gambling_legislature_60903

Posted: 6/06/03

Gambling expansion a bust; social services suffer

By Ken Camp

Texas Baptist Communications

AUSTIN–Legislators generally held the line against gambling expansion in the just-ended session, according to representatives of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission.

But legislators cut programs benefiting the state's poorest and most vulnerable citizens in the process of balancing the state budget, added Phil Strickland, director of the Texas Baptist moral concerns and public policy agency.

“Every vote they cast was a stroke of the brush, painting a picture of what Texas will look like in years ahead,” he said. “In some ways, it's a good picture. But in others, it's tragic.”

Despite efforts by about 900 registered gambling lobbyists, lawmakers rejected most bids to expand legalized gambling in Texas. Proposals to legalize casino-style video terminals at Texas racetracks, to allow video gambling on Indian reservations and to permit local casinos in specific venues such as the Astrodome failed.

One exception was the approval of Texas participation in the multi-state Powerball lottery. Legislators approved the proposal when it was added as an amendment to a key education bill in the final hours of the session. Efforts by Rep. Robert Talton, R-Pasadena, to strike the amendment proved unsuccessful.

Proponents of the bill claimed the high-jackpot lottery could generate more than $100 million for state coffers, a projection that Weston Ware of Texans Against Gambling labeled “ludicrous.”

“Powerball is just robbing Peter to pay Paul,” he said. “Over two or three years, it's simply not going to generate the kind of significant income that its supporters claim. People who already are playing the lottery will just move their money, spending it on Powerball instead of whatever they're playing now.”

Gambling opponents also suffered a setback when legislators denied continued funding to operate a toll-free number for compulsive and problem gamblers. Gambling interests benefit by not having the hard data on gambling addiction or the stories of human suffering generated by the hotline, said Suzii Paynter, director of citizenship and public policy for the Christian Life Commission.

But for the most part, gambling promoters stumbled in this session. Gambling expansion ironically failed due both to the opposition of some Republican leaders and the walkout of many House Democrats, Paynter observed.

The “Killer D's,” as they became known, temporarily relocated to Oklahoma to deny House Republicans a quorum and kill a redistricting proposal engineered by U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land. As a result, they also allowed other bills to die, including key gambling proposals.

“There was no parting of the Red River, but the Oklahoma Exodus resulted in a history-making week at the legislature,” Paynter said. “The exodus forced the redistricting bill to die in the House as deadlines ticked by. And at least seven pro-gambling bills fizzled in their House committees.”

Legislators spent much of the session struggling to pass a balanced budget. They approved a $117.4 billion spending plan that cut human services by denying budget increases and tightening eligibility requirements.

“The end result is 170,000 kids no longer eligible for the Children's Health Insurance Program and up to 100,000 losing Medicaid,” Strickland said. “That means at least a quarter-million children losing access to health care.”

Medicaid changes also will result in 7,800 low-income pregnant women losing health care, according to the Health and Human Services Commission.

Legislators cut funding for home health care for the elderly by 15 percent. And flat budgets or small increases in other human-care areas actually will result in decreased services as the number of people in need continues to increase, Strickland added.

Ken Hall, president of Buckner Baptist Benevolences, noted his agency's child and family services unit will be hit with about a 3.5 percent reduction in reimbursement for its care of children.

Prison chaplains also fell victim to budget cuts. The final spending plan cut the annual budget for chaplains in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice by one-third.

Other key legislative actions included:

Campaign ethics. A reform measure supported by the Christian Life Commission appeared dead several weeks ago but was revived in the final hours of the session.

“There are 52 excellent ethics reforms in it,” Paynter said, pointing especially to provisions regarding disclosure and conflict of interest. She identified Rep. Steve Wolens, D-Dallas, and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, R-Houston, as “the white-hat guys” who rescued that bill at the last minute.

Tort reform. After intense negotiations to reconcile differences between House and Senate proposals, lawmakers approved a bill capping medical malpractice lawsuits.

The compromise bill allows claimants to obtain up to $250,000 from medical personnel for pain and suffering, and it permits them to sue no more than two hospitals or nursing homes for punitive damages for a maximum of $250,000 each.

A related bill, supported by Texas Baptist child and family services agencies, protects the endowments of faith-based long-term care providers from lawsuits.

Mary Stephens, vice president for Buckner Retirement Services, said Paynter's efforts and a resolution about the issue passed by messengers to the 2002 Baptist General Convention of Texas proved valuable in persuading legislators to secure the protection care providers needed.

Vouchers. Proponents of tax-funded vouchers for students in religious schools aggressively pushed their agenda in the early weeks of the session, but they retreated after legislators soundly defeated a voucher proposal for “virtual charter schools.”

That proposal would have provided vouchers for home-school students using an online curriculum. Former U.S. Education Secretary Bill Bennett, who heads a company that sells the program, came to Austin to promote the measure.

Abortion. Lawmakers passed a bill mandating a 24-hour waiting period and requiring physicians to share information about fetal development with patients before performing abortions.

In a somewhat related move, legislators approved a prenatal protection bill. That measure establishes criminal and civil penalties for a third party who injures or takes the life of an unborn child against the mother's wishes.

Moment of silence. Legislators approved a bill requiring public school children to observe a moment of silence and to say the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of each school day. The bill specifically states that the 60 seconds of silence can be used for prayer, meditation or quiet reflection.

Drunk driving. Lawmakers added a $100 surcharge to other penalties for people convicted of driving while intoxicated. The funds will be earmarked for emergency medical services and trauma care facilities.

Criminal justice. Legislators approved a legal defense fund for poor people, using Texas Bar Association dues and other fees paid by lawyers to finance the program.

Capital punishment. Efforts to enact a moratorium on capital punishment, to create life without parole as a sentencing option for juries, and a requirement that members of the state's Board of Pardons and Parole conduct a conference call about capital cases before voting on an execution order all failed.