Bingo news
Hearing for Video Bingo Regulations Set in Livingston
On February 23, 2007, the Livingston Parish Council had a 5-4 vote in favor of holding a public hearing next month which will be aimed at drafting an ordinance to prohibit video bingo machines in their community. A separate motion was also voted upon, which is supposed to call for a hearing on a bill that would put a tax on the video bingo machines, but it did not push through with a 3-6 vote.
The Council Chairman A.C. "Buddy" Mincey voted against both of the proposals. He claims that he is not in favor of the tax increase because it would not be put into constructing an animal shelter in the community. Mincey further stated that he would be willing to vote for the matter if some of the money would be directed towards an animal shelter.
According to Mincey, there is an urgent need for an animal shelter in their area. The main proponent of the tax measure, Councilman Danny Harrell, commented that he did not include a clause that would grant money to the animal shelter because the amount of money that the taxes will be able to generate is not known yet. Councilman Jimmie McCoy said that many people have already spent a lot of money to acquire the licenses needed for video bingo machines.
The city council's attorney, Blain Honeycutt, commented that he will conduct a study if the council has to draft a procedure for anyone that is applying for a license. The hearing for the proposal sponsored by Councilman Stan Cain to prohibit video bingo machines in their area is set for March 22, 2007 at 6:00 p.m.
When asked why they are planning to prohibit video bingo and not regular bingo, Cain said that people will easily get addicted to video bingo unlike the regular game of bingo. Cain also said that video bingo is like video poker. The other supporters of Cain's bill are Marshall Harris, Dewey Harrell, Ronnie Sharp and Eddie Wagner.
On the other hand, Danny Harrell, Jimmie McCoy and Randy Rushing have voted for the failed proposal of a hearing on video bingo taxes.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Danny Hudson