Seldom, this late in the Amendment process, have two terrible proposals been still ‘alive’ for Arkansas voters to sample.
Thankfully, this past week, the covid-19 virus outbreak killed off the Arkansas Arcades proposal.
Imagine licensing another 16 casinos (my emphasis) in Arkansas?
Stop and dwell on that for another minute.
Already the state has approved four casinos — Hot Springs, West Memphis and Pine Bluff with the one in Pope County (Russellville) still at loggerheads over their placement and operation of a facility in a county and town where the voters said “No” to the amendment years ago.
So the only real stinker of the proposed amendments left on the 2020 ballot is the new-fangled way to vote — called Arkansas Voters First.
First, let’s say goodbye and good riddance, to Arcade Arkansas, a ballot question committee that was seeking to expand coin-operated amusement machines in Arkansas. The group said it will suspend its campaign and not submit signatures for a proposed constitutional amendment. The group cited difficulty in collecting signatures due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The amendment would have authorized a limited number of coin operated amusement machines to operate in state through a constitutional amendment and generate a new stream of revenue for the state with a 20% tax on the machines, according to the group. The group had already decided in which counties and cities the games would be allowed to be licensed to operate.
Arcade Arkansas said the measure would have approved casinos in Benton, Boone, Chicot, Garland, Greene, Jefferson, Johnson, Miller, Nevada, Sebastian, St. Francis and Washington Counties.
Arcade Arkansas knowing where its bread is buttered would allow two casinos in Pulaski County, apparently one in Little Rock, the other north of the Arkansas River in North Little Rock, Jacksonville, etc.
And all of these proposals already had a named applicant — i.e. the Benton County applicant was G-First Gaming LLC. (Does that stand for Garfield or Gravette? Inquiring minds want to know, but it seems hard to find out).
In Washington County the applicant was Fayetteville Gaming Associates Inc. It is good to know that illegal gambling will be kept out of holier-than-thou Springdale and other such cities in Washington County.
When organizers of the drive were asked by the state’s largest newspaper if the owners of the casinos would be revealed a curt reply of “no comment” was issued.
The proposers did, however, tell exactly where the importance on this measure was being developed — in the taxing of the money generated from these coin operations.
The proposal would levy a 13% tax on the first $150 million of the net casino receipts. And then, a tax of 20% on receipts exceeding $150 million.
Some 55% of the tax receipts would go to state general revenues; 15% to the county where the games were located; 15% to the city where the games were located; or 30% to the county, if the casino is not located within a city limits; and the final touch — the remaining 15% would go to all the counties that don’t have their own casino. These funds will be allocated on a population basis.
So voters in say, Madison and Carroll counties, who will not have a casino in their county, can have an instant incentive to vote casinos into Washington, Benton and Boone counties. Sounds like that old amendment Arkansas voters allowed years ago — it is only on “instant racing” not casino type gambling, we were told.
Instant revenue is proposed for non-participating counties in this proposed amendment scheme?
Well, that sounds fishy to me.
Enough on the gambling issue. It is being withdrawn.
And I’ll have more on the Arkansas Voters First Amendment and ‘ranked’ voting and ‘open’ primaries next week.
MAYLON RICE IS A FORMER JOURNALIST WHO WORKED FOR SEVERAL NORTHWEST ARKANSAS PUBLICATIONS. HE CAN BE REACHED VIA EMAIL AT [email protected]. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.