LANSING For 18 months, House Speaker Rick Johnson’s support of allowing slot machines at the state’s horse racetracks to boost agriculture was unequivocal, passionate and even strident. But that fire has flickered in the last month as he has surprised advocates of the so-called racino bill by bucking the strategy they say is vital to success and getting the states budget deadline broken.
Johnson (R-LeRoy) once threatened to “bash the crap out of” opponents to the racino package for their tactics to derail it. He personally appeared at a major news conference held by supporters. And most importantly, he threw all the powers of his office behind the legislation, muscling it through the House and cajoling a reluctant Senate to pass it.
Now, as the bill (HB 4610) waits on a House-Senate conference committee to be finalized, Johnson’s words have grown tepid and his strategy has slipped out of step with the supporters of the bill. Both parties in the Senate, and House Democrats, have said they will not support the legislation until after voters decide in November whether to require voter approval of any gambling expansion. And there is a strong push for the Legislature to vote first on increasing the casino tax, which would basically wrap up the stalled budget, before taking up the racino bill.
It is Johnson’s vocal support of passing the casino tax (HB 4612) first that has perplexed racino supporters. The one major piece of leverage they have is stopping that bill and in turn the budget unless they receive action on racinos. Once the casino tax passes the House, most racino supporters believe the odds of success on their bill will grow increasingly long.
Last month, a conference committee to take up an unspecified increase in the casino tax was scheduled. A Johnson spokesperson said the hope is that the House will take up the casino tax when it returns to session Wednesday. Before the 10 a.m. session, racino supporters (who refer to the package as “agriculture enhancement”) have scheduled a rally at the Capitol on behalf of their bill.
Ron Nelson of the Michigan Farm Bureau, a staunch supporter of the racino bill, voiced confusion on Johnson’s approach to the casino tax and racino legislation.
“The speaker’s been the best advocate we’ve had,” he said. “So, it’s a little bit surprising that it appears that the casino tax bill could move out of conference before ag enhancement.”
Nelson said it does seem that Mr. Johnson’s support for the bill has softened slightly. He said possibly Mr. Johnson has grown weary after a nearly two-year fight for the bill when at many points he was left “by the roadside” in trying to convince the Senate to hold a vote.
And yet, like others in the pro-racino community, Nelson says their best hope remains to rely on Johnson.
“Until something happens, we’re sticking with the speaker,” he said. “He’s been working for us. I haven’t seen anybody else in (legislative leadership) working for us on the ag enhancement package other than the speaker.”
Rep. Larry Julian (R-Lennon), the lead sponsor of the racino bill, said he hopes there will be enough votes to prevent the casino tax from passing until after racinos pass. Julian said he had not conducted a vote count to see whether racino supporters could prevent the casino tax from receiving the required three-quarters majority to pass.
This story was provided by content partner, Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com
