Arizona: Andy Tobin

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

In a classic case of the kettle calling the pot black, Senate President Bob "Bluto" Burns started yet another GOP food fight at his press conference yesterday when he said that the Accidental Governor is incompetent and unqualified for the job. Burns lashes out, calls Brewer incompetent, Burns: Brewer bungling her job:

"It appears the governor is having problems managing the level of responsibility to which she has been elevated"...

The governor "has abused the public in what can only be described as a strong-arm tactic to take control of the legislative process"...

Brewer's veto of parts of the $8.4 billion spending plan "appears to be a vindictive retaliation against the Legislature for not rubber-stamping 'her plan.

Arizonans could get new options for where to gamble their money under a proposal being advanced by a top Republican legislator.

House Majority Whip Andy Tobin, R-Paulden, wants to allow horse and dog tracks in Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott Valley and Apache Junction to have as many slot machines as they want. They also could operate blackjack and poker games.

The plan is open-ended: Anyone who sets up a new racetrack elsewhere in Arizona would also have the right to operate a casino on site, though Tobin's measure would set a limit of 10 track-based casinos.

That would do more than end the monopoly Indian tribes now have on casino-style gambling.

House Republican leadership promised Monday to vote by the end of March to repeal the state property tax — and permanently forego the $250 million it would raise — regardless of whether they have a plan to balance next year’s budget by then.

The repeal is part of a nine-point agenda that House Majority Leader John McCommish, R-Phoenix, said will be among the first bills that will clear his chamber. He said it reflects the top concerns of the 35 Republicans in the House.

If successful in getting these measures signed into law, it would be a sharp shift to the right for the state compared with the prior six years when the GOP legislative majority had to deal with Democratic Gov.

A two-term Republican lawmaker is crafting his alternative to further budget cuts or tax hikes: off-reservation casino gambling.

Rep. Andy Tobin, R-Paulden, said his plan would allow slot machines at existing horse and dog racing tracks around the state. What’s in it for Arizona, he said, is a share of the take.

It’s not clear whether the tribes, which now have the exclusive right to operate casinos, would fight having tracks in competition with them. But Sheila Morago, executive director of the Arizona Indian Gaming Association, said Tobin is mistaken if he believes that putting slot machines at racetracks is going to be a financial windfall for the state.