Override governor's veto

By RESLER

Saturday, March 1, 2003

As expected, Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed a bill Friday that would give lawmakers a say over gambling contracts with Indian tribes. Doyle argued that the bill was a partisan move by Republicans that would undermine the state's ability to get more money from the tribes to help plug the state's deficit.

Sorry, but we're not buying that.

There is no reason why limited legislative oversight over compacts negotiated by the governor should undermine Doyle's ability to reach new, long-term -- but not open-ended -- agreements with the tribes that would allow them to expand gambling and in return pass along a good chunk of that extra revenue to the state.

In November 2000, Doyle criticized former Gov. Tommy Thompson -- as did this newspaper -- for secretly negotiating a deal with the Menominee tribe for a casino in Kenosha that would have allowed games such as craps and roulette. These are the same games that Doyle would allow tribes to operate under the compacts his administration also negotiated in secret. And as recently as two years ago, Doyle specifically said the Legislature, not the governor, should negotiate those compacts.

We do not believe the compacts should be negotiated by lawmakers; that would be needlessly cumbersome and would prolong the negotiations. The governor's office should handle the negotiations, but the compacts should be subject to legislative approval.

Obviously, Doyle's views on this subject have changed; everyone is entitled to a change of mind. But Doyle should be careful about accusing Republicans of playing political games because they can just as easily accuse him of the same thing.

The governor also is wrong when he suggests this bill will undermine or even kill the negotiations and cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars. We do not believe the bill would have that effect. The governor's veto should be overridden.

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