For Immediate Release:
February 18, 2004
Sen.
Dick Wilkerson and Sen. Pres. Pro Tempore Cal Hobson
talk to reporters after Senate passage of SB 553.
Senate Votes to Save Horse Racing Industry,
Provide State Regulation of Tribal Gaming
A bill that would boost purses at Oklahoma’s
four pari-mutuel horse racing facilities, allow the state
to regulate the more than 80 tribal casinos in Oklahoma
and provide millions of dollars for education passed the
State Senate on a 30-18 vote Wednesday.
Senate President Pro Tempore Cal
Hobson, author of the bill, said he was pleased with
the outcome of the vote.
“This is a significant step in saving the more than
50,000 jobs in Oklahoma’s horse industry, which is
on the verge of collapse. I’m thrilled that a majority
of my colleagues in the Senate recognize the crisis and
that this legislation is the best way to solve it,”
said Hobson, D-Lexington.
Senate Bill 553 allows three of the state’s four pari-mutuel
horse racing tracks to operate a limited number of electronic
gaming machines like the ones in tribal casinos in Oklahoma.
Proceeds from the machines will be used to increase purses
at all four tracks. The larger purses will give horsemen
the ability to continue to do business in Oklahoma and will
allow race tracks in the state to continue to operate, said
Senator Dick
Wilkerson. The state would also receive a portion of
the proceeds.
Wilkerson, D-Atwood, presented the bill on the Senate floor.
He said the bill also includes a model gaming compact between
the state and Native American tribes. The compact spells
out what kind of games can be offered in tribal casinos,
giving the tribes legal certainty about their gaming operations.
It also gives oversight of tribal gaming operations to the
Office of State Finance and requires tribes to pay a portion
of their gaming revenues to the state, Wilkerson said.
“Right now, we’ve got more than 80 casinos in
Oklahoma and the state has no regulatory authority over
their operations and isn’t getting a dime in revenue
from them,” Wilkerson said.
State officials anticipate that Senate Bill 553 will provide
$71 million in additional revenue to the state. The bill
dedicates that money to the Education Reform Fund created
by House Bill 1017 in 1990 and to the Oklahoma Higher Learning
Access Program which provides college scholarships to students
from low and middle income families.
Senate Bill 553, which was first introduced in the First
Session of the 49th Oklahoma Legislature last year, now
goes to the Oklahoma House of Representatives for a floor
vote.
“Today’s vote in the Senate was a milestone,
but the work is not yet complete. The 50,000 Oklahomans
who depend on the horse industry for their paychecks still
must convince a majority of House members that their jobs
are worth saving and convince them to vote for this bill,”
Hobson said.
For
more information contact:
President
Pro Tempore Office - (405) 521-5605
