Missouri state Rep. Rocky Miller recently presented an amended version of his HJR 87 to the Missouri House of Representatives Special Committee on Government Oversight. The bill would remove the Lake of the Ozarks from consideration for a waterway where riverboat gambling is permitted, but allow the activity on the Osage River.
Even as he did so, an ambivalent Miller commented, “Why in the world would I do this? I didn’t come up here to do this. I literally don’t know if I really care about this.”
It all comes down to medical marijuana, according to Miller, which was legalized in Missouri through an initiative petition. He said if the constitution isn’t changed to allow a 14th riverboat casino, “We’re going to have an initiative petition. We’re probably going to have one anyway, but in this case, we have the ability to actually move on it. If we don’t have this piece in place, if we don’t have the Osage River added to this change in the constitution, of course we know we can’t change the constitution.”
If voters approve Miller’s resolution, it would allow a future legislature to take action if one of the state’s current casino licenses comes available. But, Miller said, he wants any potential casino host community to have input on the issues.
State Rep. Peter Merideth said Miller mentioned people have been complaining about the medical marijuana licensing process. “Are you suggesting that if we had passed something instead of it being passed by the voters that we wouldn’t have had problems with licensing?” Merideth asked.
Miller replied that of course the state would have had problems, but if the medical marijuana law was statutory, lawmakers could make adjustments to it.
Meredith stated, “I might have supported it being statutory, too, for that reason. But it is interesting to note that voters chose one out of three initiative petitions for medical marijuana, meaning they did their homework and they chose one that we couldn’t undo because they were a little bit worried about us undoing it.”
Miller said initiative petitions could have unwanted consequences that can be difficult to change. But Merideth noted that approving the Osage River as a waterway where a casino could be sited puts the decision in the hands of lawmakers.
Miller said all 13 of the state’s casino licenses are taken and unlikely to be relinquished anytime soon. However, he reiterated he believes an initiative petition will be launched soon.
