CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - The West Virginia House on Saturday voted to eliminate funding for greyhound racing, which industry officials say would doom the industry in the state and cost an estimated 1,700 jobs.
The bill was approved 56-44 in the House of Delegates after a long debate with people in the business watching from the galleries It passed the Senate 19-15 on Monday. It goes next to Gov. Jim Justice for signing or veto. Justice is still reviewing the bill, but he doesn’t want to hurt the dog racing industry, said spokesman Grant Herring.
“Racing can still continue with this,” said Delegate Eric Nelson, a Charleston Republican who chairs the House Finance Committee. It would discontinue the Greyhound Breeding and Development Fund on July 1.
Funding comes from video lottery and table game revenues at the state’s two greyhound tracks in Nitro and Wheeling. The bill would transfer almost $14 million in anticipated payouts to dog breeders next year to help close the state budget deficit, setting $1 million aside for dog adoptions and shelters.
According to legislators, the sport currently involves about 7,200 dogs in West Virginia. Greyhound racing with betting is prohibited in 39 states.
Delegate Cindy Frich, a Morgantown Republican, said there’s a reason why it’s banned elsewhere. Since 2008, about 7,000 dogs have been injured and 369 died at West Virginia tracks, she said.
Lawmakers aren’t banning the sport, just ending the subsidy the operators say they can’t operate without for a sport in decline, Frich said.
Delegate Michael Ferro, a Democrat from McMechen in the state’s Northern Panhandle near Wheeling, said the lost funding could lead to closing of the dog tracks and casinos, leading to a huge void in the lives of the people employed and hurting ancillary small businesses. He urged his colleagues to look at the people in the galleries.
“Think of the negative impact on the cities, the counties, the breeders, the trainers, the business owners and most importantly the employees and their families,” Ferro said.
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