A Slightly Interesting Gambling Proposal
Former Attorney General and current House member Greg Stumbo has announced plans to file legislation to allow "Video Lottery Terminals" at racetracks. As Attorney General, he issued one of his many opinions about how he would make up the law if it were up to him suggesting that this sort of expanded gambling would not require a constitutional amendment. Consider us dubious.
Other shortcomings of his proposal include an unlikely assumption of generating $400 million annually, letting the Lottery Commission regulate them, justifying the expansion by saying it is necessary to make racehorses richer, and funding education last.
All of that said, he has put forward the first gambling proposal with an obvious good included: reducing an obligated tax burden on Kentuckians and shifting it to a descretionary activity.
Unlike other gambling proponents who attempt to sell expansion of casinos simply as a means of expanding government spending, Stumbo's proposal includes a repeal of the state's property tax on motor vehicles and boats. Stumbo has yet to release the details, and this detail is not nearly as compelling if he does not also prohibit local property taxes on motor vehicles, but this step in the direction of giving taxpayers some relief deserves mention.
