Casino news source: The Gresham Outlook - http://www.theoutlookonline.com
Casino backers, foes pack House hearing
Vote on bill’s fate likely Thursday, powerful group now neutral
By Chad Abraham
The Gresham Outlook, May 30, 2007
Legislation that could govern who has a vote on private casino locations will either go to the floor of the Oregon House or die in committee, the bill’s sponsor said Tuesday, May 29.
After a two-hour hearing in Salem on Tuesday, May 29, the House’s Judiciary Committee has until Thursday, May 31, to make that decision, said Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham.
The meeting drew three local mayors, tribal representatives, union officials and the backers of a proposed $500 million casino and entertainment complex at the former Multnomah Kennel Club in Wood Village.
Monnes Anderson said Fairview and Wood Village residents worried about the potential 1 million-square-foot development contacted her. She crafted a bill that would allow residents of a municipality where a private casino is planned to vote on the project.
Fairview Mayor Mike Weatherby, contending that his city will be as affected, if not more, by a casino, persuaded a Senate committee to amend the bill to allow neighboring jurisdictions the chance to vote.
An angry Dave Fuller, mayor of Wood Village, has heavily criticized the bill, saying it takes away local control. Troutdale Mayor Paul Thalhofer and four members of the City Council agreed, as did the League of Oregon Cities.
But several amendments are being considered, including one that, if the bill passes, would create an East County gambling district. Focusing on gambling, instead of who can vote on a casino site, was enough for the League to withdraw its criticism, Monnes Anderson said.
She said a League official told her the influential body now is neutral on the legislation.
Tribal representatives, fearful of how a private casino would affect their hold on Oregon’s gaming, also attended Tuesday’s hearing to support the bill.
Opposing the measure were representatives from the AFL-CIO’s Columbia Pacific Building and Construction Trades Council and the United Food and Commercial Workers union. The groups contend the legislation is an unfair hurdle for a potential casino, which backers say would mean hundreds of jobs during and after construction.
The Judiciary Committee will hold a work session on the legislation today, May 30, before voting on the bill’s fate. |
|
World Casino Directory 
Gambling Forums 
