate, a constitutional amendment allowing the people to decide the future of casino gambling in Kentucky has won committee approval. The State and Local Government committee voted 7-5 for the measure, sponsored by Senate President David Williams.“We believe that the people should decide this issue," says Williams. "If the General Assembly ever determines to submit the issue to the people, the constitution provides that the members of the General Assembly shall express their individual opinion as to whether an amendment to the constitution should take place and then submit it to the people.”The bill now awaits a Senate floor vote. In the House, Speaker Greg Stumbo has re-filed his expanded gambling bill, which won House approval last year, but died in the Senate. Stumbo's bill does not require a constitutional amendment.