BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota’s House majority leader is pushing a proposal that would allow up to six state-owned casinos, if voters approve.
Rep. Al Carlson, R-Fargo, said the idea behind proposed constitutional amendment unveiled Wednesday is to establish casinos as “destination-oriented attractions” and use profits from them to lessen - or eliminate altogether - state sales tax and corporate income tax.
“It is not intended to make money for the state,” he said.
The legislation may do well in the House because Carlson leads the chamber, but its fate in the Senate is uncertain. It faces an extra hurdle because the normal deadlines for introducing legislation have passed. Any new bills or resolutions must be approved by a delayed bills committee, which still must allow the introduction. If the casinos bill gets that approval, it will be scheduled for hearings later.
The Legislature may put proposed constitutional amendments to a statewide vote if both the House and Senate approve. If endorsed by the Legislature, voters could decide the issue in the June 2018 primary.
North Dakota has charitable gambling sites in bars and clubs throughout the state. Its full-fledged casinos, with slot machines and blackjack and craps tables, are on the state’s five American Indian reservations. North Dakota voters in 2002 also endorsed putting the state into national lottery games, after defeating the idea three times prior.
The Legislature in 2003 killed proposal to allow gambling casinos anywhere in the state. But North Dakota residents’ endorsement of the lottery and increased betting at charitable gambling sites are strong signals people would welcome more casinos, Carlson said.
“People have shown they want to gamble,” said Carlson, who doesn’t himself.
Carlson said he expects the proposal to generate much opposition, including from officials at the six North Dakota casinos on American Indian reservations.
Sen. Richard Marcellais, a Democrat from Belcourt and member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, agreed that state casinos would compete with those on reservations, but that’s not why he will oppose the proposal.
“Casinos bring in drugs and crime,” said Marcellais, who used to work at a casino in his district in the early 2000s. “I don’t like them. They do more harm than good.”
The proposal would forbid state casinos from being built within 20 miles of a reservation, or within 5 miles of a city of more than 5,000 people.
Any site selected would be on state-owned land; it would be chosen for its “scenic, historic, recreational, and tourisms advantages … and the potential to contribute to the rural economic development of the state,” the proposal says.
The proposed constitutional amendment would not allow the Legislature to fund the casinos with state money, though it could allow the issuance of revenue bonds for financing.
The gambling casinos would be regulated by a state-appointed commission.
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