Two new statewide studies on Iowa's gaming market and areas that are under-served by the state's 20 casinos were released this week and will be presented June 4 to the Iowa Racing & Gaming Commission, possibly paving the way for more casinos to be licensed in the state.
"It's a huge amount of information. We'll have to see where that takes us," said Commissioner Kate Cutler, a Council Bluffs Democrat who's the legal counsel for West Asset Management in Omaha. "I don't have a position already. When we voted for the four [Worth County, Waterloo, Riverside, and Emmetsburg in 2005], we wanted to really give the licensees an opportunity to get up and running. As a whole, they've been very successful."
Release of the studies by GVA Marquette Advisors and The Innovation Group is the first step toward commissioners deciding whether they'll grant new casino licenses for the first time since May 2005. Voters in five counties -- Wapello, Webster, Franklin, Tama, and Lyon -- have approved referendums and hope to be granted a license to open a casino.
The GVA Marquette Advisors study doesn't provide much hope for new casino licenses. It points out that most of Iowa's significant population centers have access to one or more casinos within a driving distance of one or two hours.
"In summary, we believe that the opportunity for additional gaming development in Iowa is limited at this time," the study said. "We believe that most of Iowa is approaching an 'equilibrium' gaming market situation, whereby the supply of gaming approximately matches up with maximum demand. ...
"[W]hile several individual casino projects may be financially feasible, most of the casino development alternatives considered would create only a modest amount of new gaming demand in Iowa, while resulting in lost market share among many existing Iowa casinos."
Representative Mary Gaskill (D-Ottumwa) described the studies as disappointing. "We've been a holding pattern for so long," she said. "It's sort of disappointing to say the least, not just for us, but for other hopefuls in the state, particularly Webster County. We see the revenues going out of our counties, but not a lot coming in, and people are benefiting from our dollars, which is pretty frustrating for us."
Both studies point to the potential of Lyon County in extreme northwest Iowa, which would tap the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, market.
The Innovation Group projected gaming revenue there at $57.2 million with a low-end capital investment. Revenue would increase significantly as capital investment increased. On the top end, the proposed Lyon County casino could generate $79.2 million and feature about 1,300 gaming positions and a 125-room upscale hotel, the study said.
Dan Kehl, chief executive officer of Kehl Management, said the studies prove that the proposed $90-million Lyon County casino and resort on farmland is a viable project.
"Lyon County clearly represents an opportunity for new gaming revenue for the state of Iowa with the advantages of increased jobs, tax revenue, and support of not-for-profit activities," Kehl said. "Of all the areas considered, this project has the highest potential of new gaming revenue."
The two gambling studies can be downloaded at Iowa.gov/irgc/studies.htm.
Governor and Lawmakers Defend $13.3-Million Cut to Teacher Pay
Five statewide education groups decried the legislature's unanticipated $13.3-million elimination of Phase I money "made during the waning hours of the last night of the legislative session" and called for Governor Chet Culver to do what he can to oppose the cut and provide money for teacher salaries.
"The timing of this was just terrible. This came in the middle of our negotiation process and has completely disrupted negotiations," said Mike Sexton, Rockwell City-Lytton school-board president. "For a little school district like ours, it's $90,000, and that has a huge impact. Do teachers deserve the money? Absolutely."
Joining together to fight the cut are the Iowa State Education Association, Iowa Association of School Boards, School Administrators of Iowa, Urban Education Network and Area Education Agencies. They said teachers, administrators, school-board members, and others are all significantly impacted by the cut.
But Iowa legislative leaders defended the cut to teacher salaries, saying that in the final days of session, they chose to instead backfill a similar amount of money for instructional support because it helped more schools.
"That was a choice we made," said Senate President Jack Kibbie (D-Emmetsburg). "We'll take the heat for that."
Kibbie maintained that lawmakers increased teacher salaries by $5,000 a teacher for the last three years: "This cry out there about Phase I, that should have been offset by what we've done the last three years for teacher salaries."
Culver confirmed that he does not intend to restore the $13.3 million.
"Even during these very tough economic times, we invested very heavily in education," Culver said. "We actually had an increase in our overall appropriation for education, for preschool, for teacher pay, for allowable growth. There's always going to be areas within a budget that you can't fully fund. So we're going to work with those 20 or so school district of the 362; there are roughly 20 that are impacted because of this cut. We'll find ways to try to help."
The money is part of 1987 Educational Excellence legislation that created three pools of money to help pay teachers. Phase I was given to districts to raise teachers' minimum starting salary to $18,000, then to $23,000 in 1998. It helped to level the playing field between urban and rural school districts. Because elimination of Phase I came as a surprise after the school-budget-certification date, school leaders said they are left with few or no options but to pay the teachers what they would have gotten with Phase I money.
Governor Signs $830-Million I-JOBS Bonding Law
Culver on Thursday traveled to the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown and the University of Iowa in Iowa City to sign into law his signature $830-million I-JOBS bonding for infrastructure package.
"We're making an investment in our future," Culver said. "We're going to modernize our state's infrastructure and, most importantly, create jobs in doing so. I think once Iowans understand number one the improvements that will be made to their local communities in terms of infrastructure projects ... and number two the advantage to the people who are looking for work at a time when people are really struggling and looking for jobs, it makes sense."
