The financing bill that would pay for a new Sonics arena in Renton will be changing a bit in hopes that House Speaker Frank Chopp will actually read the thing.

From the PI:

According to the new plan, no state sales tax would be used to finance the new arena. Currently, King County keeps part of the state sales tax to help pay for pro baseball and football stadiums.

The revision means the Sonics are now seeking only the local taxes that are currently earmarked for Qwest Field and Safeco Field in Seattle. After the bonds for those stadiums are paid off, those local taxes would shift to the Sonics arena. They include a one-half of 1 percent sales tax on restaurant tabs and rental cars, and a hotel-motel tax, all in King County.

However, a vote or even a hearing for the bill may not happen because Chopp opposes any plan in which public money is used. Chopp isn’t commenting on his plans but the bills biggest proponent in Olympia Margarita Prentice isn’t holding out much hope, and told the Times that she has heard Chopp’s feelings are basically, “No way, no how. Even if it's fixed.”

If the bill is passed there would most likely be a public vote, which would of course mean that the thing would go down in flames.