Mississippi
Casino Measure Could Remain Unresolved
As reported by the Mississippi
Clarion-Ledger: "House Speaker Pro Tem
J.P. Compretta said Thursday the special session
could end without a compromise on casino leases
— a measure linked to lawmakers' approval
of moving casinos inland.
"'It's not that crucial,"
said Compretta, D-Bay St. Louis, of a dispute
over how much casinos on state tidelands must
pay to lease the property. Disagreement over
the lease payments halted debate over the bill.
"Compretta wants House Bill 45, a measure
to move casinos 800 feet onshore, to be sent
to Gov. Haley Barbour, and the Senate is holding
it up as a bargaining tool for recalculating
the tidelands leases in House Bill 44.
"…Senate and House conferees, who
had been trying to reach a compromise on calculating
lease payments, walked out shortly after 5 p.m.
without a deal, after the House rejected a Senate
compromise…"
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