e-HUM Alert -- Feb. 6, 2004

February 6, 2004

Indiana House passes pull tab gambling bill now in Senate

Your help needed to defeat it

By Daniel R. Gangler

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana House of Representative passed the pull tab gambling bill (HB 1188) on Feb. 4 by a vote of 53-39. The Senate version (SB 0364) may be debated in the Senate the week of Feb. 8.

HB1188 authorizes the two existing horse tracks (in Anderson and Shelby County) to add up to 1000 "pari-mutuel pull tab" machines each (look and feel like slot machines, but operate a little differently) and the two existing OTB parlors (in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne) to add up to 1,500 machines each.

The bill permits a referendum by the people of Fort Wayne over whether this expansion of legalized gambling should occur. The other municipalities and counties where expansion is projected are not permitted any further say, nor may they pass any regulations which would have the effect of restricting or forbidding the addition of pari-mutuel pull tab devices to existing pari-mutuel betting sites.

A similar pull tab bill will be considered by the Senate. Legislation of this sort has passed the House in the past, only to be defeated in the Senate. This year SB 0364, authored by Senator Timothy Lanane (D-Anderson), is a corresponding bill on a smaller scale. SB 0364 would permit "only" 700 gambling machines per location. In other regards, it is very similar to HB 1188.

The focus is now on the Senate. Senators Jackman, Weatherwax and Breax have already signed on as co-sponsors of the House version of the bill and further discussion of the Senate proposal is likely to begin next week. If the Senate passes SB 0364, both bills will be brought to a House/Senate Conference Committee to draft a final version requiring passage by both houses and the signature from Gov. Kernan.

You can help now by contacting your State Senator urging that SB 0364 on pull tabs be defeated. You will find contact information for your State Senator on the Access Indiana Web site at www.ai.org or at www.in.gov. Legislation can be tracked on line at www.in.gov. Click on Bill Watch.

Information for this article was supplied by Taylor Burton-Edwards, Director of Community Impact, United Way of Madison County.

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