Spokesman says the Governor will sign bill for Newton race track

Governor Tom Vilsack’s spokesman says the governor wants to see something positive happen for Newton, so he’ll sign a bill that provides 12-and-a-half million dollars in tax breaks for a race track near Newton. The Senate last night approved a bill that would grant the 12-and-a-half million dollar rebate on sales taxes collected from ticket and concession sales at the track. But the Senate voted to grant the break only if Iowans own 60 percent of the track. Governor Vilsack was asked about that Senate action moments after the Senate vote. “The Senate did improve the package and tightened it up considerably and made it such that it wasn’t necessarily a precedent-setting piece of legislation, which is what I had concerns about,” Vilsack said. Vilsack says he doesn’t know what the House will do, but the governor says the Senate action improved the bill. Afterwards, Governor Vilsack’s press secretary told reporters that while the Governor made no comment on whether he’d sign the bill during his Tuesday evening news conference, the governor would sign the bill into law if the House endorses the Senate changes and sends the legislation to Vilsack’s desk for approval.