OLYMPIA — The drive to expand gambling to nontribal establishments began Friday, hours after a Thurston County Superior Court judge determined how Initiative 892 would be described on petitions and ballots.
Judge Richard Strophy required changes to spell out that the effect of the measure pushed by Tim Eyman of Mukilteo is to increase the number of gambling machines around the state, and that one of the results could be lower property taxes.
Strophy’s action settled three legal challenges to the wording proposed by the state Attorney General’s Office. Eyman, King County Executive Ron Sims and Seattle resident Janet Rodriguez each sought alterations in the contents of the 10- and 35-word descriptions of Initiative 892 put forth by the state.
Eyman sought revisions that would play up the potential property tax reduction and downplay the means, gambling, and the source, a 35 percent excise tax to be levied on businesses that operate electronic scratch ticket machines. They are the same type of devices used in tribal casinos.
On the other hand, attorneys James Tupper and Tom Ahearne, representing Sims and Rodriguez, respectively, wanted to heighten the issue of gambling by calling them "slot machines" rather than electronic scratch ticket machines. They argued it would give voters a clearer understanding of what was proposed.
"We got 99 percent of what we wanted," said Eyman in an e-mail sent late in the day. "The judge rejected every single suggestion made by opponents except one: ‘Judge, would you please put quotation marks around the words electronic scratch ticket machines?’"
When the hourlong hearing ended, Eyman bolted from the courtroom to order petitions, which went into circulation Friday afternoon.
With at least $160,000 in campaign money, Eyman said earlier this week he had hired Citizen Solutions in Federal Way to lead the effort to collect the 197,734 signatures of registered voters needed to put the initiative on the November ballot. The deadline to submit petitions is July 2.
Also Friday, hearings were held in three other Thurston County courtrooms to settle disputes on the descriptions of two initiatives that would curb smoking in some public places. Other hearings included one proposing instant run-off elections and referendums to repeal the laws that created charter schools and installed a new primary election system.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 1-360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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