Ohio House of Representatives

Good afternoon:
 
Conference Committee on HB 1 announced it will meet tomorrow at 4:15PM in Statehouse Rm. 313.
 
Thank you.

Today Senate Republicans unveiled a joint resolution, which proposes Ohio Lottery-operated slots at seven locations around the state but does not specify horse racetracks. If eventually placed on the ballot and approved by voters, the proposal calls for the operations to be licensed to the highest bidders. The resolution will be officially introduced this afternoon.
 
Senate President, Bill Harris (R-Ashland) sent a letter to the Governor to urge him to support the Senate’s proposal. In his letter he stated that the Governor’s proposal did not include funding from the video lottery terminals until May 2010, so Sen. Harris believes that there is ample time for voters to decide the issue on November 3rd.
 
We will keep you posted as additional information is made available.

Thank you.

Political tensions grew to an all time high yesterday with the Governor accusing the Senate republicans of game-playing and using the budget for political advantage. During the House Finance and Appropriations hearing, democrat members continued to accuse the Senate republicans for delaying the budget process by not accepting the Governor’s video lottery terminal (VLT) proposal. Meanwhile, the Senate Select Committee on VLT continued its hearings on the Governor’s proposal, and have identified major areas of concerns.   There is a “clawback” provision that would return the $65 million license fee paid by each racetrack owner ($455 million of the estimated $933 million the proposal is to generate for the state) if a competing casino issue that will be on the ballot in November passes.  The Governor stated he does not support the “clawback” provision, but it is included in the draft legislation the Senate was asked to approve. Sen. Husted, a member of the Senate panel, responded, “If that’s not the plan, what is the plan?” The Committee is scheduled to meet again today at 10:00AM to review constitutional issues.
 
Yesterday, the Senate passed HB 245, which is another one-week interim budget. The bill provides 70% funding for the state to continue to operate from July 7th-July 14th. This will provide another week for Ohio’s leaders to finalize the budget. Sen. Harris and Speaker Budish are scheduled to meet this afternoon to try to work through some of the issues. There is speculation that government could shut down if a deal is not agreed to this week. The Governor has stated his concerns about a third interim budget and the federal funding the state loses everyday. Without a full operating budget, a part of government would have to shut down.

The Ohio Senate begins hearings today on the Governor’s video lottery terminals (VLT’s) proposal today. The Governor’s VLT proposal is estimated to raise $933 million in revenues to help fill the current $3.4 billion deficit.  Sen. Mark Wagoner (R-Toledo) will chair the Select Committee on Video Lottery Terminals. The panel also includes Sen. Jon Husted (R-Kettering), Sen. Timothy Grendell (R- Chesterland), Senator Capri Cafaro (D-Hubbard) and Sen. Dale Miller (D-Cleveland).  The hearings are intended to help Senators better understand the specifics of gambling proposal the Governor has proposed. The Lottery Commission Executive Director, Michael Dolan, the Office of Budget and Management Director, Pari Sabety and other interested parties have been invited to testify. The Committee is scheduled to meet at 10:00AM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday if needed.
 
In response to the Senate’s plans, the Ohio House Finance and Appropriations Committee is holding hearings beginning today at 3:00PM to provide interested parties the opportunity to testify on the “impact of potential Senate budget decisions.”  The hearings are also scheduled for Monday at 10:00AM and Tuesday at 2:00PM. The House hopes these hearings will put pressure on the Senate to adopt the Governor’s gaming proposal.