subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Mon, Nov 09 2009 

Published: November 29, 2007 10:20 pm    print this story  

Delegate upset over racetrack rule change

Mannix Porterfield
Register-Herald Reporter

CHARLESTON — A longtime foe of gambling says the deck is stacked against her and others in the Legislature opposed to giving the West Virginia Lottery Commission full power in dealing with racetrack wagering without any interference from lawmakers.

A major hurdle was cleared this week when the Legislative Rule-Making Committee gave its blessing to a change in Section 179-8-9 of the State Code so that the commission could waive or alter any “requirement or procedure that is impractical or burdensome.”

From a practical standpoint, Delegate Kelli Sobonya, R-Cabell, sees this as an opportunity for the tracks to get anything they want from an accommodating lottery commission — a point Delegate John Overington, R-Berkeley, tried to hammer at the panel’s tumultuous airing on the rule change.

“He feels like the lottery commission has been a rubber stamp,” Sobonya said.

“It has never denied the racetracks an increase in slot machines. Everything they’ve asked, it has always rubber-stamped it, even though at public hearings, people are against it.”

Sobonya sought to delay any vote on the rule change, pointing out lawmakers will be back in interims Dec. 9-11.

“Those two weeks wouldn’t have hurt anything,” she said. “We wanted to have more scrutiny on it. The funny thing is, we laid over three bills that dealt with ... other contentious issues, so why not this one? I just couldn’t believe it.”

Sobonya demanded a roll-call vote because the rule change would hand the commission unfettered powers to deal with the racetracks one-on-one as it sees fit.

“It’s carte blanche,” she said.

Sobonya pointed to Commissioner John Musgrave’s comments at a racing symposium at the University of Arizona, where he described his agency’s dealing with tracks as a “partnership.”

“We get together usually over dinner,” he said. “We find that’s the best atmosphere.”

Sobonya found his comments disturbing, saying, “You have a government agency that’s supposed to be regulating and overseeing an industry saying publicly they have a unique relationship. I have a problem with that.”

Even with committee approval, the rule still must pass through the entire legislative process, but Sobonya suggested opposition by her and Overington before the House Judiciary Committee would be an exercise in futility, and, like sheep, most members would fall in line with the leadership.

— E-mail:

mannix@register-herald.com

print this story  



autoconx

Premier Guide
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide

Find a job! Find a Home! Find a car!

Premium Jobs

VARIOUS COAL MINING POSITIONS - SPEED MINING
SPEED Mining, LLC. A great opportunity for underground miners. Speed Mining, LLC, an operating affiliate of Patriot Coal...>MORE

MEDICAL PROVIDER
The Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) is recruiting a Medical Provider (MD) for a part-time / on-call position...>MORE

THERAPIST - KVC
KVC Behavioral HealthCare Beckley & Princeton Office 2 Therapist. Applicants must have a Master’s degree in counseling, ...>MORE

LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSES
Make a difference in the life of a veteran. Are you interested in working in a state-of-the-art, one-of-a-kind organizat...>MORE

NURSE PRACTITIONER - GREENBRIER CO.
Nurse Practitioner for busy medical office in western Greenbrier County. Must be able to work evenings and weekends. Ful...>MORE

ELECTRICAL DIVISION POSITIONS
Taggart Global, LLC is an international design, engineering and construction company with expertise in turnkey design, s...>MORE

NEW STORE SETUP TEAM
Hiring Event for a new store opening in Beckley. 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 10. New Store Setup Team. Thes...>MORE

SURFACE MINE ENGINEER
A coal company in southern West Virginia is seeking a Surface Mine Engineer. Summary: Reporting to the Chief Engineer an...>MORE

ELECTRICIANS, HELPERS, FOREMEN, SUPERVISORS
Seeking qualified industrial electricians, helpers, foremen and supervisors for project in southern West Virginia area. ...>MORE

ACCOUNTANT / AUDITOR
Career Opportunity exists with Welch Community Hospital as a Patient Accounting Manager. Responsibilities will include t...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Jobs

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index