Governor Tom Vilsack’s ridiculing the latest gambling plan that republican senators have devised. The plan would put the Prairie Meadows license up to the highest bidder, and the bid would have to be at least 150 million dollars. The Dubuque track would be put up for a bid of at least 10 million. Vilsack says it’s “an invitation to litigation.” Since the Iowa Supreme Court rejected the idea the race tracks could be taxed at a much higher rate than riverboats, Vilsack predicts the court would reject this latest scheme. Vilsack says this latest plan is “just an invitation to renew that fight” between the state and the race tracks. And while Vilsack has repeatedly said he’ll sign whatever lawmakers come up with to resolve the gambling issue, Vilsack says this latest idea is not something he could approve. Vilsack says it’s time for legislators to reach consensus and get a bill passed that’s “reasonable and doesn’t try to penalize anybody.” G-O-P leaders said the gambling bill would be debated today, but the Senate has not yet begun debating the issue.
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