Topeka ? Gambling promoters have pledged to pay the state $30 million in the next fiscal year if plans are approved for slot machines at racetracks and a casino in Dodge City, an aide to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Thursday.

The proposed payment and other details of Sebelius’ preferred plan for expansion of legal gambling were outlined for the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee by Matt All, the governor’s chief counsel.

“Right now, we think this is the best we can do to achieve consensus,” All said.

Sebelius’ proposal joins eight bills on expanded gambling under study by the committee. Proponents generally describe the measures as offering the state a fresh source of badly needed revenue.

Two of the measures would permit slot machines at Kansas’ five pari-mutuel racetracks, while four contemplate slots at the tracks and at one other, unspecified location. Still another bill proposes a casino in Ford County, and the eighth would allow video gambling machines to be installed wherever Kansas Lottery tickets are sold.

Sebelius’ preferred plan calls for companies holding licenses for the new gambling to pay the state a combined total of $30 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1. Kansas is expected to face a budget shortfall of about $700 million in the new fiscal year.

All said that in Sebelius’ recent discussions with gambling promoters, the governor insisted they promise to pay some money up front. The state would thus gain revenue sooner than if it waited to share the profits from gambling machines.

“In today’s tough times, we think this new economic energy is badly needed,” All said.

The up-front payment would be credited against gambling operators’ eventual tax obligations to the state. Net profits on the gambling operations would be taxed at 20 percent to nearly 42 percent, depending on the location and amount of revenues generated.

Under the proposal, voters in each track’s home county and Ford County would have to approve the new gambling. There are racetracks in Crawford, Greenwood, Harper, Sedgwick and Wyandotte counties.