First Posted: 12/17/2009

State House members headed home for their holiday break Thursday after a brief session that did not include a concurrence vote on a Senate table games bill that legislative body approved 27-22 Wednesday night. The House will not return to session until Jan. 5.

“It was painfully obvious,” said Brett Marcy, spokesman for House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Butler Township, that there were not enough votes needed to pass the bill on Thursday. It should also be noted that 19 members of the House, 17 of them Republicans, were absent for Thursday’s session.

With 102 votes needed for passage, the House voted 103-92 Tuesday night for its version of the bill that was then sent to the Senate for approval. When the Senate tinkered with some language, including scrapping a House plan to increase the number of casino licenses from 14 to 15, some House members balked.

“There’s no question the changes the Senate made raised some serious concerns for our members,” Marcy added. “We didn’t have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to passing legislation.”

To read the complete story see Friday’s edition of The Times Leader and www.timesleader.com.