At the start of the 2007 legislative session, Gov. Sebelius indicated that among her highest priorities were increased benefits to retired state employees, funding for all-day kindergarten, health care funding for children from birth to age 5 and increased funding for mental health services. Last week we learned, however, that instead of these priorities the Governor’s true top priority was to bring expanded gambling to the state. The gaming plan she crafted behind closed doors with out-of-state gaming interests and pro-gambling lawmakers, calls for the state’s portion of gambling revenues to go to state building maintenance, debt reduction and local ad valorem tax relief. Make no mistake, these are worthy places to spend money and perhaps better choices, but last week’s vote on gambling demonstrated that the Governor was more than willing to throw education, children, and state employees, including teachers, overboard in order to muster votes for her gambling initiative.
In lengthy floor debate, Republicans, who believe that expanded gambling in the state is bad public policy, offered a number of amendments aimed at making the bill more palatable. The Governor and pro-gambling legislators held off amendments aimed at targeting some of the revenues to teachers’ salaries, all-day kindergarten funding, additional benefits to retired state employees and funding for health coverage for children birth to age 5. I was the presiding member during the floor debate in the House and so was in a position to see the faces of every legislator during debate and votes on the various amendments. I could see the angst on the faces of many who wanted to vote on some of the amendments but couldn’t because they had either agreed with the secret coalition or had been ordered by Democrat leadership or the Governor to fend off all amendments. Local Democrat Representative Mark Treaster was quoted as saying his side had been told not to mess with the bill so he didn’t.
As a result, we are left with a flawed bill, one that supporters now admit needs to be fixed with what is called a trailer bill, legislation run after the main bill passes to clean up conflicts or technical problems. We are now told the trailer bill is also necessary to carry out deals made with two Senators who switched their “no” votes to “yes” in exchange for certain provisions or concessions. Our own Sen. Terry Bruce was one of the Senators who switched. He had assured me he was not in favor of the bill as it left the House and I’ll be interested to see what agreement was reached to cause him to change his mind. Without his change of vote, the measure would have failed and the bill would have gone to a conference committee where we would have had an opportunity to make the bill digestible and maybe even constitutional.
Controversy over gambling will likely extend the legislative session. We are scheduled to reach first adjournment Tuesday, but I can’t see us getting done by then. Negotiations over the budget and the various tax bills have stalled in the wake of the gambling vote and conference committees to iron out differences in House and Senate bills on a variety of issues were delayed when the Senate President failed to take final action on Senate bills and appoint conference committees before he started the gambling debate.