In Marshalltown, Culver signed two bills that direct the state to issue $650 million in bonds to be used to pay for infrastructure needs statewide. The governor then went to Iowa City to sign a bill allowing for $115 million in academic revenue bonds, with $100 million going for disaster recovery efforts at the University of Iowa.
House Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) used Thursday's bill signing to once again criticize the plan.
"Besides passing an irresponsible budget, this legislation is nothing more than a costly debt plan that will saddle our children for the next 20 to 30 years," Paulsen said. "Republicans will continue to support real efforts that put Iowans back to work, instead of expanding government and creating debt under the guise of creating jobs."
Budget, Sex-Offender, and Health-Care-Reform Bills Remain Unsigned
Stakeholders including education groups, law enforcement, and advocates for the elderly are anxiously waiting to see whether the governor will sign or veto dozens of other bills that require action by the end of the month.
Culver has until Tuesday, May 26 -- 30 days from adjournment -- to take action on bills.
Key among them are 10 budget bills, all of which are subject to line-item vetoes. They include the all-encompassing standings bill that was approved in the final hours of the 2009 legislative session.
Culver's action on the standings bill will determine whether Iowa's courthouses will close for two more furlough days in June. The bill includes a $760,000 supplemental appropriation to the judicial branch for the fiscal year that ends June 30 that would allow the courts to cancel furlough days scheduled for June 5 and 19.
But the bill also contains increases to various court fees, and Culver has said repeatedly this year that he does not support an increase in taxes or fees during the recession.
Another key bill is the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund bill. Republican Party of Iowa Chair Matt Strawn this week called on Culver to line-item-veto 16 items in that bill that add up to $17.6 million.
"A budget is a statement of priorities," Strawn said, pointing to the $769,543 in the bill for Terrace Hill preservation and restoration, $3.5 million in recreational trails, and $3 million in passenger-rail service. "I challenge Governor Culver to show leadership by using his line-item-veto authority to stand up to this free-spending Democrat majority."
Several key policy bills also await action by the governor, including those dealing with sex offenders, children's health insurance, dependent-adult abuse ,and a private cause of action for consumer fraud.
Law enforcement plans to show its support on Thursday when Culver signs into law a bill intended to improve Iowa's controversial law that prevents sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools and day cares. The bill would classify sex offenders into three tiers and prohibit sex offenders from working, loitering, or being present within 300 feet of "exclusionary zones," or areas where children frequent -- such as schools, child-care centers, playgrounds, arcades, pools, and fairs. The 2,000-foot law would apply only to sex offenders who have committed the worst offenses against children.
And advocates for both children and the elderly are expected to attend a public bill-signing on Tuesday, May 19, for the health-care-reform bill that would expand health insurance to 30,000 uninsured children.
"It will guarantee that by December 31, 2010, Iowa children will be fully covered by health insurance," said Senator Jack Hatch (D-Des Moines). "We will have the highest percentage of children covered of any state in the country."
The new law will ensure that 99.4 percent of children are covered by health insurance, Hatch said. That includes everyone at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty level. The only groups not included are 2,000 undocumented children and about 2,000 to 3,000 whose families earn more than 300 percent of the federal poverty level.
Lawsuit Challenging State Smoking Ban Dismissed
A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Iowa's Smokefree Air Act has been dismissed in Polk County District Court. A trial had been set for June 30.
Polk County District Judge Glenn E. Pille dismissed the lawsuit, which was filed the day the law took effect -- July 1, 2008 -- by Choose Freedom Iowa, the Iowa Bar Owners Coalition, Clinton's Organized Bar & Restaurant Owners, Froehlich Properties Inc., and Ron Overson.
The plaintiffs asked the court for a preliminary injunction last summer to block the law from being in effect until their lawsuit was decided, but Judge Douglas Staskal rejected the motion.
The dismissal comes as 44 bars are facing possible suspension or revocation of liquor licenses due to violations of the state's smoking ban. Two actions have resulted in final orders: a liquor license suspension and revocation. The two bars -- Fro's in Wilton and Otis Campbell's Bar in West Burlington -- filed petitions for judicial review by the courts.
Senate committee Dismisses Ethics Complaint
The Senate Ethics Committee this week unanimously voted to dismiss an ethics complaint against Senator Merlin Bartz (R-Grafton).
Former Representative Ed Fallon (D-Des Moines) filed the complaint against Bartz, saying he had used his position to discourage county recorders from accepting marriage applications from same-sex couples.
Fallon said the questions he asked in the ethics complaint weren't addressed, including whether taxpayer money was used for Bartz's Web site. He also said Bartz never responded to his major point regarding civil rights.
"No one should have their civil rights denied because of a point of difference about lifestyle or race or religion or sexual orientation," Fallon said. "Bartz never answered that question. And it's inappropriate for an elected official, paid for by my taxes, to encourage people to break the law."
This weekly summary comes from IowaPolitics.com, an online government and politics news service. IowaPolitics.com staff contributed to this report.
