Steinberg: California Internet gambling bills won't move this year
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said today that he supports legalizing Internet gambling in California but does not want any legislative action on the issue this year, extending the big-money debate for at least another year.

Despite numerous hearings on the matter, Steinberg said in a letter to gambling interests and opponents, "significant, unresolved issues remain." Disagreements include which games would be made legal and who would be eligible to operate the sites.

"We believe that well thought out, fair solutions to these differences can be reached, but not before the end of this legislative year on September 9th," says the letter by Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and Sen. Roderick Wright, the Inglewood Democrat who chairs the Senate's Governmental Organization Committee that oversees gambling regulation.

California's Indian tribes support online gambling but are split over bills that have so far been introduced. SB 40 by Sen. Lou Correa is sponsored by several card rooms and tribes, including the Morongo and San Manuel bands of Indians. Other tribes oppose the bill, saying it would exclude

In an interview with The Bee today, Steinberg said he likes the idea of legalizing Internet gambling because of its potential to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes to state coffers, which he hoped could go toward health and education. But he said existing proposals aren't good enough.

"I don't think it's ready in the last two weeks of session," Steinberg said.
A copy of his letter is below.

Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/08/sen-steinberg-internet-gamblin.html#ixzz1VnS07si3