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March 22, 2006

Lawmakers unveil casino legislation

PROVIDENCE -- Lawmakers this afternoon unveiled legislation that would amend the state Constitution to allow a casino in West Warwick.

The legislation, introduced at a State House press conference, would create section 23 in Article VI of the Constitution, allowing a resort casino to be privately owned and operated by the Narragansett Indian Tribe and its "chosen partner," which is not named in the amendment, but known to be Harrah's, the Las Vegas-based casino titan that would finance and build the casino.

The amendment would set the tax rate on Harrah's net casino income at between 25 and 40 percent, "with all of such tax proceeds to be dedicated to property-tax relief."

If approved first by the General Assembly, the amendment would be placed on the ballot this November.

In short, the legislation would exempt the proposed West Warwick casino from what the Rhode Island Supreme Court has twice, in the last two years, interpreted as a constitutional ban on any new privately operated gambling.

The high court's ruling was based on the 1973 repeal of a 130-year-old ban on lotteries and the adoption in its place of the current provision in the state Constitution that allows "lotteries," but only state-operated ones.

Adopted years after Lincoln Park and Newport Grand opened their doors, that 1973 amendment paved the way for the legislature's creation of the state Lottery a year later.

That state-only proviso has since emerged as a legal obstacle to the casino.
The West Warwick proposal was headed to the ballot in 2004 -- with 41 of 75 House members sponsoring the referendum drive -- when the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional.

The high court ruled then -- in response to an advisory opinion request from the governor, and again last year in response to a request from the House -- that a privately operated casino was the equivalent of a "lottery" and thus banned under the state Constitution.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 4:44 PM | Permalink

Comments

LET US VOTE A CASINO IS WHAT WE NEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: john pesaturo at March 22, 2006 05:49 PM

What part of no don't you coconuts get.

We, the voting majority, do NOT want a casino..anywhere in Rhode Island.
Indian's, Harrah's, Trump's.......none of them. Period.

I will actively campaign against my representative or senator who supports this ridiculous amendment to our constitution. I strongly suggest voters in Rhode Island vote with their feet at the next election.

If this is the best these bums can do, they ought to be run out of office.

No wonder they are afraid of voter initiative.

Posted by: Chris at March 22, 2006 06:26 PM

I guess we know how YOU feel.

I think there should be a large write-up on the casino project as a whole. There are many budgets out there that could use more money- from schools to police & fire departments, from towns and cities, to yours and mine! A casino could be a H-U-G-E source of revenue, and it should not be dismissed so quickly!

I am not going to say that I am in favor of a casino, in fact, I live within about 2 miles of one of the proposed sites. I am QUITE concerned with the potential impacts of traffic, noise, etc. I think the entire project should be aired for everyone in RI to get a complete view of what a casino would bring- the good AND the bad.

Posted by: Mike at March 28, 2006 02:10 PM