Here's the problem: Gambling proponents in the Senate apparently are having trouble getting traction, sources said today.
Could this dilemma undermine the budget agreement? It certainly will make raising income taxes more difficult, some lawmakers say.
"If you're going to vote to increase taxes, you want to be able to go to your constituents and say, "Well, yes, I voted to increase taxes, but we're going to offer you property-tax reform,' '' said state Rep. Katie True, a Republican from East Hempfield Township who is opposed to the compromise.
State Rep. Mike Sturla, a Democrat from Lancaster City, said: "I think slots will run as a separate bill, but I think property tax relief has to be part of the package in order for the whole package to pass.'' The budget compromise would raise the income tax from 2.8 percent to 3.07 percent on Jan. 1. The move would raise $700 million annually to help finance Rendell's early-childhood education initiatives, eliminate proposed social-service cuts and avert a deficit.
The blueprint does not, however, include a plan to legalize slot machines to generate $1 billion for property-tax reductions.
On Thursday, Rendell worked to iron out differences among various slots backers. But a key player in the Senate, Democrat Vince Fumo of Philadelphia, who controls many of the votes needed to pass such a slots bill, wasn't in on the negotiations, sources said.
And that's a problem.
"If Fumo's not in the deal, it's not going to happen,'' one top legislative source told the New Era today.
Fumo has favored a bill that would allow slots at racetracks but also gambling licenses for two Indian tribes. He also has sought a ban on gambling contributions to politicians.
The other leading slots proponent, Republican Sen. Robert Tomlinson of Bucks County, wants slots at racetracks only -- which would be 11 sites in all.
Tomlinson told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he may have to change his proposal to allow nine track sites and two non-track sites, one in Philadelphia and one in the Pittsburgh area.
It is unclear how the Senate will react to Tomlinson's plan. The chamber buried a similar House-approved bill in July because many senators believed it had gone beyond a previous slots bill that would have allowed machines at only eight racetracks.
Erik Arneson, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Chip Brightbill, said of senators at the time: "They hated the House bill. Some thought that it went too far; some thought it removed important protection provisions. They had a couple of different reasons -- but they were united in opposition.''
A Senate vote on Tomlinson's plan could come this afternoon or evening. The House, meanwhile, isn't expected to see the budget or slots bills until Monday.
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