Bad Legislation: Electronic Gambling, Alcohol, and Sex-Education

Legislation, Legislature, , , , , ,

A lot of really good legislation has passed at the Arkansas Legislature this year, but several bad bills have been filed as well. Here’s a quick look at a few proposals in play that would hurt Arkansas’ families and communities.

H.B. 1912 (Video Lottery Machines): This bill by Rep. Grant Hodges (R – Rogers) and Sen. Breanne Davis (R – Russellville) would legalize video lottery terminals under the Arkansas Lottery. Video lottery machines are more addictive than traditional lottery tickets, and the odds of winning typically are very low. This makes video lottery machines particularly harmful for people with gambling problems and for poor individuals who play the lottery out of desperation. In other states where these games are legal, bars and truck stops have set up miniature casinos by installing video lottery machines in back rooms. Family Council has opposed past efforts to legalize video lottery machines and other casino-style games in Arkansas, and we oppose H.B. 1912 as well. Read H.B. 1912 Here.

S.B. 492 (Entertainment Districts): This bill by Sen. Trent Garner (R – El Dorado) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R – Smackover) lets cities create “entertainment districts” where open containers of alcohol can be carried and consumed outdoors. Entertainment districts essentially are areas where public intoxication is legal. Under this bill, an entertainment district could be temporary — such as at an event or festival — or it could be permanent. Because of their association with excessive drinking, entertainment districts in other states have raised serious concerns about crime, DUI offenses, and public safety. The bill recently passed the Arkansas Senate and is currently before the House Rules Committee. Read S.B. 492 Here.

S.B. 304 (Sex Education): This bill by Sen. Will Bond (D – Little Rock) and Rep. LeAnne Burch (D – Monticello) requires every school district in Arkansas to offer “evidence based” health courses to 7th – 12th graders that include instruction on preventing pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases through abstinence and contraceptives. We know from experience that the kind of curriculum S.B. 304 mandates won’t actually teach students to be abstinent. Instead it will encourage students to be sexually active. Past “evidence-based” programs pushed by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama did not have a meaningful impact on teen birth rates or teen abortion rates. S.B. 304 simply continues these flawed policies. S.B. 304 is currently before the House Education Committee. Read S.B. 304 Here.

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Family Council Will Continue Opposing Casino Gambling

Casinos, Gambling,

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Little Rock – On Tuesday Arkansas voters passed Issue 4, a state constitutional amendment authorizing four casinos in Arkansas.

Family Council President Jerry Cox issued a statement, saying, “This is a bad deal for Arkansas. These casinos are going to be festering sores in our
communities. They’re going to pull money out of the local economies and plunge some of our poorest families deeper into poverty. That’s why Family
Council remains committed to opposing casino gambling at every possible turn.

“Out-of-state gambling interests spent millions of dollars to persuade Arkansas voters to approve this amendment, creating a casino monopoly for the
Cherokee and Quapaw Indian Tribes along with owners of casinos in Hot Springs and West Memphis.

“Some people may think that Arkansans are already going to gamble, so we may as well have them gamble in Arkansas instead of going out of state. That’s terribly misguided. People who live near the border are still going to go out of state, because those casinos are closer. People who live in the middle of the state will gamble a lot more, because the casinos are closer to home. This means that Arkansas will have more gambling addicts. This means more bankruptcies, more domestic violence, and more families in need of food, clothing and shelter.” Cox said.

Voters in Pope County, where one of the casinos will be located, overwhelmingly rejected Issue 4, but Cox pointed out that the vote in Pope County may Not matter, because the amendment mandates the licensing of a casino there regardless of whether Pope County voters want one or not. “Under this new amendment there is no such thing as local control. The amendment automatically licenses casinos in Hot Springs and West Memphis. In Pope and Jefferson Counties, all they need is a signature from a mayor or approval by the county quorum court. After that, they are unregulated by local governments or the state legislature. Their tax rate, the types of gambling they conduct, the sale of alcohol and their hours of operation are all off limits to state or local officials.”

Cox said, “Nearly half of Arkansas voters statewide don’t want casino gambling at all. Many of the folks who supported Issue Four were misled into thinking This amendment would fund improvements to Arkansas’ roads or boost our economy. That’s not what Issue Four does. Under this constitutional amendment, casinos in Arkansas will pay some of the lowest taxes of any casinos in America, and it actually lowers taxes on our existing casinos in Hot Springs and West Memphis.”

Cox said his group remains committed to fighting casino gambling. “Issue Four was a bad amendment before the election. It’s still a bad amendment today. Gambling addiction is going to wreck a lot of lives in Arkansas and hurt a lot of families because of Issue Four. That’s why we remain committed to fighting Casino gambling in Arkansas.”

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Photo By Ralf Roletschek [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons.

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