Mississippi ban debated

[jetset]

An effort to ban gaming in some Mississippi counties may be dead this session.

The House and Senate rejected compromise legislation Wednesday that would have had an impact on Bolivar, Jackson, Jefferson and Wilkinson counties along the Mississippi River. Under the bill, those four counties would have three years to apply for a gaming license or hold a casino referendum.

The bill also would have banned gaming in DeSoto County, bordering Tennessee, because residents have said they don't want it there, said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Dean Kirby, R-Pearl.

The bill would not have affected counties that already have casinos in operation or those whose residents have voted in favor of gaming.

The Senate voted 26-24 against the compromise. The House voted to have the bill sent back to committee, which ensures the measure's death because Wednesday was the deadline for general bill compromises to be considered in the chambers.

Some lawmakers who had initially supported the gaming ban voted against the compromise bill because they said it had been weakened during the negotiation process.

Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, said the Mississippi Baptist Convention, which supports placing limits on gaming, was opposed to the compromise bill.

"I voted against it and many of my colleagues because we don't want gaming in Mississippi to expand beyond its current footprints," Fillingane said. "That was the purpose of the bill when it left the Senate a few days ago. It has now returned to us in a much changed form. I believe that is why the Baptist association gave me a call ... and said 'What are you all doing?'"

The bill that originally passed the Senate would have prohibited casinos from opening in DeSoto, Bolivar, Issaquena, Claiborne, Jefferson and Wilkinson counties along the river and Jackson County on the coast.

In 1991, Mississippi legalized state-regulated dockside casinos in counties along the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The state law gives residents in each county the option of voting to allow casinos to operate.

Seven counties already have casinos -- including the bustling markets of Tunica County and Biloxi/Gulfport.

Some critics of the bill said the proposal was illogical.

Sen. Johnnie Walls, D-Greenville, questioned the need to place a gaming ban on counties that aren't home to the industry. He also said that gaming has become an economic vehicle for the state and poor counties in particular shouldn't be denied the chance to have casinos.

But Kirby, who voted for the bill, said "no one has expressed an interest in 17 years, and we're giving them three more years."

Sen. Willie Simmons, D-Cleveland, opposed the legislation because of the three-year time limit it placed on Bolivar County, an area that expects Interstate 69 to run through it.

Simmons said once the highway is complete, the area, which is in the heart of the impoverished Mississippi Delta, could attract more industry, including gaming.

"We have an interstate that is destined to come through that county, and will create a lot of opportunities," Simmons said Wednesday. "Now we want to go back and say, 'Let's create some barriers.'"

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/finan.../D90379PO0.htm