BOISE - Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said the Coeur d'Alene Tribe is going after the wrong guy in its legal fight over instant horse racing terminals.
The tribe filed a petition with the Idaho Supreme Court last week, asking it to require Secretary of State Lawerence Denney to certify the legislation as law.
The tribe contends Gov. C.L. (Butch) Otter's move to keep the betting machines legal was invalid. Tribal officials said Otter's veto of legislation banning the betting machines didn't come within a required five-day time span.
On Wednesday, the attorney general's office filed its response with the Idaho Supreme Court. In the document, Wasden contends the fault of any error in the veto lies outside of the Secretary of State's Office and so it would be improper to force Denney to act.
Denney has declined to enforce the bill despite requests from the tribe to certify the law.
While Wasden's office stopped short of pinpointing whom the tribe should go after, it did explain the Idaho Senate was responsible for ensuring the veto was made in the right time frame.
"The originating house sits as the timekeeper on its legislation during the session," wrote Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane.
Currently, roughly 250 betting terminals - known as instant horse racing machines - are installed in three locations across the state.
The machines allow bettors to place wages on prior horse races with no identifiable information. They look and sound like slot machines with bright animated screens and chirpy music, and bets can be placed in mere seconds.
Proponents argue the machines are vital to saving Idaho's declining horse racing industry. Live horse races no longer attract big crowds with bigger betting pools to help sustain the industry, race track owners said. Instead, they must rely on new technology to thrive.
The tribe counters that the machines are cleverly disguised slot machines, which are illegal in Idaho.
Idaho lawmakers approved legalizing the machines in 2013, but passed legislation this year after multiple legislators said they had been duped into approving illegal betting machines.
The legislation then went to the governor's desk, but Otter delayed announcing his decision, doing so after the five-day window had passed. Otter told reporters he put off releasing the veto decision because of the Easter weekend.
The Idaho Senate then failed to override the governor's decision but not without submitting three statements into the Senate journal stating that the Senate failed to receive the governor's veto by the required deadline. The letters were submitted by the Senate's President Pro Tem Brent Hill, Minority Leader Michelle Stennett and Secretary Jennifer Novak.
Deborah Ferguson, a Boise attorney who is representing the tribe, said she was aware Wasden's office had filed its response but had not yet reviewed it as of Wednesday afternoon.