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We've beaten this topic like a drum in recent weeks, but we don't feel bad for state legislators whose hail mary attempt to keep skill games operating throughout the state was batted down by the state Supreme Court.
State lawmakers had more than enough time to drive skill game legislation into the end zone before today's court-imposed deadline to come up with regulations that comply with a June decision declaring the skill games as casino gaming that should be regulated and taxed by the state. Not only could the legislature not get on the same page to get the regulations finished on time, they couldn't even get together on legislation that simply extended the status quo while they continued to waste everybody's time.
The Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Chargers aren't even that inept – and their fans have seen some truly horrible football this season.
The people we feel for are the countless non-profit social clubs, volunteer fire departments and similar organizations that have counted on skill games revenue to help them meet their charitable endeavors in communities throughout the commonwealth.
What's really infuriating is the legislature didn't just fritter away 120 days after the Supreme Court's decision. Owners of taverns, restaurants, social clubs, mini-marts, gas stations, grocery stores, laundromats, pizza parlors and other businesses where skill games had been installed have known this was a possibility for years. The state Legislature could have made the court decision moot – particularly when it became pretty clear that the court's ruling was likely to rule that skill games are really slot machines as defined in the state's Gaming Act – and drafted legislation any time over the past couple of years.
But that's not what happened. Both Republicans and Democrats are at fault. Both parties have failed a non-profit segment of their population who count on skill game revenue to do good things in local communities. State residents deserve better than what they have received over the past couple of years with late budgets, kicking the can down the road on almost every major issue and now missing deadlines. All of us who have jobs in Pennsylvania would find ourselves on the unemployment line if we behaved this way at work. State lawmakers will keep drawing their hefty salaries and, most likely, be re-elected by overwhelming margins. What a sad commentary on a government that is supposed to work for the people.