House Kills Casino Bill by 1 Vote

In a nail-biter that hinged on one vote, the House on April 30 killed a bill to legalize casino gambling in New Hampshire.

The House vote was 172-172. Rep. Naida Kaen, a Lee Democrat who was serving as chair with Speaker Terie Norelli officially excused, then voted in support of the pending motion to find the casino bill "inexpedient to legislate." If she had offered a "nay" vote, the floor fight to overturn the Ways and Means Committee recommendation to reject casinos would have prevailed.

The bill proposed two casino locations with a combined total of 5,000 slot machines and 240 table games.

A motion for reconsideration was filed with the House.

Supporters argued for adopting the bill, which the Senate previously passed 15 to 9, because of a recent court ruling striking down the state's Medicaid Enhance Tax, or MET, as unconstitutional. Opponents rejected that "sweetener" argument.

"We are not facing a crisis," said Rep. Neal Kurk, R-Weare. He said the governor and lawmakers were in the process of resolving the problem. He further called any revenue from casinos being unpredictable and unreliable.

Rep. Jane Wallner, D-Concord, urged House members to reject the bill, and the notion that casinos would deliver the timely revenue for state government.

"While we are all concerned about the MET decision, this is not a time to panic and create more damage through unintended consequences," Wallner said. "The MET issue is being used to create panic and to pitch casinos as the answer and only possible answer."

But if it is not a crisis, argued Rep. Ken Weyler, R-Kingston, why did Standard & Poors downgrade the state's bonding rating after the MET court ruling?

Forty-one states have some form of casino gambling, and it's proven a reliable revenue source without the spikes in crime and social ills that opponents of a New Hampshire casino have cited, according to Weyler.

The debate will continue on in some form, but casino supporters know how close they were to realizing casino gambling, especially with Gov. Maggie Hassan previously supporting one high-end casino location in the state.

The two casinos would generate $139 million annually for the state, with $25 million of that being revenue-sharing money for towns and cities, and another $5 million for problem gambling and alcohol and drug addiction programs. The larger of the two proposed casinos would pay a $80 million and the smaller one could pay $40 million, according to the bill. 

Expanded gambling remains a hot topic on the campaign trail, too. Andrew Hemingway, a Republican running for governor, was in Concord earlier Wednesday to propose an alternative gambling plan that aims to support existing charitable gambling organizations.