The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the Louisville Chamber of Commerce are partnering to encourage state legislators to support HB 229, a constitutional amendment that would allow casino gambling. Sponsored by state Rep. Jerry Miller, the proposal reads: “Are you in favor of amending the Kentucky Constitution to allow the General Assembly to permit casino gaming if the proceeds are allocated to the public pension system for a 22-year period?” Three-fifths of both the House and Senate would be required to place the measure on the November ballot.
Miller said casino gaming “is much more palatable than a tax increase” to plug the $1 billion hole in the state pension fund. Co-sponsor state rep. Adam Koenig added, “The time is now to raise revenue without raising taxes.”
Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President Brent Cooper stated, “I don’t understand why we wouldn’t pursue this from the state. Especially the fact that we have horseracing and a billion dollars comes out of the lottery. We already have gaming. It’s prevalent. Why not take advantage of it?”
Cooper pointed out 85 percent of Kentuckians live within two hours of a casino in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee or Illinois, causing the state to lose $250-$350 million annually. “If we can keep those dollars here, keep them from going across the river, keep them from going to Indiana or Ohio, that’s in our interest. We want to pursue that,” he said.
The Kentucky House rejected a casino gambling proposal in 2008. Cooper said, “We’re bringing it back up now because of the pension situation in Frankfort. It’s dire. They have to come up with a way to come up with revenue. This is an alternative to raising taxes. They could raise hundreds of millions of dollars with this kind of option for our community. If we approve this, it will create a revenue stream that will help us to really jumpstart this state in so many ways.”
