The best of the Wecht skill games’ ruling, data center and education bills advance, and Shapiro watches the World Cup. I'm Capitol reporter Stephen Caruso.
This is Access Harrisburg.
Greatest Hits
Sarah Anne Hughes / Spotlight PA
I’LL ADMIT IT: MONDAY’S RULING ON SKILL GAMES CAUGHT ME A BIT FLAT-FOOTED.
To recap, the state Supreme Court in a 4-2 opinion found these devices are, in legal fact, slot machines and therefore subject to Pennsylvania’s gambling law.
Yes, I know State Street’s finest government relations professionals were all repeating a rumor that a ruling was coming. But I didn’t quite buy it. It seemed too tidy, like folks trying to manifest their hopes into reality. I was wrong in that hunch. But such is life under the green dome. The Capitol can make fools of us all.
WHAT’S NEXT? My Spotlight PA colleague Jaxon White and I dug into that here. Some of the key questions are the tax rate, the number of machines, and how to use the new revenue, which could range from $300 million to $2 billion depending on who’s doing the estimating. Should it be used on public transit? To backfill lost federal healthcare dollars? To avoid the use of the rainy day fund? That debate will animate the coming days.
With that said, let’s pause and enjoy some select passages from the snarky ruling authored by newly independent Justice David Wecht.
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