Title
Motion of the Council of Allegheny County urging the General Assembly and Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to proceed with the legalization of a limited number of video poker machines at bars, private clubs, taverns and other establishments, provided that such legalization generates revenue both for tuition stabilization and for Counties and municipal governments in which the legalized poker machines are located.
Title
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has proposed a dramatic increase in state grants for students attending Pennsylvania's core public institutions - the 14 State System of Higher Education universities and the 14 community colleges; and
WHEREAS, to ensure the long-term affordability of higher education, the Governor's proposal would establish a dedicated revenue stream for tuition assistance by permitting bars, taverns, restaurants and clubs with a state liquor license, to legally operate up to five video poker machines; and
WHEREAS, state police estimate that there are currently 17,000 illegal video poker machines in Pennsylvania, and approximately 10,000 are located in Western Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, Revenue Secretary Stephen Stetler explained that license fees and a 50 percent tax on gross sales after payoffs to gamblers would provide $550 million annually; and
WHEREAS, it is the judgment of Council that the revenue raised should be shared between the proposed tuition assistance program and with the municipalities that in which the licensed poker machines are located, in order to assist those municipalities in meeting their own budgetary needs; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania would join nine other states that allow video poker;
NOW THEREFORE, IT IS MOVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY, that the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Governor are hereby urged to proceed with the legalization of a limited number of video poker machines at bars, private clubs, taverns and other establishments, provid...
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