Facing a court-ordered deadline to provide a legal framework for so-called "skill games," some legislators want the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to give them more time before the machines are subject to confiscation.
Shopkeepers, meanwhile, say there's still confusion over how enforcement could begin if the legislature fails to meet next week's deadline. And supporters of the machines held rallies this week to urge state officials to act before time expires.
"We're pulling out all the stops, you know, it's pedal to the metal time, but a lot of it depends on what you do," said Republican state Sen. Gene Yaw before a crowd of about 200 skill game boosters in Harrisburg on Tuesday.
Driving the sense of urgency is a mid-June ruling by the state Supreme Court, which found that skill games are essentially no different from slot machines, and had been operating in bars, gas stations, and social clubs without regulation. The justices, acknowledging that many of those businesses had installed the machines in the belief they were legal, gave the state legislature until Oct. 13 to come up with regulations to permit their continued operation.
The legislature, divided by disputes over how much to tax the machines and other issues, has failed to act. Unless that changes before next Wednesday, state police could begin seizing the game cabinets from bars, convenience stores and clubs if shopkeepers don't remove them. Some businesses have already begun packing the equipment up.
Dev Patel, who runs convenience stores in Coraopolis and other parts of Western Pennsylvania, said businesses like his may struggle with the logistics of meeting the deadline. Patel himself said he doesn't own the skill game cabinets located in each of his six stores — an amusement company operator does.
"I feel terrible for our operators. I mean, they've been there for us since day one... How are they gonna get out all those machines in a week?" he said.
Yaw is one of a bipartisan group of four lawmakers — with Sen. Anthony Williams, Rep. Jonathan Fritz and Rep. Danilo Burgos — who filed a petition Tuesday asking the state Supreme Court to extend its deadline until Feb. 10.
The petition acknowledges that while the four legislators have proposed a bill "that would establish a licensing, taxation, and regulatory framework for skill games … the legislative process will not be complete by October 13." A delay was in order, the petition asserts, because "[a]dditional time is reasonably necessary to permit completion of that. process before statewide enforcement materially alters the market that the proposed legislation is intended to regulate."
The proposed bill has not been formally introduced, though an exhibit attached to the petition suggests that it would charge a $500-per-month fee on each terminal. Of the money raised, 84 cents of each dollar would go to road infrastructure and public transit, and 15 cents for fire and emergency medical services.
Just over half of the House's 203 members are identified as cosponsors.
The petition itself promptly encountered delay: On Wednesday, the legislators sought to have it dismissed, though their attorney said it would be refiled after one legislator, who he declined to name, had decided to withdraw.
The petition faces a potentially uphill challenge regardless.
Bruce Ledewitz, Duquesne University emeritus professor of law, told WESA it's "very likely" that the court will reject that request. He noted the court recently denied another plea for more time, after legislators missed a court-imposed deadline to come up with new sentencing rules for second-degree murder convictions.
If the state Supreme Court does grant an extension, Ledewitz said, "The legislature will take even longer" in the future.
Harrisburg "doesn't run out of time in these cases," he added. "It's simply that the legislature has a hard time coming to a bipartisan consensus."
In the meantime, store owner Patel said, confusion remains for shopkeepers.
While lawmakers said at Tuesday's rally that they may want to hold out hope, state police have issued guidance about disabling the machines if the Oct. 13 deadline expires.
For some shops, Patel said, operators are removing the hardware from the cabinets instead of removing the devices themselves: "They're saying that these machines are inoperable, even if you turn them on, you plug them in, you can't do anything."
Moon Township Republican Rep. Valerie Gaydos, who attended the rally on the Capitol steps, said her district offices are fielding calls from small businesses that offer the games.
"They've been asking, 'Should we start taking them out?'" she said. "And I said, 'Look, we still have, you know, a week before the deadline, so be prepared.' But, as everything happens in [Harrisburg], it waits till the 11th hour."
But in the meantime, veterans clubs and volunteer fire companies who stock the games say they'll miss out on much-needed income they've come to rely on. They split the money from the machines with the device owners and software creators, most notably Pace-O-Matic, a company headquartered in Georgia.
Vicki Heiser, who supports a firehall in Schuylkill County, said fundraising won't be the same.
"Spaghetti suppers don't cut it anymore," she told the crowd in Harrisburg.
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