Future of skill games still unclear

Clock ticking for lawmakers to take action on devices court deemed illegal

Lawmakers have less than three months to take some sort of action concerning the estimated 70,000 "skill games" in the state before a stayed Supreme Court decision stirs up a potential political hornet's nest.

The Legislature and Gov. Josh Shapiro enacted a new state budget on July 12 without including a deal concerning the games, which are unregulated, untaxed, and -- under the court decision issued a few weeks earlier -- illegal. State leaders have struggled for years to come up with a solution to the multi-sided issue presented by the games, but until the June 15 court ruling there was no real clarity on their status under Pennsylvania law.

"My understanding of the Supreme Court opinion is that they gave 120 days safe harbor for these machines to continue operating and that they are today, at this moment, illegal," Republican Sen. Majority Leader Joe Pittman of Indiana County said just after the budget deal was made. "When that safe harbor date is lifted, it will be up to the law enforcement community to determine how they manage dealing with these illegal machines."

Many of the machines are located in small businesses, clubs, and VFW or American Legion posts where they provide much-coveted income. Their loss would likely lead to many unhappy constituents.

Agreement on some sort of legalization scheme could lead to new revenue. In his proposed budget released in February, Shapiro envisioned drawing more than $2 billion in revenue from such a move, including tax revenue.

But, as Pittman said, budget negotiators in late June and early July found other, significant sources of revenue to make their concept of a spending plan work. Hence, he said, it "really became apparent that we didn't have to deal with this issue in these short days that we had."

As of Tuesday, there was no clear sign that any movement in the General Assembly on the issue would occur before late September, when the House and Senate are scheduled to return to Harrisburg.

"That does not give us a whole lot of room for something to pass the House, the Senate, and get signed by the governor," said Republican Rep. Mark Gillen of Berks County. "This has been the subject of debate for years and there hasn't been a conclusion."

At least some lawmakers this week are focused on a much closer deadline.

A separate state Supreme Court decision earlier this year found that the state's sentencing framework for second-degree murder is unconstitutional. Implementation of the ruling was delayed 120 days -- ending Friday -- to give the General Assembly enough time to adopt a new framework.

Many Republicans blame Democrats who run the House for failing to pass a framework-creating bill that already has passed the Republican-controlled Senate, and say the failure to act could result in releases of incarcerated individuals already convicted of second-

degree murder.

Multiple skill games bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate. Democratic Rep. Benjamin Waxman of Philadelphia -- sponsor of a bill intended to protect consumers if and when the skill games become legal -- said on Tuesday, "Obviously, there is a deadline that is bearing down."

Gillen, for one, doesn't believe the Legislature will return early to Harrisburg to resolve the issue.

He said, "It will probably be done on the 119th day at the 11th hour."