Senate chief wants
gambling studied

By Richard Borreca
Star-Bulletin

The state should study legalizing gambling, according to Sen. President Robert Bunda, because the state budget does not have enough money for both increased public education costs and state worker pay raises.

Bunda, who has supported various gambling proposals in the past, wants a special Senate committee this summer to look at all forms of gambling.

The committee, he said, "will conduct a comprehensive study on the economic impact of legalized gambling in Hawaii, from a lottery to casino gaming."

Before he can get his committee study, a resolution must be approved by the Senate.

Yesterday, Sen. Colleen Hanabusa (D, Waianae) said that despite the new need for money, she opposes legalizing gambling because it would lure the poor to spend. "My district has the highest unemployment and the lowest median income -- gambling would be no solution," Hanabusa said.

Bunda, however, said the proposed state budget is not large enough to pay for union pay raises or the Felix consent decree without an additional source of revenue.

"The responsibility falls upon the Legislature to appropriate funds and find means by which to obtain revenue for the appropriations," Bunda said in his resolution.

The Senate president said the study would have to come this summer and that there was not enough time to legalize gambling during this session of the Legislature.